Throughout Bristol Dragway's long history, which dates back to its opening in 1965, the greatest names in drag racing history have made their marks in Thunder Valley.

This year four remarkable men have been selected as the inaugural class of inductees into the Legends of Thunder Valley. They are NHRA founder Wally Parks, Larry Carrier, who built Bristol Dragway, "Big Daddy" Don Garlits, named the best driver in the history of NHRA, and Rickie Smith, who has more Bristol wins than any other driver.

"I honestly don't think we could have a finer group of men inducted as Legends of Thunder Valley this first year," said Bristol Dragway president Jeff Byrd. "All four of these gentlemen are legends in the sport of drag racing and each of them has a special place in the history of Bristol Dragway. We're extremely proud to be honoring them in this way." Throughout Bristol Dragway's long history, which dates back to its opening in 1965, the greatest names in drag racing history have made their marks in Thunder Valley.

This year four remarkable men have been selected as the inaugural class of inductees into the Legends of Thunder Valley. They are NHRA founder Wally Parks, Larry Carrier, who built Bristol Dragway, "Big Daddy" Don Garlits, named the best driver in the history of NHRA, and Rickie Smith, who has more Bristol wins than any other driver.

"I honestly don't think we could have a finer group of men inducted as Legends of Thunder Valley this first year," said Bristol Dragway president Jeff Byrd. "All four of these gentlemen are legends in the sport of drag racing and each of them has a special place in the history of Bristol Dragway. We're extremely proud to be honoring them in this way."

Parks is the visionary who formed the National Hot Rod Association in 1951. The 94-year-old was the first inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1992 from the world of drag racing. He was also inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993.

Carrier built Bristol Dragway in 1965 and in 1971 founded the International Hot Rod Association, which ran at Bristol until 1998. His love of drag racing mirrored that of Parks and he was a lifelong fan of the sport.

Garlits' accolades are many and over a long and storied career he collected an amazing 144 national event wins and 17 world championship crowns. The Top Fuel master recorded three wins at Bristol, including the 1972 Spring Nationals, as well as the 1973 Spring and All-American Nationals.

No driver has experienced the type of success that Pro Stocker Smith did at Bristol in the 80s and 90s while running in IHRA-sanctioned events. Smith's first Bristol win came in the 1980 Summer Nationals and he went on to win eight more times, including his last win which came in the Pro Modified class.

All four inductees have special banners featuring their likeness hanging from the back of the dragway grandstands. Their names are also affixed to the top of the suites that sit atop the grandstands.