McCluggage, Brock, Roush, Castroneves All Have Ties to Sports Car Racing
By Holly Cain
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Racing’s biggest names came to Daytona Beach Tuesday evening for the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America induction ceremony –including the likes of Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi, Don Prudhomme and Walker Evans, Lyn St. James and Donnie Allison. And that was just the audience.
For the first time post-COVID, the sport returned to the Hall of Fame’s home to recognize a long and varied list of important contributors representing all forms of racing – from sports cars to IndyCars, from dragsters to innovators, from motorcycles to unlimited hydroplanes; from NASCAR to the racing media.
The honorary 2022 induction chairman, two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr., started the evening with a heartfelt moment of silence for his father, Al Unser, and uncle, Bobby Unser – two Indianapolis 500 champions and legendary members of the racing fraternity who passed away in 2021.
As he officially started the program, Unser declared to the rapt audience, “This Hall of Fame is the most prestigious Hall of Fame in all of America,” noting its wide reach and all-encompassing categories.
Unquestionably, this was a night of celebration and a real-time history lesson about the people – both out front and behind the scenes – who helped shape the sport. Drivers, mechanics and trailblazers who left indelible legacies were duly celebrated.
The 2022 class included: Peter Brock (Sports Cars), Helio Castroneves (Open Wheel), Dick LaHaie (Drag Racing), Banjo Matthews (Business), Denise McCluggage (Media), Raymond Parks (Historic), Jack Roush (Stock Cars), Terry Vance and Byron Hines (Motorcycles) and the Harley-Davidson founders (Historic).
Tuesday was also International Women’s Day and the induction ceremony began with a dramatic lesson about one of the sport’s most important contributors, McCluggage, who broke racing’s glass ceiling decades ago as a winning driver and pioneering journalist. Or as St. James summed up, McCluggage was “truly motorsports royalty.”
McCluggage won in class (GT) at the Twelve Hours of Sebring and later would be a lead contributor for Competition Press (now known as Autoweek). After graduating college in three years, she became the first female sportswriter in the high-stakes New York City market. And as she began making a name for herself racing cars, she developed friendships with other big names, from Steve McQueen and Briggs Cunningham to the great American Formula One champion Phil Hill.
In noting McCluggage’s important impact on the sport, St. James – a celebrated sports car and IndyCar driver herself – chose to read from one of McCluggage’s own books, “The Centered Skier.”
“I do not feel excluded by mere pronouns and sincerely trust that no one else will either and, if someone does, I refer them to God. She will explain,’’ St. James said as the room erupted in applause and smiles.
Roush, the famed team owner and mechanical pioneer who is already a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, was among those inductees who could easily fit into several categories. His teams were perennial winners in the IMSA and NHRA ranks and have also won NASCAR championships. His driver lineup included other Hall of Famers such as Mark Martin and Tommy Kendall – who like Roush had success in multiple racing disciplines.
“This is a really big deal. I had no idea all the legends I’d meet,’’ Roush told the crowd. “I’m humbled to be included with the best.’’
In an emotional speech, Brock accepted Hall of Fame honors in the Sports Car category for his diverse work from behind the steering wheel to under the hood. The Brock-designed Cobra Daytona Coupe was the first American car to win the FIA GT World Championship and he’s a legend for his work on the Chevrolet Corvette designs.
“He’s done absolutely everything in racing,’’ the evening’s Master of Ceremonies, David Hobbs, said in introducing Brock’s induction.
The black-tie and gown evening concluded with one of the most popular drivers in racing being honored for his amazing accomplishments to date – even as he continues to make history.
Brazilian Helio Castroneves, who earned a record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 victory last May, a second Rolex 24 At Daytona win in January and is also an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship champion (2020), was inducted by his former team owner and racing legend, Penske.
The 18-time Indy 500 winning team owner noted that Castroneves’ passion for racing was so contagious, “he even got me to scale a fence a couple of times at Indy” – alluding to Castroneves’ trademark fence climbing after winning races.
In introducing Castroneves, Penske noted, “Thinking back, of all of our great drivers in the history, none of them had as much fun or enjoyed racing and competing at the top level in our sport than Helio.
“From the moment Helio joined our team back in 2000, it was an incredible journey. From his smile to his endless enthusiasm, the unique way he had of connecting with everyone on our team, Helio was a shining star and just kept getting brighter and brighter every year.”
Castroneves became emotional when he spoke, thanking his parents, wife and daughter, the team owners that gave him the opportunity and, of course, his legion of fans. He ended his speech with thanking God for the opportunity and promising that he’s not done yet.
“This is a dream,’’ he said.
“I’ve been to so many of these (Hall of Fame inductions) for Roger (Penske),’’ Castroneves said later. “I never thought that I’m still driving and I would be in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. I’ll always be an emotional guy, but seeing everyone up there, incredible names and they are also emotional.
“It just shows that we are all passionate about this sport and we love what we do and it’s amazing to be part of that. It’s great to see everyone and especially having Roger introduce me. It was an amazing moment.
“I’m so thankful for those opportunities given to me, and I never took for granted any opportunity because I’ve been in situations where I never knew if I was going to race again.”
As the only active driver honored Tuesday, Castroneves added with that famous smile, “I’m grateful, but I’m still going and want to keep it going and add many, many more trophies.”