DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Executive Committee voted unanimously Thursday to postpone its 32nd annual Induction Celebration.
Planned for Monday and Tuesday in Daytona Beach, Fla., the event has been postponed due to the growing concern over the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Originally scheduled for March 16-17, the two-day and four-event induction celebration was set to culminate with Tuesday night’s formal MSHFA Induction Ceremony presented by Firestone at the Shores Resort & Spa in South Daytona.
The 2020 inductee class includes NASCAR’s first premier series champion Red Byron (Historic), seven-time AMA Grand National champion Chris Carr (Motorcycles), motorsports publisher, promoter and competitor Floyd Clymer (At Large), IndyCar winner and chief steward Wally Dallenbach (Open Wheel), NASCAR owner Rick Hendrick (Stock Cars), 1979 Can-Am champion and endurance star Jacky Ickx (Sports Cars), 1963 Daytona 500 and NASCAR Grand American champion Tiny Lund (Historic), eight-time NHRA champion “Ohio George” Montgomery (Drag Racing), and 10-time off-road champion Ivan “Ironman” Stewart (Off Road).
“As racers, we never like to give up,” said MSHFA President George Levy, “but especially in the last 24 hours it became clear that postponing was the right thing to do for our inductees and our guests, and as good citizens of the Daytona Beach area. We also want to thank our sponsors and corporate partners for bending over backwards to make this as comfortable as possible for everyone.”
The induction celebration will be rescheduled in the future after the concern and contagious nature of the novel coronavirus subsides.