NASCAR Hall nominees a who's who of stars

Hall of Fame credentials: First Cup Series champion (1949), '48 NASCAR modified champion, won first NASCAR-sanctioned race ('48).


Richard Childress


Dale Earnhardt


Richie Evans


Tim Flock


Bill France


Bill France Jr.


Rick Hendrick

 

NASCAR patriarch France and his son, Bill France Jr., were among the candidates selected by a 21-member panel. The drivers include Petty, Earnhardt, Johnson, David Pearson, and NASCAR on FOX analyst Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarbrough and Glenn "Fireball" Roberts. Car owners are represented, too, including Bud Moore, Raymond Parks, Rick Hendrick, Richard Childress and Glen Wood. A panel of people in the sport and a fan vote will decide the first class, which will be announced in October. Induction will take place in conjunction with the Hall's opening in May.

Ned Jarrett


Junior Johnson


Raymond Parks


Benny Parsons


David Pearson
 

"That First Class, just like the first baseball class that has the likes of Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb, is going to be extremely special," Hall of Fame director Winston Kelley said.

The list of nominees is a cross section of the sport's history. Yet the star quality in the group begins with Petty and the late Earnhardt, who share the NASCAR record with seven championship titles.

Earnhardt, who died in a last-lap crash at the 2001 Daytona 500, won 76 races and his black No. 3 car, remains one of the signature symbols of NASCAR.

Petty is a Hall of Fame lock. His staggering 200 career victories, 123 poles, 10 consecutive wins and 7 Daytona 500 victories are all records. He remains involved in the sport by helping run a race team, now called Richard Petty Motorsports.