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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Skimpy First Class Hurts The New Hall
The first class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame generates controversy...
Larry Woody  | http://www.RacinToday.com  |  Posted October 20, 2009   Charlotte, NC
NASCAR President and CEO Brian France watches as the list of five inductees to the NASCAR Hall of Fame are posted. (Photo: Getty Images)

If it was chatter that the NASCAR Hall of Fame folks wanted, it was chatter they got.

And – just as I predicted – much of it’s not good.

By limiting the first HOF class to five inductees – FIVE, to represent 62 years of racing! – they created a lot of bruised feelings and peeved fans.

It didn’t help that two Frances were among the first five. Both Bill Sr. and Bill Jr. were inducted, leaving some to wonder if it should be called the France Hall of Fame instead of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

A grand total of three – count ‘em, THREE – drivers were inducted.

When the doors open next spring, the NASCAR Hall of Fame will consist of three drivers. The absurdity is mind-boggling.

The three drivers who were chosen were deserving – Richard Petty, Junior Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, although a case could be made that David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison and even Darrell Waltrip should have been ahead of Earnhardt.

And nobody can dispute that Bill France Sr. deserved first-ballot induction. Without him there would be no NASCAR.

Likewise, nobody can argue that Bill Jr. didn’t deserve induction at some point because his vision and leadership propelled the sport to where it is today.

The problem began with the ridiculous HOF decision to open with a mere five inductees. Yes, I know that the Baseball Hall of Fame opened with an equally-skimpy class. But when it opened the baseball Hall didn’t have 62 years of history and heroes to try to condense in its inaugural class.

Sixty-two years. Three drivers.

I still don’t understand why the HOF was stuck on five. At the very minimum it should have inducted 10. My suggestion (as a non-voter) was to induct all 25 nominees and open the Hall with a resounding, positive bang.

What would have been the harm in that? Would Petty’s place in the Hall be diminished by the fact Pearson and Yarborough and Allison went in with him? Of course not. Not in the least.

My gripe is not with the five who were chosen, but about the 20 who weren’t.


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Larry Woody

RacinToday.com

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