Championship car owner and NASCAR Hall of Famer Bud Moore will serve as grand marshal for the 45th annual Mountain Moonshine Festival in October.

"We're real honored to have him," said Gordon Pirkle, a local racing historian and board member of KARE for Kids, which organizes the festival.

A World War II veteran and former crew chief for Buck Baker, Moore fielded his first "Cup" team in 1961 and won championships in 1962 and '63 with driver Joe Weatherly.

Bud Moore Engineering later became one of the first multi-car teams in NASCAR history.

"He's one of the pioneers of racing," Pirkle said.

During 37 seasons in NASCAR's premier division, Moore's cars won 63 times and finished with 298 top-five finishes and 463 top-10s. His cars also won 43 poles in the team's 959 starts.

Moore's goal to put winning cars on the tracks attracted drivers such as Dale Earnhardt, David Pearson, Buddy Baker, Bobby Allison, Benny Parsons, Ricky Rudd and Geoffrey Bodine to his team.

In 2011, Moore was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame for his contributions to the sport, along with Pearson and Allison.

"Now that Bud Moore is going to be our grand marshal, he'll be the fourth NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee we've had," Pirkle said.

Baker, Pearson and Junior Johnson have also served as grand marshals for the festival.

The 45th annual Mountain Moonshine Festival is set for Oct. 26-28, beginning with the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame's induction ceremony.

As grand marshal, Moore, who is also expected to attend the induction, will lead the Saturday morning parade that kicks off the festival.