The International Motorsports Hall of Fame announced today that Richard Childress will be inducted to the Hall of Fame on May 3, 2012.

    Childress is the president and chief executive officer of Richard Childress Racing, a 12-time NASCAR championship-winning organization. An independent driver who got his start in 1969 and earned 76 top-10 finishes in 285 races, Childress climbed out of the seat with 10 races remaining in the 1981 season, handing over the driving duties to Dale Earnhardt. Together, they made NASCAR history, winning 67 races and six Sprint Cup Series championships and established RCR as one of the premier teams in all of motorsports.

    In 2011, RCR fields four teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, two in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and two in the ARCA Series presented by Menards. In addition to its six Cup championships, RCR has earned five championships in the Nationwide Series, one in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and more than 200 overall victories. Childress’ grandsons, Austin and Ty Dillon, compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and ARCA Series, respectively.

    The Richard Childress family and Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center teamed up in July 2008 to form what will become the nation’s most comprehensive Institute for Pediatric Trauma. The Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma will focus on key areas in treatment, education and training, research and prevention of pediatric trauma. The Institute’s goal is to help pave the way for others in the nation searching for ways to help save the lives of severely injured children and help those who survive on the road to recovery. The Childress family has donated $5 million to the Medical Center to initiate the project. For his efforts, Childress was presented, and accepted on behalf of his entire family, NASCAR’s 2008 Home Depot Humanitarian of the Year Award. The Armed Forces Foundation presented him its 2010 Humanitarian of the Year Award at its annual banquet in Washington, D.C., in April 2011.

    In addition to his fulltime racing career, Childress is the proprietor of Childress Vineyards in Lexington, N.C. Located at the gateway of the Yadkin River Valley, Childress Vineyards has earned numerous prestigious industry awards. Childress, along with winemaker Mark Friszolowski and vineyard manager Matt Chobanian, have the collective goal of establishing North Carolina as a region for signature winemaking. He also owns Yadkin River Angus, a very successful Black Angus cattle ranch in Clemmons, N.C.

    Another great passion Childress has is big-game hunting and the conservation and preservation of wildlife habitat in the United States and throughout the world. He is currently on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, and is a Life Member of Safari Club International, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Grand Slam/OVIS. His work with groups like the NRA, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, SCI, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and the North Carolina Wildlife Habitat, among many others, provides him the opportunity to make a difference in preserving wildlife habitats for generations to come.

    Remaining members of the 2012 class will be announced in the coming weeks.

    Opened in April of 1983, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum is dedicated to the preservation of the history of motorsports. Each year the annual International Motorsports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is held on the grounds of the Museum to honor those men and women chosen for induction from among the greatest names in all of motorsports.