By Sarah Handy, Staff Writer
Since it’s opening in 2010, the Glory Road exhibit at the NASCAR Hall of Fame has served as a well-known focal point for guests as well as members.
Every three years the exhibit receives a makeover that consists of a new theme as well as 18 new race cars.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame announced on Thursday that it will partner will Dale Earnhardt Jr as its first ever guest curator to debut “Dale Jr: Glory Road Champions for its fourth iteration on Saturday January 11, 2020.
The exhibit will feature 18 premier series championship cars that Earnhardt will personally select.
“We are excited to present some of NASCAR’s most iconic premier series championship cars from the eyes of one of our biggest fans and ambassadors, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.,” said Winston Kelley, Executive Director of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
“I have always been inspired by Dale Jr.’s sincere interest in, and appreciation for, the history of our great sport. Having Dale guest curate one of our most recognizable exhibits following his days as a full-time driver has always been one of my personal goals. With so much from which to choose, selecting a theme, and narrowing that theme to 18 cars from a list of 75 – 100 available cars, is a very tough task. I know I can speak for my fellow NASCAR fans in thanking Dale for once again giving back to the sport he so dearly loves.”
Over the past 10 years, the Glory to Road at the NASCAR Hall of Fame has featured some of the most recognizable and iconic race cars and drivers in the history of NASCAR.
Earnhardt and the NASCAR Hall of Fame worked together to create a unique collection like no other that will celebrate the champions and championship moments of the sport.
Glory Road Champions will feature a lineup of cars that fans of the sport will instantly recognize for one reason or another as being some of the most memorable races and championship seasons in NASCAR.
The cars will be displayed in a race formation on a curved “track” which will represent different levels of banking found where NASCAR’s national series competes in addition to some of NASCAR’s most historic tracks.
“Having the chance to help choose the cars for the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s newest installment of Glory Road was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up,” said Earnhardt.
“Everyone knows how much I enjoy learning about the history of our sport and sharing that history with people, and with this, I’m able to play a small role in what we share with fans who visit the NASCAR Hall of Fame. I knew when Winston (Kelley) and his team first met with me that if I was able to pick the cars for the exhibit, I wanted it to focus on the champions of our sport. I felt like that was a no-brainer,” he continued.
“I picked cars for this exhibit for many different reasons. But I definitely wanted to represent a broad history of the sport as a whole, so we could also see the progression of the cars. It’s really cool when they’re all there together and you can see all that’s changed in the technology from where we started to where we are today.”