Third NASCAR Hall of Fame class to be announced Tuesday

Third NASCAR Hall of Fame class to be announced Tuesday

 

 (June 13, 2011)

 

The third five-member class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame will be selected by a 55-member panel Tuesday, and three-time Cup champions Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough are among the 25 nominees.

 

Waltrip and Yarborough, considered to have a good chance to get in the second class but who missed the cut, are the two drivers with the most championships not among the 10 current inductees.

 

The voting panel will meet Tuesday, and each candidate’s qualifications will be discussed before the vote is taken. Each panelist will select five people from the 25 nominees. The five who get the most votes from the panel will make up the third class. The panelists do not rank their selections.

 

Waltrip is considered a favorite after failing to make the final five a year ago.

 

Tied for third in career victories with 84, Waltrip won championships in 1981, 1982 and 1985 while driving for Junior Johnson. He also has spent the past 11 seasons as a commentator for Fox Sports.

 

Yarborough won three consecutive titles (1976-78) and is one of two drivers to accomplish that feat—along with five-time consecutive champ Jimmie Johnson. Yarborough ranks sixth all time with 83 career victories and has four Daytona 500 victories, second only to Richard Petty’s seven. He also was an owner in the series from 1987 to 1999.

 

The 25 nominees:

 

• Buck Baker, the first driver to win consecutive Cup championships (1956-57); won 46 Cup races.
• Red Byron, the first Cup champion (1949).
• Richard Childress, car owner with 11 championships in NASCAR’s three national series.
• Jerry Cook, a six-time NASCAR Modified champion.
• H. Clay Earles, founder of Martinsville Speedway.
• Richie Evans, a nine-time NASCAR Modified champion.
• Tim Flock, a two-time Cup champion and winner of 39 Cup races.
• Rick Hendrick, car owner with 12 championships in NASCAR’s three national series.
• Jack Ingram, a two-time Nationwide champion and winner of 31 Nationwide races.
• Dale Inman, an eight-time Cup championship crew chief.
• Bobby Isaac, the 1970 Cup champion and winner of 37 Cup races.
• Fred Lorenzen, 26 Cup wins, including the Daytona 500 and World 600.
• Cotton Owens, a driver-owner, who won the 1966 owner championship with David Pearson.
• Raymond Parks, NASCAR’s first champion car owner.
• Benny Parsons, the 1973 Cup champion and a former commentator.
• Les Richter, former NASCAR executive and former president of Riverside International Raceway.
• Fireball Roberts, winner of 33 Cup races, including the 1962 Daytona 500.
• T. Wayne Robertson, who helped raise NASCAR’s popularity as a senior vice president at R.J. Reynolds.
• Herb Thomas, the first two-time Cup champion (1951 and ’53) and a winner of 48 Cup races.
• Curtis Turner, an early star, who was called the “Babe Ruth of stock car racing.”
• Darrell Waltrip, winner of three Cup championships and 84 Cup races.
• Joe Weatherly, a two-time Cup champion.
• Glen Wood, who as a driver, laid the foundation for Wood Brothers’ future team success.
• Leonard Wood, co-owner and former crew chief for Wood Brothers who also revolutionized pit stops.
• Cale Yarborough, winner of three consecutive Cup championships (1976-78) and 83 Cup races.