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RALEIGH — A singular sports week in North Carolina started Wednesday evening when Richard Childress unveiled one of the most iconic treasures in our state:

The black No. 3.

The ceremony was held at the N.C. Museum of History at a special program kicking off what is one of the great sports weeks in this state. Tonight, as the Hurricanes try to win Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, six people will join the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. And for the next 11 days, the entire sport of NASCAR will be home in Charlotte.

"It's fitting that we unveil this car this week," Hall member Ned Jarrett said. "Racing is at the core of sports in this state."

The six joining the Hall are among the most influential people in this state's recent sporting history. They include Dr. Willie Burden, a former N.C. State running back and athletics director at N.C. A&T; Sylvia Hatchell, the UNC women's basketball coach; Jerry Moore, the Appalachian State football coach; Dave Odom, the Guilford grad and longtime high school and college basketball coach; John Swofford, the commissioner of the ACC; and Roger Wilson, probably the best club pro in N.C. history.

They were all together Wednesday at an invitation-only unveiling of Dale Earnhardt's famous Chevy, talking racing and hockey and telling stories about old battles, great victories and great defeats. And these people have great stories to tell.

The best of our sports figures don't ever really walk away. They endure forever in the stories they tell and the tales they inspire. And the best stories are those we never really hear.

Willie Burden is remembered for scoring touchdowns at Enloe High before starring on Saturdays wearing Wolfpack red. Few people know his No. 10 jersey was retired by the Calgary Stampeders.

Sylvia Hatchell has won more than 800 games as a coach, including the 1994 NCAA championship game. Not many people know she's the only basketball coach in history to win national titles at three different levels (AIAW, NAIA and NCAA).

Jerry Moore won three straight national titles at Appalachian and is one of four football coaches with more than 200 wins in the old I-AA ranks. Only 22 coaches at any level have won more games.

Dave Odom's teams made nine trips to the NCAA tournament. He was the national coach of the year in 1995, won two ACC Tournaments at Wake Forest and three NIT titles (two at South Carolina). But few people remember that he played quarterback at Guilford, then coached for 11 years in N.C. high schools.

John Swofford built the modern athletics program at UNC, where he was AD for 17 years before becoming one of the nation's most influential conference commissioners. He's been at the ACC since 1997. Not many people know he was a three-sport MVP in track, basketball and football and Morehead Scholar during his schoolboy days at Wilkes Central High School.

Roger Watson won the 1974 and 1975 PGA Club Professional championships, defeating Sam Snead in a playoff at Pinehurst No. 2 in the '74 tournament. He's since become one of the top golf course developers in the state. Almost no one knows he was also inducted into the N.C. Sportswriters Hall of Fame.

They'll all join our sports Hall tonight in a ceremony at the North Raleigh Hilton, a special event for those lucky enough to witness the annual event and even for the hundreds of people who will flock to the hotel parking and lobby for pictures and autographs and the chance meeting of some of the state's biggest stars. Many of the living members of the Hall will be there, and they'll gather and talk about the old days and these days and days to come.

Wednesday, they all gathered around the black 3 car and among the many treasures of the state's sporting history, the plaques and trophies and uniforms and cleats and clubs and the balls, all gathered under the banners hanging from the rafters depicting all the Hall members.

"We want to make this a really special place," outgoing Hall president Wilt Browning, a former News & Record sports columnist, said inside the museum of history across from the Capitol building. "This is a special week for the whole state, really."

Tonight will be special, and the next few days will be memorable as racing returns home where it belongs and the Canes go after another Stanley Cup title and the entire state pauses to appreciate just how cool it is to be a sports fan in North Carolina.

Contact Ed Hardin at 373-7069 or ed.hardin@news-record.com