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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: First HoF Class Star-Studded
Junior Johnson was one of the first five men inducted into the 2010 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted October 14, 2009   Charlotte, NC
The inaugural class being inducted into the NASCAR Hall Of Fame includes (L-R) Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Junior Johnson, Bill France Sr. and Bill France Jr. (Photo: NASCAR)

Given the impressive and deep list of 25 nominees to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, it would have been impossible to come up with a bad inaugural class of honorees. And so Wednesday’s announcement of the first NASCAR Hall of Fame Class was loaded with blue-chip names.

NASCAR founder Bill France Sr.? A slam-dunk choice.

Ditto for NASCAR’s only two seven-time Sprint Cup champions, Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. They had to be in the first class for the NASCAR Hall, which opens May 11, 2010 in Uptown Charlotte. No way they were going to be left out.

Bill France Jr., the man who oversaw NASCAR’s phenomenal explosion in popularity, was a great choice, too, the only question being whether he’d go into the Hall of Fame in the first class or the second. There was absolutely no question about his credentials, though.

The closest thing to a wild-card choice was Junior Johnson, who enjoyed tremendous success as both an owner and a driver — 50 victories behind the wheel himself and six championships and 132 race victories as a car owner.

That was enough to get Johnson in as the fifth and final nominee ahead of David Pearson, who gathered the sixth-most votes.

Pearson, who ranks second all-time in Sprint Cup race victories, insisted he was not disappointed at missing out on the first vote. “Everybody can’t vote for the same person,” said Pearson, who won 105 Cup races and almost certainly will go in the class of 2011. “You just don’t ever know.”

For those voted in and their respective families, Wednesday’s announcement was a landmark event.

NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France got to see his father and grandfather selected in the first class, as expected. “It was really neat,” said Brian France. “I didn’t know until I opened the envelopes. I only had one vote (of the 51 total votes), like everyone else, but obviously, it’s a wonderful feeling. I know how hard and dedicated my grandfather and father both — how much they put into the sport.”

It was an emotional day, too, for Teresa Earnhardt, widow of the seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt.

“I’m very proud and I know all of our friends and family and fans are very proud, too,” said Earnhardt. “ … It speaks volumes that he’s one of the first in the inaugural class of five to be inducted. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for that voting panel because of all the incredible candidates they had to choose from over 50 years.”

And then, echoing the sentiments of millions of Earnhardt fans, she added, “Of course, to us, Dale is always No. 1.”

Petty, who won a record 200 NASCAR races, was a natural choice to make it in, too. Petty cited his late father, Lee, the family patriarch and fellow Hall of Fame nominee, for paving the way for his historic career. “Without Lee Petty, there wouldn’t have been a Richard Petty from that standpoint,” said Richard. “He came in when they first started running. He was his own mechanic, he drove his own car. He owned his own car. He done the whole ball of wax. Without him or the guys who followed suit … none of us would be here. We might have accomplished something, but it wouldn’t be near as big as what it is today.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED, and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to



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