This week, a fresh column for you from yours truly over at
www.georgiaracinghistory.com .On Wednesday, the first five inductees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame were announced.To no great surprise, but to much sadness, the list was devoid of any of the great pioneers of the sport (save Big Bill France), and more notably, the absence of Raymond Parks, the man whom, without the support of his race teams and his financial support, there would be no NASCAR.You can read more about this by going to
http://www.georgiaracinghistory.com .And don't forget, the 2009 Georgia Racing Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at the Dawsonville City Hall, which houses the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame, on Friday, Oct. 23.Today (Friday, Oct. 16) is the final day to get tickets for the induction banquet at $50. After today, the cost will be $55. You MUST HAVE a reserved ticket to get into the banquet that night.For more information on purchasing a ticket or on the banquet, you can call 706-265-3256,or go online to
http://www.georgiaracinghof.com .Thanks, and have a great weekend!Brandon ReedGeorgia Racing History.com
Good column, Brandon. I enjoyed reading about the 2009 inductees on your site. We plan to be there in time for the banquet. See you there.
After watching the Speed Channel's coverage of the Hall of Fame and how much time was devoted to telling the story of big Bill and little Bill and then to give Raymond Parks a short segment that didn't do his story any justice or tell the "real" truths. Of course, like many of us that read "Driving with the Devil." We base our opinions off of what we've read since most of us have only stories and literature to educate us on stock car racing history. However, if the stories I've read are only 1/2 the truth of Raymond Parks, he deserves, as much as Bill France Sr., his place in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. What will it take, a public outcry by the fans and of those that know Mr. Parks to get the panel of judges to select Raymond in next years HoF? It's time NASCAR gives Mr. Parks the respect he so rightly deserves.
All I kept hearing was it's all about contributions and numbers. Obviously no one took the contributions of Raymond Parks to the early days into consideration and the numbers in David Pearson's career. No one has David's "numbers" if you base it on starts. It's one thing to look at numbers, it's another thing to understand what they mean. Once he got his 3 championships (one for each son) he set his own part time schedule. Oh well, maybe next year.Pete in Michigan
A sad and frustrating reality of human nature allows history to be written from the viewpoint of the 'victor'............hence the intitial NASCAR HOF class.