The award is called an ISHY, and in the world of preserving sports artifacts for future generations, winning it carries considerable weight. The ISHY Award is bestowed by the International Sports Heritage Association, and it’s been presented to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, located at Daytona International Speedway. The award salutes excellence in presentation on the part of sports museums, collection and halls of fame, regardless of size or attendance. The MSHFA was specifically recognized for the display cases prepared to honor each of the hall’s 2020 inductees, whose enshrinement was delayed by the pandemic. One of the honorees is MSHFA staff photographer Thomas R. Miller, who photographed the cases so the ISHA could evaluate the materials.
This particular case recounts the career of team owner Rick Hendrick, one of the 2020 inductees, who just won the NASCAR Cup championship thanks to the historic performance of Kyle Larson. Similar displays honored the Class of 2020’s other members, including pioneering NASCAR champion Red Byron, flat-track motorcycle star Chris Carr, early motorsport publisher Floyd Clymer, IndyCar star and official Wally Dallenbach Sr., 1963 Daytona 500 winner Tiny Lund, six-time 24 Hours of Le Mans champion Jacky Ickx, off-road titan Ivan “Ironman” Stewart and the legend of 1960s Gasser drag racing, “Ohio George” Montgomery. Full disclosure, I proudly serve as an elector to the MSHFA, which is open daily and located in the speedway’s Tickets and Tours Building.
Jim Donnelly On Wheels 