The North Carolina Motorsports Association (NCMA) announced on Tuesday that it will bestow upon Dale Earnhardt its 2010 Motorsports Tribute Award. The NCMA will hold its fourth-annual Motorsports Industry Awards Banquet on Jan. 25, and it is then that the honor will be made official.

The three previous honorees include Benny Parsons in 2007, Richard Petty in 2008, and Richard Childress in 2009.

According to a press release from the NCMA, Earnhardt was selected to receive the honor for both on-track and off-track reasons. The seven-time Cup champion and 76 race winner "influenced the on-track and off-track growth of the sport. His tragic death in 2001 led to tremendous changes in safety that surely has saved drivers lives in today's auto racing."