1. David Pearson
2. Bobby Allison
2. Bobby Allison
HOF announcement
- Thread starter TexasRaceLady
- Start date
3. Lee Petty
4. Ned Jarrett
5. Bud Moore
ted@economy
in the interest of equal time
Note to Speed TV ...having DW on the HOF show is a little uncomfortable.If he doesn't get in next year , it may get really uncomfortable.Please consider finding someone else to sit in that chair for everyone's sanity. Can you imagine if he doesn't get in for four or five years.Wow.
VaDirt
Dirt Track Fanatic
I'd have to completely agree with that statement.
buckaroo
Here kitty, kitty, kitty
This really is a popularity contest. I don't have a problem with these guys, but I do believe there are others who might deserve to be in their first. When you say Flock, is there anything other than NASCAR that comes to mind? And there are three of them. I do think that they are trying to keep the current fans in mind when they fill the slots.
mike honcho
Knuckleheads
P
PettyBlue
Guest
How does Bud Moore figure in a popularity contest? Speaking of the Flocks, maybe there should be a provision for inducting some members as a unit, including all three Flocks and the Wood Brothers.
Here's NOL's story on poor DW's disappointment:
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- As if being excluded from a NASCAR Hall of Fame class he thought he deserved to be in wasn't torture enough, then Darrell Waltrip had to conduct television interviews Wednesday with those who were elected ahead of him.
Waltrip, winner of three Cup Series championships and 84 races during his long driving career, did not hide the fact that he was disappointed. Most had projected that both he and another three-time champion, Cale Yarborough, would be included among the five inductees to the second Hall class.
Instead, both were left out. The five who were voted in by the Hall's 52-member voting panel (a 53rd vote cast by fans was determined by on-line balloting on NASCAR.COM) were David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Lee Petty, Ned Jarrett and Bud Moore.
Class of 2011
David Pearson, Bud Moore, Lee Petty, Ned Jarrett and Bobby Allison honored for careers.
Selection 1: David Pearson
Selection 2: Bobby Allison
Selection 3: Lee Petty
Selection 4: Ned Jarrett
Selection 5: Bud Moore
Obviously, it was not all about numbers of race victories or championships.
"We competed against each other. The first go-around it was the guys with seven championships [each] in Richard [Petty] and Dale [Earnhardt]," Waltrip said. "This time it seemed like putting the guys in with three made sense. It would have put a pretty ribbon around it -- but they didn't see it that way."
Jarrett, who won two championships and 50 races but retired at age 34 after only nine seasons of racing full-time at what was then the Cup level, said he felt for Waltrip and Yarborough. He said he thought the first couple of Hall classes should have been larger than only five people.
"I certainly feel for those that did not get in. And I felt all along the first couple of classes should be larger than five," Jarrett said. "NASCAR went out and talked to a lot of people inside the industry [before setting the voting procedure]. They came and talked to [son] Dale [Jarrett] and I together -- and we both thought there should be maybe 15 the first time, and then go to 10 the second, and maybe five from there. Because it's going to be so long for some of these people to get in who are so deserving."
It shouldn't be long for Waltrip or Yarborough, according to voting member Humpy Wheeler.
"Darrell doesn't bother me too bad because Darrell came in a little bit later and he's got plenty of time to make it," Wheeler said. "He should be kind of in David Pearson's role next year -- as Cale should be."
Pearson was excluded from the inaugural Hall class, but was a near-unanimous selection Wednesday to head up the second class. Waltrip said he was told by members of the voting panel that they believed he was going to be a shoo-in even after lengthy discussions amongst the committee earlier Wednesday.
"I think when you have people like Mike Joy and Ken Squier ... these are my friends, and they came out and they said, 'You're in. Don't worry about it.' So I was feeling pretty confident about it," Waltrip said. "But the more I thought about it, I got kind of a sinking feeling -- especially when they started reading off the first couple of names."
Waltrip said he knew when Lee Petty was the third name announced that he was in serious danger of not making it.
"I knew right there I probably was not going to make it," Waltrip said. "Hey, five people. It's hard to make it. Somebody was going to be the odd man out."
Jarrett said that he was sure his many contributions away from the track led to his inclusion in the class. What was left unsaid by Jarrett -- but not completely by others -- was that while Jarrett spent many years promoting the sport unselfishly, the perception was that perhaps Waltrip and Yarborough did not, especially earlier in their driving careers.
"I'm sure Darrell is feeling let down and sad -- and he should, because he certainly is a deserving candidate. Cale Yarborough certainly is a deserving candidate to get into the Hall of Fame," Jarrett said. "They have the numbers, there is no question about that. They are great race-car drivers and Hall of Fame material.
"But there was a lot of discussion about things people have done other than their driving career, plus the fact that some of the others went back further from a historical perspective. There is no question those guys will get in some day. But I think when the voting members looked who did what when -- and Lee Petty certainly is a good example of that; he got in because he was one of the early superstars of the sport -- they looked at it from the standpoint of more than just what they did while driving their race cars."
Wheeler indicated that the mere fact that Waltrip is younger than the other inductees and has greater exposure through his current post-driving career as a television broadcaster may have had much to do with how Wednesday's vote went down.
"It's almost an impossibility [to explain], except maybe for the simple fact that Darrell may have cast an illusion -- the illusion, really, that he just quit; that he hasn't been gone that long [as a competitor]," Wheeler said. "Well, he has been gone from the steering wheel. But he's on TV so much that it's almost like he's still racing in a certain way. That's just kind of the feeling I get toward that. I don't think anybody's got anything against him personally. It's funny how votes go; how things happen."
At least it appears Waltrip will not have to sweat next year's vote -- although he wasn't necessarily feeling that way Wednesday.
"You know, at this point I wouldn't make a prediction," he said.
Hey DW- maybe you'd have gotten in sooner if you hadn't rubbed so many people the wrong way with your obnoxious TV personality.
MRM
Team Owner
It seems like the panel made an effort to get in some guys up there in age, using the "won't be here long" arguement. I was a part of a racing hall of fame group for a few years and that was the sentiment of those people too. They wanted some of the older folks to be around to know about it and still be aware of what's going on too. I can understand that as long as they don't do that every year. When deserving people get pushed back an extra year or two, that penalizes those people as much as it helps the ones that get in at an older age.
dpkimmel2001
Team Owner
It's pretty hard to make the wrong choice out of the 25 nominees. Those weren't my votes but they're as good as any IMO. As far as DW goes, there's always someone that's going to get their feelings hurt by this process. There is such a limited amount of inductees and that's what makes it so special for those that do get selected IMO.
P
PettyBlue
Guest
DW is still too fresh in many people's minds and he hasn't made too many friends with that Digger and "Boogity" crap. That and the fact that he's become a Toyota shill.
S
SST55
Guest
Out of all the nominees Ned Jarrett wouldn't have been at the top of my list.
From listening to the talking heads, I gathered that it wasn't just stats on the track that were considered. A lot of talk was about the contributions made toward expanding the sport outside the track.
R
RIMSHAW
Guest
Bobby Allison IN
Darrell Waldrip OUT
Life is good.
Darrell Waldrip OUT
Life is good.
MRM
Team Owner
I think Ned got in as much for his radio and TV work as he did his driving. He was a broadcaster for almost 30 years. He didn't race anywhere close to that amount of time.
mike honcho
Knuckleheads
Plus didn't Jarrett go out at the top of his game and not ride around in the rear all day for the last couple years of his career.I think that riding around in rear and say you are racing kind of tarnishs the thoughts of people looking at you to put you in the HoF.
dpkimmel2001
Team Owner
Nothing wrong with that IMO. He was a very good NASCAR announcer with MRN and several television networks over the years. The guy also had 50 wins over a seven year period. Not bad at all. He never raced a full season in his NASCAR career yet still won the title twice.
When this whole selection process was announced before the first nominations I thought it was dumb not to have opened the HOF with a much larger class. I changed my mind though. I like that they are only doing the five at a time route. It makes these guys stand out as individuals rather than dumping a large group of people into the Hall.
dpkimmel2001
Team Owner
In 1965 he won 13 of 54 races he entered and won his second Championship. The next year he only raced 21 out of a 49 race season and finished 13th in points.
M
mitchum
Guest
Not sure what your point is. Ned was caught up in the Ford boycott in '66 and that's why he didn't make any more starts than that. He was also running some substandard equipment in part of those.
Ned not only won two championships and fify races and was a stellar broadcaster, he laid out the template for what a modern day driver should be. When a large percentage of the drivers were still knuckle dragging mouth breathers (nothing wrong with that per say, I am one myself a fair percentage of the time) that had trouble giving an upstanding view of what a stock car driver was, Ned was taking a Dale Carnegie public speaking course and sharpening up his wardrobe to be a better ambassador for the sport. He was the first driver I ever saw close up and it was at the First Baptist Church in my home town when he came to speak to a youth group! And that was while still being one of the hardest to pass when his car was even marginally competitive.
This new crowd with their airplanes, motorhomes and whim satisfying entourage, with a very few exceptions, wouldn't have lasted half a season in the "bad ol' days" of coverted street cars, no power steering, racing three nights a week and $800 to win main events. Yes, I said $800 to win events in what is now Cup division.
Ned not only won two championships and fify races and was a stellar broadcaster, he laid out the template for what a modern day driver should be. When a large percentage of the drivers were still knuckle dragging mouth breathers (nothing wrong with that per say, I am one myself a fair percentage of the time) that had trouble giving an upstanding view of what a stock car driver was, Ned was taking a Dale Carnegie public speaking course and sharpening up his wardrobe to be a better ambassador for the sport. He was the first driver I ever saw close up and it was at the First Baptist Church in my home town when he came to speak to a youth group! And that was while still being one of the hardest to pass when his car was even marginally competitive.
This new crowd with their airplanes, motorhomes and whim satisfying entourage, with a very few exceptions, wouldn't have lasted half a season in the "bad ol' days" of coverted street cars, no power steering, racing three nights a week and $800 to win main events. Yes, I said $800 to win events in what is now Cup division.
In 1966 the average yearly income was $4938.36. The average cost of a home was $14,000. I was working for $1.40 an hour.
$800 was a lot of money back then.
Things sure have changed.
dpkimmel2001
Team Owner
My point was/is that he had a stellar NASCAR career over a relatively short period of time and went out on a high note. He won his last Championship the year before he exited the sport as a driver. He also finished 13th in points in his last year only running 21 of 49 races. You and I seem to agree so what's your point?
M
mitchum
Guest
Sorry, I seem to have misunderstood the direction of your post. I thought that you were comparing the two seasons sort of like Waltrip's heyday and later career. I consider Ned a friend but it seems I was defending him when there was no attack.
Ned deliberately made the decision to retire while on top the prevent the kind of scenario that happened to some other drivers. He stated that he wanted to go out on top but ran that one year after his championship so that there would be a defending champion running the races that season and to take adavantage of certain bonuses like extra purse money. There were many, if not all, races that had extra starting money in the entry blank for the champion if he showed up and started the race, not to mention whatever private arrangements that could be made with local car dealers and such.
Ned has a good video shot in '66 call "My Last Race" that tells a lot about his situation and his last season. With the exception of a miscue with the onboard fire extinguisher in that last race (he still finished third IIRC) he could have finished up his career with a win in his last race,
Ned deliberately made the decision to retire while on top the prevent the kind of scenario that happened to some other drivers. He stated that he wanted to go out on top but ran that one year after his championship so that there would be a defending champion running the races that season and to take adavantage of certain bonuses like extra purse money. There were many, if not all, races that had extra starting money in the entry blank for the champion if he showed up and started the race, not to mention whatever private arrangements that could be made with local car dealers and such.
Ned has a good video shot in '66 call "My Last Race" that tells a lot about his situation and his last season. With the exception of a miscue with the onboard fire extinguisher in that last race (he still finished third IIRC) he could have finished up his career with a win in his last race,
dpkimmel2001
Team Owner
No problem. I was just trying to show that he hasn't gone out like some. Impressive to the end.
Like DW did. His last years of racing were a parody. He made himself laughable. He just hung on too long, and left a poor image.
dpkimmel2001
Team Owner
True enough. It has to be a hard thing for some of these guys to do, leave the sport that is. I'd guess that he had to keep looking back at his own history thinking that he still had it in him and felt the he could accomplish some of that magic again.
S
SlowNeasy
Guest
fairly common of athletes in all sports. they always think they can rise to the occasion just one more time and then quit. that time usually never comes around.
different sport but billy wagner (closer for the braves) retired a few days ago while still very effective. wanted to spend more time with his family. rare with professional athletes.
buckaroo
Here kitty, kitty, kitty
I think that is one of the biggest reasons he has so many critics, but then again, his mouth.....
R
Restrictor Plate King!
Guest
All due respect to Jarrett & Bud Moore but how the hell did they get in before Cale, the man won 80+ races including four Dayotna 500's 2 of them back to back & 3 str8 titles. He was the plate king of the late 70's & early 80's before there were plates on the cars, Ironhead before Ironhead was Ironhead. I mean c'mon so this is how it's gonna be from now on huh, just like High School football in Texas where the boosters make all the decisions. Well then, i'll go ahead and buy my HOF class of next year shirt cause I know there is no way he's not makin the next class...
I am getting old but if I remember correctly Cale had to be paid to show up at any function after he retired. He was even paid to attend the opening of the HOF.
Bud and Ned kept giving back to the sport after they pulled the plug and continued giving back for a long time.
Again, any one of the names on the list this time made sense in some way.
ted@economy
in the interest of equal time
I really don't think that it is cast in stone that numbers or stats will be the "only " consideration . Heck this isn't "only about drivers" anyway.Cale will make it in eventually , stay tuned .