On October 14, 2009 NASCAR and the NASCAR Hall of Fame announced the first five inductees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame who will collectively make up the Inaugural Class for 2010. The inductees will be officially enshrined into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in a fitting celebration on May 23, 2010. In celebration of this milestone in racing, The Hall of Fame chose renowned motorsports artist Sam Bass, the “First Officially Licensed Artist of NASCAR” to create a design that captured the essence of the Hall, in a design that will become part of the permanent display upon the Hall’s opening. The five cars created to celebrate each individual inductee feature a modi­fied version of the Sam Bass Hall of Fame design. The inductee cars keep the key elements intact, while updating the door panels to reflect “Class of ‘10” and the hood to feature the inductee’s likeness and signature as well as the NASCAR Hall of Fame logo. In addition a special finish called Flashcoat Silver, a silver toned, color shifting finish is used on the hood, nose and roof of the car replacing the grey of the original design. These five cars are joined with the Sam Bass / NASCAR Hall of Fame car as well as Class of 2010 car to create the seven car 2010 NASCAR Hall of Fame series.