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Scott Tom Walkinshaw's passion for Bathurst and fans of Australian fans were the main motivators for attacking the auto scene and local races, said his son Ryan.
Tom Walkinshaw, who died of cancer in 2010, at the age of 64, was inducted into the Supercars Hall of Fame on Monday night at the Gala Awards.
This honor recognizes Walkinshaw's contribution to the Supercars, which the Holden Racing team dominated from 1996 to 2002.
Walkinshaw first ventured to Bathurst as co-pilot of John Goss in 1984, when a clutch failure left him propped up on the grid, triggering a scrum at several cars that started the race
He returned a year later with his three-car Jaguar attack, Tom Walkinshaw Racing, scoring pole and finishing third in the race, won by one of the two XJS sisters.
These first visits preceded the creation of Holden Special Vehicles in 1987; becomes Holden's high performance partner after the split of General Motors with Peter Brock.
The third and last Bathurst from Walkinshaw as a pilot arrived in 1988
Walkinshaw soon created his own racing team in Australia to complete the arm of the road car, operating under the banner of the Holden Racing Team from 1990.
The Supercars team operated while Walkinshaw and TWR, elsewhere in the world, have been successful in many other disciplines, including Formula 1 and Le Mans.
At the Gala Awards, Ryan and his mother Martine agreed to be inducted into Tom's Hall of Fame, where Ryan described his father's passion for Australian motorsport.
"My father was known to be a fierce runner, a competitor and a businessman," Ryan told the public.
"He was one of the few ex-runners who managed to move from being a runner to the motorsport business and achieving that.
"He was a man who never gave up on his ambitions and often did everything necessary to become a winner.
Ryan and Martine Walkinshaw on stage
"I guess what he liked about Australian motorsport was what he always liked about Australian motorsport.
"He has a huge base of passionate fans, world-class teams and professionals and is one of the last bastions of the real track race.
"His love for Bathurst, his love for the passion shown by the fans, is at the origin of the reason he created a team and a car company here and that's why we continue to run and do business here today. "
Walkinshaw lost control of his team Supercars in 2003 due to the collapse of the Arrows F1 team and his empire, but was re-involved two years later and repossessed his lands at the end of the decade.
Despite the loss of its Holden factory contract at the end of 2016, the team is still operational today, under the banner of Walkinshaw Andretti United.
Ryan Walkinshaw noted that his father's Hall of Fame inducement was a tribute to all those who have worked for the team over the last three decades.
Ryan and Martine Accept Hall of Fame Inductee on Tom's Name
"Dad would have been one of the first to say, without the incredible talents of those who supported him – the engineers, the drivers, the mechanics, all the team members along the way – he would not have could not achieve anything that he did, "he said.
"This induction into the Hall of Fame is not just about him, it's about all the people who supported him throughout the trip."
Ryan also paid tribute to the support of his mother, Martine, who made a rare public speech to pay tribute to the occasion.
"I'm not one to talk in public, but I want to take this opportunity for him and the family, to thank Supercars for giving this great honor to my late husband, Tom," she said.
"It really means a lot and I just wish he was always there so he could stand before us to receive this honor himself.
"We miss him a lot and seeing him honored in this way is something I will cherish forever."
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