NASCAR Hall of Fame to enshrine second class

5/2011
NASCAR Hall of Fame to enshrine second class

 Five new members will enter the NASCAR Hall of Fame during an induction ceremony Monday night in Charlotte, constituting a class that was not without controversy when the identities of the five inductees were announced last October. 

Certainly, drivers David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Lee Petty, Ned Jarrett and car owner Walter M. “Bud” Moore—the Hall of Fame’s second class—are far from second-class citizens when it comes to their credentials. All are solid Hall of Fame picks and deserving of the honor.

 The controversy surrounding the announcement of the second class had more to do with NASCAR legends not chosen, rather than those who were—much as the omission of Pearson from the first class was considered in many quarters a glaring oversight.

 Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough, both three-time champions with on-the-track accomplishments comparable to Allison’s, didn’t make the cut. Waltrip won 84 Cup races, as did Allison. Yarborough is fifth on the all-time list with 83 victories and returned to the limelight in 2008 and 2009 when Jimmie Johnson first tied his record of three straight Sprint Cup championships and then broke it.

 Clearly, ongoing contributions to NASCAR racing and other intangibles contributed to the election of the current class. In addition to winning 54 races and three championships, Petty is recognized as the patriarch who founded Petty Enterprises, the most successful dynasty in the history of the sport.

 Jarrett retired in 1966 with 50 wins and two Cup titles but maintained a strong presence in racing for many years thereafter as one of the top broadcasters in the business. Moore made a lifelong contribution as a car owner after returning from World War II as a decorated hero.

 The good news for Waltrip and Yarborough is that they will join the elite group of inductees, perhaps as soon as January 2012, when the next class is enshrined. This year, however, the Hall will celebrate the accomplishments of five men, all champions of the sport—David Pearson, Lee Petty, Bobby Allison, Ned Jarrett and Bud Moore.

 Hall of Fame profile: David Pearson

 Ask Richard Petty to name the greatest driver in NASCAR history, and, chances are, he’ll pick David Pearson. That’s not just modesty on Petty’s part. Pearson was as formidable a competitor as ever to appear on an asphalt oval.

 Despite running a limited schedule for much of his career, Pearson managed to win three Cup titles in the space of four years, in 1966, ’68 and ’69. The Silver Fox notched 105 victories in 574 starts—second all-time to Richard Petty’s 200—for a phenomenal 18.29 winning percentage. One of the top qualifiers in the history of the sport, Pearson also won 113 poles, second only to Petty’s 123.

 The rivalry between Pearson and Petty defined the sport. Their battle of wrecked racecars in the 1976 Daytona 500, with Pearson nursing his crippled No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford through the infield grass and across the finish line for the win, is perhaps most memorable, but Petty and Pearson finished 1-2 a total of 63 times, dominating the races in which they competed together.

 “When we talk about how much we need rivalries in the sport, the Pearson/Petty rivalry should be held up as a great example of how two guys can be fierce rivals on the racetrack but also have a ton of respect for each other off the track,” said former driver Kyle Petty, Richard Petty’s son. “If you ask Richard Petty who the best driver he ever saw drive was, he’d say David Pearson. It’s as simple as that.”

 The Pearson file

• Three Cup titles (1966, 1968, 1969).
• 105 victories, second all time.
• 113 poles, second all time.
• 18.29 career winning percentage in Cup races.
• Won 1976 Daytona 500 in memorable duel with Richard Petty.
• Drove for Wood Brothers from 1972 to 1979.

 Hall of Fame profile: Bobby Allison

 Bobby Allison has 84 official Sprint Cup victories—but he’ll tell you 85. Allison still disputes NASCAR’s failure to count his 1971 win at Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., in a Grand American car.

 Allison also insists—and not completely tongue-in-cheek—that NASCAR owes him a rebate of approximately $2,000 on the fine he, bother Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough earned for fighting in the infield grass after the 1979 Daytona 500, the race that put NASCAR on the national map.

 Yarborough and Donnie Allison got all $6,000 of their fine money back, because they had won enough from the purse to cover their penalties and NASCAR simply withheld the money before later paying it out. Bobby Allison had to kick in $2,000 of his own money, and he never got it back.

 And he hasn’t forgotten. Simply, that’s emblematic of the tenacity that made him one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport. In addition to his 1983 Cup championship, Allison won the Daytona 500 three times, the last victory coming in 1988 when he finished 1-2 with his late son Davey Allison.

 Allison, the leader of the vaunted Alabama Gang, was a hands-on driver who knew the workings of a racecar inside and out.

 “He was, at that time to me, what a real racer was,” three-time champion Darrell Waltrip said. “This was a guy who did it all. He was an underdog, and he viewed himself that way.”

 The Allison file

• Cup champion in 1983.
• 84 career victories, tied for third all time.
• 58 career poles.
• Leader of the Alabama Gang.
• Combined with brother Donnie for 94 wins, the most between two brothers.
• Won three Daytona 500s, the last in 1988 with son Davey Allison running second.

 Hall of Fame profile: Lee Petty

 Perhaps the greatest tribute to Lee Petty was what was born of his flesh and of his handiwork surpassed him.

 In winning 54 races and three championships in a career that began when NASCAR did, Petty laid the ground work for an organization that would dominate stock car racing like no other. The high-water mark was 1967, when Richard Petty, scion of the family patriarch, won 27 races—including 10 in a row—en route to the second of his seven Cup titles.

 In his own right, as a driver, Lee Petty made an indelible impression on the sport. In 1959, he won the first Daytona 500 but had to wait three days while NASCAR studied photos of his virtual dead heat with Johnny Beauchamp and made it official.

 “He didn’t care if he was a legend or a no-name,” Kyle Petty said. “Unlike guys who drive today, and unlike even my father, my grandfather didn’t drive for trophies or for glory. He drove for money. That was essential to being able to keep the business going.

 “So, as far as he was concerned, the stuff that came later, like this Hall of Fame induction, didn’t matter. He didn’t drive a car to be in the Hall of Fame. He drove a car to make money. I don’t think he ever sat and thought about being the first three-time champion or one of the first big names in the sport—he never looked at it that way.”

 Appropriately, Lee Petty, who died April 5, 2000, left that judgment to others, and on Monday night he’ll receive his due.

 The Petty file

• Founder of Petty Enterprises, NASCAR’s most successful organization.
• Won 54 races, tied for ninth-most all time.
• First driver to win three titles (1954, 1958, 1959).
• Won first Daytona 500, in 1959.
• Father or seven-time champion Richard Petty.

 Hall of Fame profile: Ned Jarrett

 Don’t be fooled by Ned Jarrett’s even-tempered demeanor or his nickname “Gentleman Ned.” Jarrett will admit—albeit somewhat facetiously—that on the backstretch of a short track, where the lights were low, he could be as aggressive as anyone else with the bumper of his racecar.

 Though self-effacing enough to refer to himself as the least-talented driver elected to the Hall of Fame so far, Jarrett also could be dominant. In fact, on the way to the second of his two Cup titles in 1965, Jarrett set a NASCAR record for margin of victory that still stands, when he won the Southern 500 at Darlington by 14 laps.

 Jarrett won 50 races, a number that puts him in the informal circle of honor among Cup drivers. Though he retired early at age 34, Jarrett remained a constant presence in the sport as one of the most insightful broadcasters ever to call a race. Most memorable, without a doubt, was his call of the 1993 Daytona 500 won by his son and fellow Cup champion, Dale Jarrett.

“Ned had a huge impact on my life and career because he taught me the sport by showing me how to conduct myself with teams, drivers, track officials and everyone involved,” said Speed broadcaster Steve Byrnes, who co-hosted “Inside NASCAR” with Jarrett for six years. “Simply being around him and watching his interaction with key personnel in the sport was a first-rate education.

 “He has so much character and integrity, but at the same time is such a humble and low-key person. Ned was and is the perfect ambassador for NASCAR.”

 The Jarrett file

• Two-time Cup champion (1961, 1965).
• Won 50 races, tied for 11th all time.
• Won 1965 Southern 500 by 14 laps, a NASCAR record.
• His work in broadcasting is considered pivotal to NASCAR’s growth.
• Father of 1999 Cup champion Dale Jarrett.

 Hall of Fame profile: Walter M. “Bud” Moore

 A self-described “country mechanic,” Bud Moore was a fixture in NASCAR racing for more than 40 years. Moore won a Cup championship as a crew chief (1957 with driver Buck Baker) and two as an owner (1962 and ’63 with driver Joe Weatherly), but his major contribution to the sport lay in providing powerful equipment to a succession of NASCAR’s biggest stars.

 Among the other luminaries who drove for Moore were Buddy Baker, Bobby Allison, Fireball Roberts, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Isaac, Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, Donnie Allison, Geoff Bodine and Ricky Rudd.

 Moore’s on-track accomplishments weren’t confined to NASCAR. In 1970, he fielded the championship Boss 302 Mustang for Parnelli Jones in the Sports Car Club of America’s Trans-Am division.

 A decorated veteran of World War II, Moore won 63 races and 43 poles as a car owner in 959 career starts. One of the most memorable of his victories was the 1978 Daytona 500 with driver Bobby Allison.

 “It was the greatest day of my career and it remained there,” Allison said. “I won some more races. I won the (Coca-Cola) 600 at Charlotte and won at Dover, Atlanta, Rockingham and Pocono. But the 1978 Daytona 500 in the Bud Moore Thunderbird was still the biggest thing in my career—until I finally got that championship several years later.”

 Moore was more than a successful car owner. Outwardly, he was a gruff taskmaster, but he also was a friend and mentor to the drivers he employed.

 “Bud seems to be real hard, a real tough guy, crusty—and he is,” said Rudd, who won six races in Moore’s equipment. “But there’s not a thing he wouldn’t do for any of his friends, to help out somebody.”

 The Moore file

• Won one Cup title as a crew chief (1957 with Buck Baker).
• Won two Cup titles as a car owner (1962, 1963 with Joe Weatherly).
• Won 63 races and 43 poles as an owner.
• Fielded cars for a succession of legendary drivers.
• Decorated World War II veteran.
Reid Spencer