Chase Carey Honorary Chairman at 2019 Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Awards
Officials from the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) and Formula 1 announced today that Formula 1 Chairman and CEO Chase Carey has been named Honorary Chairman of the MSHFA’s 31st Induction Ceremony Presented by Firestone, the crowning event of the MSHFA’s two-day, multifunction 2019 Induction Celebration, March 11 – 12, in Daytona Beach.
Carey will preside over the black-tie gala Tuesday, March 12, and open the awards portion of the evening with a keynote address before heading to Australia for the season-opening 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship™ Grand Prix at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, March 15 – 17.
“We are honored to have Mr. Carey join us in Daytona Beach for the 31st Annual Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Induction Ceremony,” said MSHFA President Ron Watson. “That he was even able to accept our invitation to be Honorary Chairman so close to the 2019 Formula One season-opening race halfway around the world means a great deal to all of us and will no doubt be appreciated by this year’s Inductees and the hundreds of other guests from all walks of motorsports in attendance.”
An Irish-American career executive, Carey begins in 2019 his third season at the helm of the Formula One World Championship™. He has held his current position since January, 2017, succeeding Bernie Ecclestone, after Liberty Media completed its acquisition of Formula One Group.
“It is a great honor for me to be nominated Honorary Chairman of the 2019 Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Induction Ceremony, an event that more than any other, celebrates the amazing and prestigious history of motorsport in the USA,” Carey said. “Formula 1 is an integral part of that history, even if it does not yet have the impact it has in Europe for example. In fact, one of our specific objectives is to make this sport even more popular in the USA, unleashing what we really believe is the greatest racing show on the planet.”
Carey’s keynote address will set the tone for what promises to be one of the most memorable Induction ceremonies in the more than 30-year history of the MSHFA. The seven MSHFA Class of 2019 honorees include automotive and racing pioneer Augie Duesenberg (Historic), three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti (Open Wheel), engineering genius Phil Remington (Sports Cars), motorcycle road racing World Champion Kevin Schwantz (Motorcycles), championship-winning driver/owners Don Schumacher (Drag Racing) and Tony Stewart (Stock Cars) and popular motorsports ambassador and iconic race ambassador Linda Vaughn (At Large).
Carey continues the recent tradition of industry-leading and championship-winning motorsports personalities filling the Induction Ceremony Honorary Chairperson role since the MSHFA moved to Daytona from its original home in Detroit four years ago.
International Speedway Corporation (ISC) CEO Lesa France Kennedy presided over the 2016 Induction Ceremony and was succeeded in 2017 by former Daytona 500 winner and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kurt Busch.
Last year’s 30th Anniversary Induction Ceremony featured Mario Andretti (MSHFA Class of 1990) as Honorary Chairman. The three-time IndyCar Champion and former Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500 winner is also the last American to win a Formula One World Championship, which he did with Colin Chapman (MSHFA Class of 1997) and Team Lotus in 1978.
Other notable Formula One competitors enshrined in the MSHFA include Chapman, Jim Clark (MSHFA Class of 1990), Emerson Fittipaldi (MSHFA Class of 2001), Dan Gurney (MSHFA Class of 1991), Phil Hill (MSHFA Class of 1989), Denis Hulme (MSHFA Class of 1998), Nigel Mansell (MSHFA Class of 2006), Bruce McLaren (MSHFA Class of 1995), Peter Revson (MSHFA Class of 1996) and others.
