NASCAR Hall of Fame inducts five new members

NASCAR Hall of Fame inducts five new members

 

 CHARLOTTE—It’s done—the membership in the NASCAR Hall of Fame has officially doubled.

 Stock car racing’s legends and stakeholders gathered Monday night to induct five new members into the Hall of Fame: drivers David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Ned Jarrett and Lee Petty, along with car owner/crew chief Bud Moore.

 The emphasis was on extended family, as the Hall of Fame welcomed its second class of five into NASCAR’s most exclusive family.

 The inductions opened with an introductory video featuring Tom Brokaw, former network news anchor and author of “The Greatest Generation,” who welcomed Moore into the Hall of Fame. Motor Racing Network anchor Barney Hall, a close friend of Moore, took the stage to handle the induction itself.

 Hall noted that it was Moore’s task to groom Dale Earnhardt into the superstar he would become in later years, and indeed, Moore fielded cars for more than 30 drivers, many of them legends of the sport. All told, he won 63 races, 43 poles and two championships as a car owner, to go with the title he won with Buck Baker as a crew chief.

 “It means a lot to see my contribution as a car owner recognized like this,” said Moore, winner of five Purple Hearts during his service in World War II.

 Lee Petty’s grandsons, Richie, Kyle, Tim and Mark, did the honors for the founder of the organization that has achieved more success in NASCAR racing than any other. “He was the glue that kept us all together,” Richie Petty said.

 Kyle Petty emphasized Lee Petty’s work ethic and his determination.

 “This sport, for my grandfather, was not a sport—it was a way of life,” Kyle said. “He raced to put food on the table.”

 Brothers Richard and Maurice Petty accepted the Hall of Fame ring on behalf of their father, who died in 2000.

 “I always said that he was the leader,” said Richard Petty, who was inducted last year as a member of the Hall of Fame’s inaugural class. “He should have been here way before I was.”

 Jarrett, who won 50 races and championships in 1961 and 1965, was inducted by his three children—1999 Cup champion Dale Jarrett, Glenn Jarrett and Patty Makar.

 Glenn Jarrett pointed out that his father has now been inducted into 15 Halls of Fame.

 “Tonight is the ultimate memory,” Glenn said.

 After receiving the ring, Ned Jarrett exclaimed, “Wow. This is the NASCAR Hall of Fame—and now I’m in it. … I am truly humbled by this huge honor—I don’t take it lightly.”

 Presenting the Hall of Fame ring to 84-time winner and 1983 champion Bobby Allison was his brother, 1967 Cup rookie of the year Donnie Allison.

 “He loved his wife, he loved his kids. He never neglected any of ’em. But I always said his first love was racing,” Donnie said.

 As far as Allison is concerned, the familial atmosphere stopped at the asphalt. Allison is often asked why he didn’t let his son Davey win when they ran 1-2 in the 1988 Daytona 500.

 “I’m here to tell you—he wouldn’t have let his mother win,” Donnie said.

 Last to receive his ring was David Pearson, who is second only to Richard Petty in races and poles won during his Cup career. Pearson won 113 poles and took the checkered flag 105 times in 574 career starts. His cunning on the racetrack earned him the nickname “Silver Fox.”

 “He doesn’t care to be in the spotlight,” said former Darlington Raceway PR director Russell Branham, a close friend. “You won’t find any of his trophies in his home—they’re all stored in an old building on his property. … The Hall of Fame is for heroes. Mine enters the Hall of Fame tonight.”

 Pearson asked one of his former crew chiefs, Leonard Wood of Wood Brothers Racing, to join Branham in inducting him.

 Wood described Pearson as “all you ever want in a racecar driver. He had such a great feel for what the racecar was doing. He always qualified faster than he practiced. He had more self-confidence than anybody I’ve ever seen.

 “If the car wasn’t working, you’d better work on it, because it sure wasn’t the driver.”

 Wood recalled that Pearson won 43 Cup races with the Wood Brothers.

 “Nice number,” Wood said, with a sly glance at Richard Petty.

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

 (May 23, 2011)