[Lefty Noob]

There's an article over at Yahoo! Sports that asks this fascinating question.

Now that we know where NASCAR's much-ballyhooed Hall of Fame is going to be built, the bigger question remains: Who will be the building blocks of its legacy?

It was announced this week that the $107.5 million hall, expected to lure hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, will open by 2009 in downtown Charlotte, the heartland of the stock car sport. It beat out Atlanta and Daytona Beach in the final showdown of big plans and big dollars.

But no one knows how the first class of inductees will be picked, or by whom. Whatever the process, there is going to be a debate of enormous magnitude.

Among the many, many possible candidates they list are: Bill France, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, David Pearson Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Neil Bonnett, Davey Allison, Donnie Allison, Buddy Baker, Harry Gant, LeeRoy Yarbrough, Darrell Waltrip, Benny Parsons, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Bill Elliott, Tim Richmond, Alan Kulwicki, Dale Jarrett, Terry Labonte, Lee Petty, Red Byron, Junior Johnson, Buck Baker, Tim Flock, Fonty Flock, Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, Fred Lorenzen, Ned Jarrett, Bill Rexford, Herb Thomas, Joe Weatherly, Curtis Turner, Rex White, Tiny Lund, Bobby Isaac and Wendell Scott.

Who would you put in your first class of NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees?

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

There's an article over at Yahoo! Sports that asks this fascinating question.



Among the many, many possible candidates they list are: Bill France, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, David Pearson Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Neil Bonnett, Davey Allison, Donnie Allison, Buddy Baker, Harry Gant, LeeRoy Yarbrough, Darrell Waltrip, Benny Parsons, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Bill Elliott, Tim Richmond, Alan Kulwicki, Dale Jarrett, Terry Labonte, Lee Petty, Red Byron, Junior Johnson, Buck Baker, Tim Flock, Fonty Flock, Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, Fred Lorenzen, Ned Jarrett, Bill Rexford, Herb Thomas, Joe Weatherly, Curtis Turner, Rex White, Tiny Lund, Bobby Isaac and Wendell Scott.

Who would you put in your first class of NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees?

Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, on account of the MLB Hall of Fame not taking them...so maybe...the NASCAR Hall of Fame would extend a pitty invite?

[sehja]

Among the many, many possible candidates they list are: Bill France, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, David Pearson Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Neil Bonnett, Davey Allison, Donnie Allison, Buddy Baker, Harry Gant, LeeRoy Yarbrough, Darrell Waltrip, Benny Parsons, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Bill Elliott, Tim Richmond, Alan Kulwicki, Dale Jarrett, Terry Labonte, Lee Petty, Red Byron, Junior Johnson, Buck Baker, Tim Flock, Fonty Flock, Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, Fred Lorenzen, Ned Jarrett, Bill Rexford, Herb Thomas, Joe Weatherly, Curtis Turner, Rex White, Tiny Lund, Bobby Isaac and Wendell Scott.


I sent this list to a 70 yr old woman who has never followed racing and neither does anyone in her family to see if she recognizes any of these names - meaning they were so big and so good at what they did they transcended the sport.

She knew Richard Petty, David Pearson, Dale Earnhardt and Junior Johnson - she also knows of a racer named Allison but wasn't sure which one it was. When I asked her to name the most famous racecar driver ever she said ( I kid you not) "that UPS guy".

[Lefty Noob]

Certainly Petty and Earnhardt are locks. The article also seemed to suggest that France was a shoo-in as well. I guess a lot of this depends upon how big each class will be and what the voting procedure is. Assuming there's a 5-8 person limit for inductees each year, who would make your ballot?

[candlejack]

I have thought about this a little...I really don't see Sr. getting elected in the first go around. Second, definately, but, not the first. I would probably go with "Fireball", Bonnett, Yarborough, Davey Allison, and N. Jarrett.

[CRMartin]

Earnhardt will get in on the first. Too much emotional attachment between the man, the sport, and the fans. Petty, Yarborough, its going to be interesting to see how many they allow./

[LSC9901]

Not that I like Fox Sports but they did make an interesting observation. Maybe they should have different catagories. There are many levels of experts in NASCAR and maybe they should all have the chance to get in to the HOF. There are times when the tire changers are more valuable than Bill France ever was so I feel there should be different catagories so that the little unknows get a chance to be honored also.

[Lefty Noob]

There are times when the tire changers are more valuable than Bill France ever was...

Great point. All of the other Halls have categories for coaches, contributors, etc. Will or should crew chiefs, mechanics and the like be eligible for the NASCAR Hall of Fame? I vote a resounding yes - these guys often win or lose the races for the drivers with the work that they do.

[drnascar48]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

There's an article over at Yahoo! Sports that asks this fascinating question.



Among the many, many possible candidates they list are: Bill France, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, David Pearson Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Neil Bonnett, Davey Allison, Donnie Allison, Buddy Baker, Harry Gant, LeeRoy Yarbrough, Darrell Waltrip, Benny Parsons, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Bill Elliott, Tim Richmond, Alan Kulwicki, Dale Jarrett, Terry Labonte, Lee Petty, Red Byron, Junior Johnson, Buck Baker, Tim Flock, Fonty Flock, Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, Fred Lorenzen, Ned Jarrett, Bill Rexford, Herb Thomas, Joe Weatherly, Curtis Turner, Rex White, Tiny Lund, Bobby Isaac and Wendell Scott.

Who would you put in your first class of NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees?

The Wood brothers, Ken Sharder, and Jeff Gordon

[Lefty Noob]

I don't think you can put Gordon in already. Maybe in a few more years, but not yet.

[jamminj]

I don't think there should be any ACTIVE drivers inducted (Gordon). Their carrers aren't over. Gordon should be inducted someday though, I don't think anyone would argue with that.

I also believe that Big E will go in the first round.

I agree that there should be catergoies for crew chiefs and the like.

Too bad I'm in CA, 'cause NC is pretty far.

[Lefty Noob]

I don't know about banning active drivers, because some of these guys race a pretty long time. Maybe require them to be retired or, say, 15 to 20 year vets? That would at least force them to be good and consistant, proving themselves by putting up a solid body of work over time.

[jamminj]

Do any other HOF's induct active players? I dunno.

[rmjvol]

I don't think they do and I wouldn't like it if they did. The NASCAR hall of Fame needs to be reserved for those who are no longer active.

[Lefty Noob]

So then, how long do you need to be retired to get in? And do you need to retire completely from racing, or at least all NASCAR events, or just Nextel Cup events? If a guy races one track a year, is he considered an active driver, or is their a maximum race cap?

I just think there are too many variables involved to start comparing car racing to baseball or football. And by the way, I'm not positive but I think that active tennis players, boxers and basketball coaches can all be enshrined into their respective Halls of Fame.