MOORESVILLE, N.C. – NASCAR legends Tony Stewart and Jerry Cook were formally inducted into the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame on Monday afternoon in downtown Mooresville.
In addition, Stewart and Cook’s permanent sidewalk markers were unveiled on Main Street, giving both men an indelible imprint on “Race City USA” following their iconic careers.
The ceremony was emceed by NCARHoF Board Chair Don Miller, with speeches from both inductees and several prominent auto racing figures who impacted or were impacted by both men along the way.
Cook was inducted by retired NASCAR Cup Series driver and current NASCAR on NBC analyst Kyle Petty.
“Lately, I’ve been playing guitar, and one night I was playing … and there was this one guy in the back row that had his lighter in the air and kept screaming, ‘Freebird!’” Petty quipped in his introduction. “Finally, when the night was over, I walked back there and realized it was Jerry Cook. And he said, ‘I’m doing this thing and they’re going to induct me, and I want to know if you’ll introduce me.’ And what an honor it was for me to say yes to that. For everyone on this street who’s been inducted, it’s an honor.
“When I was a little boy, Jerry and (wife) Sue used to come by the house,” Petty noted. “Anytime they were down south, they’d come by and most of the time, we had eggs and bacon and just sit around and talk racing. I had no clue what a modified was, because we had Cup cars and that was all I grew up with, but I knew Jerry Cook. I knew what he meant to modifieds and to NASCAR in the Northeast.
“My dad and Jerry, all they could talk about was racing, and Jerry was one of the best ever at his craft.”
Cook is a six-time NASCAR modified national champion, including four in a row between 1974 and 1977, and was also named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998. After retiring from driving in 1982, he helped shape the modern-era NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and was its series director for many years.
While he has 342 NASCAR race wins to his credit, Cook noted Monday’s induction was “extremely special” to him and to his family, which includes a son and grandson who work at Stewart-Haas Racing.
“Every Hall of Fame is important and means a lot to me, but this one is unique, because it’s recognized on the sidewalk of the city we’ve called home since 2002,” Cook said. “All of these inductees represent some of the well-known and influential names in North Carolina motorsports, and it’s an honor to be inducted alongside so many of those heroes. The Walk of Fame, to me, represents the ability of residents and fans to walk and literally step on you while they support local Mooresville businesses.
“I’m glad Tony has a place on the sidewalk next to me, and that he let my son and grandson off work to be here today as well,” he laughed. “When I first started racing, I wondered how long I’d be able to keep doing it before I had to go and get a real job. But somehow, I always had money in my pocket, so we never had to do that and we just kept racing. We competed against the best, and hard work paid off.”
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