Five legendary drivers with distinct styles and contributions to NASCAR were enshrined into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina during an Induction Ceremony held in the Crown Ball Room at the Charlotte Convention Center.

JEFF GORDON, DRIVER OF THE NO. 24 CHEVROLET SS IN THE NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES AND HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS TEAM OWNER, RICK HENDRICK, MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA THURSDAY TO DISCUSS JEFF GORDON’S ANNOUNCEMENT THAT 2015 WILL BE HIS FINAL FULL SEASON OF NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES COMPETITION.

BELOW IS THE TRANSCRIPT FROM TODAY’S NASCAR TELECONFERENCE WITH JEFF GORDON and TEAM OWNER RICK HENDRICK aftef the announcement that 2015 will be Gordon's last year racing full-time in the Cup series:

NASCAR, NASCAR Team Properties (NTP) and Fanatics jointly announced today a 10-year agreement for the sport’s at-track merchandise business that will deliver fans an enhanced, experiential shopping environment. As part of the agreement, Fanatics has acquired certain exclusive rights from NASCAR and NTP that will make the company the primary retailer of NASCAR, team and driver merchandise at all 38 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekends.

(Note: This release is part of a series in advance of the 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Jan. 30, broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET on NBC
Sports Network, Motor Racing Network Radio and SiriusXM Satellite Radio. Bill Elliott, Fred Lorenzen, Wendell Scott, Joe Weatherly and Rex White are the five 2015 inductees.)

Fred Lorenzen’s NASCAR career was brief, just 158 premier series starts over slightly more than a decade.

During a 13-year premier series career, Wendell Scott likely never considered he was making NASCAR history. The Virginian’s sole concern was getting to the next race on a miniscule budget.

Scott wasn’t the only driver to struggle financially. The odds of making a good living racing stock cars were long in the 1960s and early 1970s when purses were small, large sponsors unheard of and manufacturer support came and went with the turning of the calendar’s pages.