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Through the combination of luck and longevity as a journalist starting in 1957, I was able to cover each of Saturday’s inductees into the NASCAR Hall Of Fame in Charlotte. The five men—promoter/track owner Bruton Smith and drivers Bobby Isaac, Terry Labonte, Curtis Turner and Jerry Cook—had storied, colorful careers.

Following is a sampling of my memories of each of them.

BRUTON SMITH

I first saw him: During a 1959 press conference updating construction of the Charlotte Motor Speedway he was co-building with famed driver Curtis Turner.

Career highlights: From promoting races at age 18 in Midland, N.C., Smith 70 years later ranks as perhaps the major motosports mogul in the world. His Sonic Motorsports Incorporated owns eight big speedways that hold NASCAR Cup Series races. Additionally, he controls four major drag racing facilities.

Most Memorable Quote: “I’ve got an idea that will blow this out of the water!” Just moments after the format for the inaugural Winston all-star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1985 had been announced by officials of the sponsoring R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Smith pulled me aside as the press conference broke up. He excitedly stated that he had a different idea. Before he could divulge his “out-of-the-water” plan, someone urgently summoned him away. I never have learned what the imaginative Smith wanted for the race. But the first two Winston all-star events at Charlotte and then Atlanta in 1986 were anti-climactic duds. Not until 1987 did the event live up to its “thriller” billing. Perhaps by then Smith had gotten his way.

BOBBY ISAAC

I first saw him: On July 28, 1963 in the Volunteer 500 at Bristol (Tenn.) Raceway. He finished 11th.

Career Highlights:From humble beginnings, Isaac won the 1970 Cup Series championship driving for team owner Nord Krauskopf and crew chief Harry Hyde. He logged 308 Cup Series starts in a career spanning 1961-76, scoring 37 victories and posting 97 top five finishes, 36 more in top 10. He triumphed in 17 of 50 starts and sped to a record 20 poles in 1969, making the K&K team’s No. 71 “poppy red” Dodges famous.

Most memorable quote: “I heard a voice telling me to park this thing, and that’s what I’m going to do.” Isaac thus explained to an incredulous team owner Bud Moore why he suddenly pulled onto pit road and began un-strapping his belts just short of the halfway point of the 1973 Talladega 500. Larry Smith, the 1972 Cup Series rookie of the year and a fellow native of Catawba County, had been killed in a crash early in the race.

TERRY LABONTE

I first saw him: In the 1978 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, his first Cup Series start. Brought to NASCAR by team owner Billy Hagan, Labonte made a tremendous impression, finishing fourth behind stars Cale Yaborough, Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty.

Career highlights: He made 890 Cup Series starts (third on the all-time list behind Richard Petty and Ricky Rudd), 22 victories, 3top 10 finishes, 27 poles, $45,026,562 in purses;

My favorite memory of him: His stirring triumph in the 1980 Southern 500 at Darlington. Starting the 366th of the 367 laps Labonte ran fourth, half the front straightaway behind the lead trio of Darlington dominator David Pearson and stars Benny Parsons and Dale Earnhardt. Up ahead a slower, lapped car blew its engine going through the second turn, dumping oil on the track. Pearson had no time to react and slid through the oil into the outer wall, crunching his right front fender and flattening the tire. Parsons and Earnhardt spun while taking evasive action. Labonte slowed slightly, made his way through the mess, then got back on the throttle to overtake Pearson’s limping car. Pearson moved far to the inside to block, but Labonte went almost to the pit road wall and crossed the finish line about a foot ahead as the yellow flag flew. Under the rules in effect at that time, fields weren’t frozen in place when the yellow showed, so Labonte continued around to triumph under

Most memorable quote: “It was like a giant hand reached out from the wall and smacked us together.”—Describing a grinding crash with Buddy Baker and Joe Rutmann while running under caution at Darlington Raceway.

CURTIS TURNER

I first saw him: Standing atop a rickety, wood frame, 3-story “tower” on the infield side of the start/finish line at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway on June 29, 1958. Turner and best-buddy Joe Weatherly were passing a fifth of Jim Beam bourbon back and forth and swigging from the bottle. Neither had a driving assignment that day, but they held helmets curled in their arms and would have taken rides if offered. It was my first-ever race and I was covering it reluctantly and with trepidation as a cub reporter for the Asheville Times. I thought, “Dang, this is a hairy-chested sport! I think I’m going to like this!”

My favorite memory of him: Turner winning the first race ever at the new N.C. Motor Speedway near Rockingham on Oct. 31, 1965. It was the hottest Halloween Day on record and Turner was fresh into returning from a lifetime NASCAR ban imposed by the organization’s founder/president, Big Bill France. Turner had been exiled in 1959 for attempting to unionize the drivers. He was 41, overweight, out-of-shape and suffering a painful shoulder injury, but Turner showed flashes of his storied driving talent at the wheel of a Wood Brothers Ford and outlasted much younger runnerup Cale Yarborough to score a storybook victory, the last of his career.

Career highlights: Scored 17 victories in what is now the Cup Series, including the 1956 Southern 500, and 28 more wins in a NASCAR Convertible Division that thrived in the 1950s. Was such a drawing card he was nicknamed “The Babe Ruth Of Stock Car Racing.”

My favorite memory of him: Turner winning the first race ever at the new N.C. Motor Speedway near Rockingham on Oct. 31, 1965. It was the hottest Halloween Day on record and Turner was fresh into returning from a lifetime NASCAR ban imposed by the organization’s founder/president, Big Bill France. Turner had been exiled in 1959 for attempting to unionize the drivers. He was 41, overweight, out-of-shape and suffering a painful shoulder injury, but Turner showed flashes of his storied driving talent at the wheel of a Wood Brothers Ford and outlasted much younger runnerup Cale Yarborough to score a storybook victory, the last of his career.

JERRY COOK

I first saw him: In a Modified Division preliminary event to a Cup Series race in 1965 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, the southern Mecca for modified teams and fans.

Career highlights: Cook became a six-time national champion in NASCAR’s Modified Division, 1971-72 and 1974-77. He finished second in the point standings six times and third twice. Had 1,474 NASCAR-sanctioned starts in a career spanning 20 years, 1963-82. Posted 342 victories and finished in the top 10 an amazing 85 percent of the time. Named among NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers.

Most memorable quote: “Every time I reached in my pocket, I had money in it.” On his decision in 1963 to continue as a driver rather than field cars for others.