NASCAR reveals names of first Hall of Fame classFrance Sr. and Jr., Petty, Earnhardt, Johnson honored CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NASCAR on Wednesday announced the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame that includes:
Dale Earnhardt, Bill France Sr., Bill France Jr., Junior Johnson and
Richard Petty.The NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel, consisting of members of the
Nominating Committee along with 29 others representing NASCAR, the
NASCAR Hall of Fame, major race track ownership groups, retired
drivers, owners and crew chiefs along with motorsports media
representatives, met in a closed session in Charlotte, N.C. to vote on
the Induction Class of 2010.
The class was determined by the 51 votes cast by the panel and the
nationwide fan vote conducted through NASCAR.COM. The accounting firm
of Ernst & Young presided over the tabulation of the votes. The Class of 2010 will be officially inducted in a ceremony on May 23, 2010 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte. The results of the voting for the final five chosen in this inaugural class proved competitive. Also receiving votes were
David Pearson,
Cale Yarborough and
Bobby Allison.As part of the inclusive voting process, more than 670,000 NASCAR fans
submitted votes online at NASCAR.COM as part of the fan voting process.
This remarkable fan feedback once again demonstrates fans' passion and
knowledge of the sport and its heritage. The fans voted Petty,
Earnhardt, France Sr., Yarborough and Allison as their top five. The nominees included many of the sport's legendary names: Bobby Allison,
Buck Baker,
Red Byron,
Richard Childress, Dale Earnhardt, Richie Evans,
Tim Flock, Bill France Jr., Bill France Sr.,
Rick Hendrick, Ned Jarrett, Junior Johnson, Bud Moore, Raymond Parks,
Benny Parsons, David Pearson, Lee Petty, Richard Petty, Fireball Roberts, Herb Thomas, Curtis Turner,
Darrell Waltrip, Joe Weatherly, Glen Wood and Cale Yarborough.The NASCAR Hall of Fame broke ground in Charlotte on Jan. 25, 2007 and
will open May 11, 2010. The facility honors the history and heritage of
NASCAR and the many who have contributed to the success of NASCAR.
Highlighting the Class of 2010: 
• Bill France Sr. |
Selection Video |
HOF gear |
Complete BioCalled "Big Bill," only partly because of his 6-foot-5 stature, France
spearheaded NASCAR from its beginning and directed it to its present
status as the world's largest stock-car racing organization. In 1936, he helped lay out the first beach/road course in Daytona
Beach; in the first race on the course he finished fifth. Starting in
1938, he helped promote races on the sands of Daytona Beach. In 1947, France became the driving force behind the establishment of
the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. NASCAR, it was
called, resulting from a famous meeting at the Streamline Hotel on
State Road A1A in Daytona Beach -- a structure that stands to this day,
as a racing landmark. "Big Bill" France passed away in June 1992. He
left behind a lasting legacy.
• Richard Petty |
Selection Video |
HOF gear |
Complete BioKnown as "the King", Richard Petty's Cup Series records are staggering:
Most wins (200), most poles (123), tied for most championships (seven),
most wins in a season (27), most Daytona 500 wins (seven), most
consecutive wins (10) and most starts (1,185). Petty's success
continued even after his retirement from driving in 1992. He would
still hold the top spot in the family business -- Petty Enterprises,
and now, Richard Petty Motorsports. In all, Petty Enterprises totaled
268 victories before merging with Gillett Evernham Motorsports for the
2009 season to become Richard Petty Motorsports.
• Bill France Jr. |
Selection Video |
HOF gear |
Complete BioWilliam Clifton France is remembered -- and revered -- as the man who
followed his visionary father at NASCAR's helm, in the process becoming
a visionary himself, as he guided NASCAR to unprecedented levels of
popularity. France became NASCAR's president in January 1972,
replacing his father and becoming only the second president of the
world's largest auto-racing sanctioning body. His emergence coincided
with the sport's emergence, and its eventual ascent to become America's
No. 1 form of motorsports and the nation's second-most popular sport
overall. France, often referred to as "Bill Jr.," remained
president until November 2000. At that time, France announced the
formation of a NASCAR Board of Directors on which he served as chairman
and CEO until October 2003 when he was replaced by his son, Brian Z.
France. After that, he continued to serve the sport for the remainder
of his life as NASCAR Vice Chairman.
• Dale Earnhardt |
Selection Video |
HOF gear |
Complete BioEarnhardt co-holds the record for most Cup Series championships (seven)
with Richard Petty. In only his second full season, 1980, Earnhardt
nabbed his first championship. He won consecutive titles on three
separate occasions (1986-87, '90-91 and '93-94). Earnhardt's 76
victories rank seventh all time. He is the all-time leader in
race victories at Daytona International Speedway with 34, though the
most prominent of them was a while in the making. In 1998,
Earnhardt won his most coveted race -- the Daytona 500. The scene was a
memorable one, forever etched in the minds of race fans. As Earnhardt's
black No. 3 rolled down pit road, a Daytona 500 winner at last, every
crew member from every team lined up to congratulate one of the
greatest drivers in NASCAR history.
• Junior Johnson |
Selection Video |
HOF gear |
Complete Bio Robert Glenn "Junior" Johnson is unique in NASCAR history, with tremendous success both as a driver and a car owner.Johnson won the second annual Daytona 500 in 1960 and in the process,
became credited with the discovery of "drafting" on the massive
superspeedways. He won 50 races in the Cup Series then surprised many
people by retiring from driving to become an owner. As an
owner, Johnson never missed a beat; through the years, his drivers won
132 races. There also were six series championships produced with Cale
Yarborough (1976-78) and Darrell Waltrip (1981-82, '85). Named
one of NASCAR's "50 Greatest Drivers" in 1998, Johnson resides in
Wilkesboro, N.C., and remains one of the sport's most enduring -- and
endearing -- personalities, at the age of 78.
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Subject: Re: Nascar 2009 
October 11th 2009, 10:24 pm
Chima... sounds about right
