Texas Hall of Fame names newest inductees.

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series veteran Terry Labonte and long time drag racing veteran Lee Shepherd will be the next inductees into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame.

The induction ceremony will take place on Thursday, April 14, at Texas Motor Speedway during the Samsung/RadioShack NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race weekend.

Labonte and Shepherd join inaugural award winners Johnny Rutherford and A.J. Foyt as members in the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Labonte has won on short tracks, intermediate tracks, superspeedways and road courses in his 26-year NASCAR career.

The 2006 season will be his final one as a driver. Along the way "Texas Terry" won the 1984 and 1996 Cup Championship after finding his love for racing at the age of seven in quarter-midgets in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Shepherd was one of the best drag racers ever to compete in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and International Hot Rod Association (IHRA). The soft-spoken Texan won four straight NHRA championships in 1981-84 and was on his way to a fifth consecutive title when the drag racing world was rocked by news that he had died in a testing accident in Oklahoma on March 11, 1985. Shepherd was the first driver to win both the NHRA and IHRA Pro Stock championships.

In addition to Labonte and Shepherd being inducted, the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame has announced other award winners.

Jim Hall of Midland, Texas, has been named the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame Bruton Smith Legends Award winner. Hall helped revolutionise open-wheel racing with his development of the famous Chaparral race car.

Tony Kanaan won the 2004 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series Championship and earned the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame Racer of the Year Award.

Texas Motor Speedway added soft walls in the past year and in so doing Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame has honoured the designer of the SAFER barrier walls, Dr. Dean Sicking, with the Vision Award.

It is no secret the amount of time and resources Kyle Petty gives to charity, and in particular the Victory Junction Gang. Kyle and his wife Pattie will be honoured with the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame Sportsmanship Award.

The 2005 Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame Awards Luncheon will be on Thursday, April 14, in The Grand Ballroom at Texas Motor Speedway.