As I type this, it is in the early AM hours of Wednesday, June 30th 2010. At 8 PM on July 1st, the second round of nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame will be announced.

NASCAR has already announced that the 20 people from the first group that did not make the first class will be there again, and it has already been reveleaed that Jerry Cook will be one of the five new names added to the list.

Here is who I think should be other four new names:
Barney Hall. He is the Voice of NASCAR, he has seen (I believe) more races in person than any other person, living or dead, as well as called hundreds if not thousands of races over the last 50 + years.

Wendell Scott While Wendell may have only won one Grand National race, the fact that he won any is amazing. The trials and tribulations he went through are incredible- racing 3rd hand at best, usually junkyard salvaged parts, as well as being at the time the only black man on the circuit-still the only one to win a race-meant he was fighting the color barrier in the early 1960s. While Wendell himself is no longer with us, he certainly deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

Everett "Cotton" Owens Legendary driver, car owner and crew chief, his career may not have been the longest in the sport's history, but the achievements were enough to earn him a slot on the Hall of Fame group.

Truman Fontello "Fonty" Flock While younger brother Tim had a perhaps more impressive and flashy career, Fonty put up solid statistics on his own and holds a very important distinction- He was the first NASCAR Champion. While Red Byron was the 1949 Strictly Stock Champion, Fonty was the 1947 Modified champion, at a time when Bill France thought the public- still car-hungry after WWII- would not take well to seeing brand new cars wrecked on the race track. That alone should get Fonyy a nod for group #2.

I think the following five people will actually be in Hall of Fame Class #2.
David Pearson He should have been in class #1 instead of Bill France Jr. Second all time in wins and poles, the career Pearson could have had if he had run more than four full seasons, will never be known but is nearly mind-boggling to contemplate. (In the four seasons he ran for the Championship, he won three and finished second in the other). If Pearson is not in class #2, the Hall of Fame's credibility is severly diminished.

Cale Yarborough 83 wins, three consecutive championships, more highlight reel footage than most other drivers, Cale should be a shoo-in for class #2.

Bobby Allison There are few people who have single handedly changed the sport forever. Bobby Allison is one of those men, and he did it more than once. While most people remember his wild ride at Talladega in 1987, ushering in the modern Restrictor Plate era, few likely remember that it is due to Allison that smaller cars became the norm in NASCAR's top division, instead of the full size sedans that were the mainstay at the time. Allison, also in the record books as driving for more different car owners than any other driver, built a Chevelle to race in the Grand National series, and he won with it, outrunning the larger, heavier cars at Oxford, Maine, in a race which at the time was part of the Grand National schedule. Soon every car on the track was a mid-size car, and eventually the full size sedans would even be legislated out of the sport. Add to this his record of 85 career wins, third all time, and he should be a lock for class #2.

Darrell Waltrip While Darrell Waltrip may not be the most popular of people- on the track or off- his record speaks for itself. With 84 career wins, Waltrip is fourth all time and still holds the modern era record-despite not winning a race in nearly 20 years. Waltrip, or DW for short, not only has his impressive driving record but a career in broadcasting that is still unfolding. These four I believe are locks for class two, like Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt were for class #1. The fifth and final choice is I believe much tougher to choose but after long consideration I believe it will be--

Ned Jarrett He's done everything there is to do in the sport. He was a successfull driver, winning 50 races and the 1961 and 1965 Championships. He was also a car owner, a track promoter, and one of the best broadcasters in the history of sports-not just NASCAR. His career spanned half a century, and no one ever has anything bad to say about him- afterall, he is "Gentleman Ned".

Now, I'm going to go out on a limb and predict class #3 with no discussion as well. Time will tell if I am correct or not, as it will with class #2. I only missed one in class #1- I thought David Pearson was a sure thing to be in it.

Fireball Roberts
Tim Flock
Lee Petty
Richie Evans
Benny Parsons


By: Billy Kingsley 2:51 AM June 30th, 2010