NASCAR has announced it will reveal the first candidates for induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame this Thursday night. In an event hosted by living legend Ken Squire, the first 25 nominees will be made public live on your local SPEED channel at 8pm E.T.

From those 25 names, which were selected by the Hall of Fame Voting Panel, only five will be honored as the first class of inductees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The 21-person panel includes a fan vote, along with representatives from NASCAR, the NASCAR Hall of Fame and owners/operators of major speedways and historic short tracks.

Leading up to Thursday’s event, NASCAR will announce some of the 25 nominees on a daily blog on NASCAR.com. The SPEED program will go through the 25 people selected, providing a background – complete with video and pictures – to help tell of that person’s contribution to the sport of NASCAR.

Following the program, NASCAR.com will feature a gallery with all 25 nominees and will open the registration for the fan vote.

Set to open May 11, 2010, the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, NC is quickly taking shape and nearing completion. The announcement of the 25 nominees is the next step in long journey to honor the sport’s finest.

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