Ocean Center Secures Stock Car Hall of Fame Dinner, Exhibit

The Stock Car Hall of Fame annual dinner will be held Feb. 17 at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach. This is the 25th year for the event but the first time the event will be at the county-run facility, which will host it in 2015 and 2016 as well. 

The Stock Car Hall of Fame dinner was developed by the Rotary Club of Daytona Beach to honor legendary drivers and personalities in stock car racing. Proceeds from the event will benefit Habitat for Humanity.

In addition to the annual dinner, the Ocean Center will become the location for the permanent exhibit for the Stock Car Hall of Fame plaques, which recognize inductees. The 2014 Stock Car Hall of Fame inductee is Ricky Rudd, known as the "Iron man" of NASCAR. Rudd holds the record for most consecutive starts – 788 – in NASCAR racing.

Michael Benedict, co-chair of the event, says one of the reasons the club chose to move the event to the Ocean Center is because of the space.

 “Entering the 25th year, we decided it was time to move to a larger venue so we could host a larger event and allow for growth well into the future,” said Benedict.  “We also wanted the hall of fame plaques to be in a more visible and public space so the general public could gain awareness of the Stock Car Hall of Fame’s long history.”

Benedict also said the larger venue at the Ocean Center enabled the club to add live music to the event. This year’s musical guests are ’70s rock band Molly Hatchet and Nashville recording artist Eric Lee Beddingfield.

Ovations, the exclusive caterer of the Ocean Center, will prepare a NASCAR themed dinner, representing cuisines from 23 tracks around the country including Homestead-Miami Speedway’s spicy lobster salad with mango and hearts of palm, Kentucky Speedway’s caramel bread pudding with bourbon hard sauce, and Martinsville Speedway’s carved molasses glazed Virginia ham with petite rolls.

Tickets are $100 and can be purchased by calling 386-255-1222. For more information on the event, visit www.stockcarhalloffame.org.

Learn more about the Ocean Center and its upcoming events at www.oceancenter.com.