One of the greatest modified racers in NASCAR history, Jerry Cook will deservingly join the International Motorsports Hall of Fame on April 23, 2009.  The 65-year-old New York-native will join fellow inductees J.C. Agajanian, Donnie Allison, Bud Moore and Raymond Parks in a ceremony held at the SPEED Dome next to the Talladega Superspeedway.

"It's a great, great honor," Cook explained. "I'm in many other Hall of Fames, but this one is truly international. To be inducted and associated with people all over the world, there's nothing greater than that. This is absolutely the very top.

"I've been on that list of nominees for awhile,” Cook added. “Every year I'd look at that list and think that there wasn't anybody on it who wasn't deserving. I thought if I never get inducted, at least I was on the list of nominees. When I got that call saying I was in, I figured I might as well go home, because it wasn't going to get any better than this today."

Named among NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers, Cook set the bar high in the NASCAR Modified circuit.  In twenty years as a driver, Cook recorded 342 victories in a total of 1,474 starts.  Looking at the numbers that means Cook went to Victory Lane one out of every four times he raced.  His stats continue to impress when you learn from 1971 through 1977, he won the championship every year except one.  Amazingly, Cook finished in the top three in the final series standings every year from 1969 until 1982.

"Just winning that thing once is pretty tough," the legendary driver went on to say. "It took a lot of preparation. We spent a lot of time in the garage before we went to the track. We wanted to make sure the car was ready to race and it wouldn't fall apart."

After retiring from the sport in 1982, Cook went to work as a NASCAR official. In that capacity, Cook worked to form today’s NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series in 1985 along with the NASCAR North Series (today’s East Series) in 1987. A true pioneer, Cook also put together the initial set of rules for the Truck Series in the mid-nineties.

Today, the Mooresville, N.C. resident is NASCAR’s competition administrator and is responsible for publishing all of the sport’s rule books.

"I'm involved in everything from the Cup to the Modifieds, right on down to the weekly series," Cook explained. "I've always had a good relationship with NASCAR and gotten along with the people who run it.

"I quit racing one day, and the next day I went to work for NASCAR. It was that quick of a deal. I guess it worked out, because that was 26 years ago, and I'm still here."

The 2009 induction ceremony for the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in scheduled for April 23, 2009.  Tickets for the ceremony are available, with individual tickets at $125 and a table of eight can be reserved for just $1,000.  For more information or to reserve your spot, be sure to call 1-256-362-5002 or visit www.racetickets.com.