Christian inducts Uncle Emerson into Hall of Fame.

The Fittipaldi name is synonymous with motor racing, and last night Christian, currently carrying on the legacy in the CART FedEx Championship series, served as a presenter at the induction of his Uncle, Emerson Fittipaldi, into the Motorsports Hall of Fame, at the State Theatre in Detroit, Michigan.

"It's a honour to be asked to present my uncle with this award," said Christian. "I think that myself, like any other Brazilian driver, owes a lot to my father and my uncle because they were the pioneers who first put Brazil on the international map in terms of racing. I am proud of Emerson's accomplishments not only as his nephew but also as a racing driver in general. He has established himself as one of the great legends in the sport of auto racing."

The Fittipaldi name was first made famous by Wilson, Sr., Christian's grandfather, who was a celebrated sports broadcaster in Brazil beginning in the 1950s when radio was the most popular medium for sports coverage as TV coverage was not yet aired live. Wilson Sr's coverage of the most popular sports - racing and soccer - led to Wilson, Jr., Christian's father, and Emerson's involvement with racing.

Among Emerson's accomplishments in open-wheel racing was his Formula One title in 1972, where he won five races and three poles en route to becoming the youngest World Champion at the age of 25. After a runner-up finish in the World Championship the following year, Emerson again took the crown in 1974.

There then followed a brief stint as a Formula One team owner with his brother Wilson, before Emerson retired from Formula One competition at the end of the 1982 season.

In 1984, the Brazilian made the move to CART and proceeded to amass 22 wins, 17 poles, 2,624 laps led and more than $14.2 million in earnings before his final race in CART at Michigan in 1996.

His career highlights included winning the 1989 CART Championship, as well as winning the Indianapolis 500 two times - 1989 and 1993.

Like his uncle, Christian Fittipaldi raced in Formula One prior to coming to the CART FedEx Championship series. The current Newman Haas star went to Formula One in 1992 as a 21-year-old after winning the Formula 3000 championship.

In his three years in the series he scored three fourth places with the Minardi (one) and Arrows (two) teams, before setting his sites on CART beginning with the 1995 season.

To date, he has scored two CART victories - the Texaco/Havoline 200 at Road America in 1999 and the Marlboro 500 at the California Speedway in 2000 - and one pole in the Rio 200 in his homeland of Brazil.