Richard Childress, the owner of Richard Childress Racing in Welcome, NC will be inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in May. Childress is one of eight honorees in the Class of 2008. The NASCAR team owner won six Winston Cup championships with Dale Earnhardt Sr. behind the wheel, the Busch Series Grand National championship in 2001 and 2006 with Kevin Harvick and the Truck Series title in 1995 with Mike Skinner. His team became the first in NASCAR history to win the championship in all three national series.

His teams have also won two Daytona 500s. Childress was inducted into the Davidson County Sports Hall of Fame in October. He also owns Childress Vineyards in Lexington, NC. The eight inductees will be enshrined at the 45th annual induction ceremony in Raleigh on May 15. They will be introduced at an afternoon news conference at the N.C. Museum of History. Formal induction will come during an evening banquet at the North Raleigh Hilton. Banquet ticket information is available from the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame in Raleigh at (919) 845-3455 or at the Hall’s Web site, www.ncshof.com. The museum is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from noon until 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission to the museum is free.

Lexington Dispatch