Driving champions David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Lee Petty, Ned Jarrett and team owner Bud Moore were named as the second class of inductees into NASCAR's Hall of Fame on Wednesday afternoon during a ceremony at the Grand Hall of the year-old shrine in downtown Charlotte. Representing markedly different eras, the new class is comprised of some of the sport's most recognizable names.
Three-time Cup champion David Pearson, who many thought would enter the Hall during its inaugural class, was the first name announced by NASCAR Chairman Brian France (right).
Legendary driver Bobby Allison, the 1983 Cup champ and three-time winner of the Daytona 500, was the next name revealed, followed by the Petty family patriarch and inaugural Daytona 500 winner Lee Petty; Ned Jarrett, a two-time Cup champ (1961, '65) and father of 1999 Cup driving champ Dale Jarrett; and Bud Moore, a three-time Cup champion mechanic and team owner.
The class -- selected by a 52-person voting panel plus a fan internet vote in a four-hour voting session Wednesday morning -- will be inducted in May of 2011.
The new group of five joins inaugural inductees Bill France Sr., Bill France Jr., Richard Petty, Junior Johnson and Dale Earnhardt , who were honored in an elaborate ceremony this May.
Pearson, left off the inaugural list, received a convincing 94 percent of the vote this time around. As with last year, the list of year's inductees will be debated for months to come, with those who contributed to the foundation of the sport seemingly getting the nod over drivers with lengthier winning resumes. NASCAR's winningest crew chief Dale Inman and three-time driving champions Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip also received votes from the committee.
The fan vote went -- in order -- to Allison, Pearson and Petty.
"There was a spirited discussion,'' France said of the four-hour voting deliberation. "A lot of weight was put on what you did off the track as much as what you did on it. They all made great contributions.''
In order of votes received, here's a look at the 2011 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class:
"I think they might have gotten it a little backwards with Richard getting in there (Hall of Fame) first. If it hadn't been for ol' Lee, Richard wouldn't have been there to do it."
-- Maurice Petty
David Pearson (96 percent of vote): Nicknamed "The Silver Fox," Pearson's 105 Cup Series victories is second only to Richard Petty's 200 wins. He won championships in 1966, '68 and '69 and won the 1976 Daytona 500, prompting Petty to say of Pearson, "He was the greatest driver I ever raced against.''
Bobby Allison (62 percent): One of the iconic names in NASCAR, Allison is tied with Darrell Waltrip for third on the all-time wins list with 84, including three Daytona 500 victories. In 1988, at the age of 51, he became the oldest winner in Daytona 500 history, edging his son, the late Davey Allison, at the finish line. Allison won the 1983 Cup title and in 1972 posted one of the most impressive seasons in NASCAR history, winning 10 times and finishing runner-up 12 times in 31 starts.
Lee Petty (62 percent): The patriarch of the Petty family, Lee was NASCAR's first three-time champion (1954, '58 and '59) and the winner of the very first Daytona 500 held in 1959. His 54 wins rank ninth best and he never finished worse than fourth in the championship from 1949-1959. As the owner of the legendary Petty Enterprises, he collected 268 wins in 2,000 starts, the bulk of those victories contributed by his son, seven-time Cup champion Richard Petty.
"I think they might have gotten it a little backwards with Richard getting in there (Hall of Fame) first,'' Maurice Petty, Richard Petty's brother and Lee Petty's son, joked. "If it hadn't been for ol' Lee, Richard wouldn't have been there to do it."
Ned Jarrett (58 percent): "Gentleman Ned" as Jarrett was known won 50 times in NASCAR's Cup ranks claiming the championship in 1961 and 1965 before retiring the next year at the unheard of age of 34. He soon, however, found his calling in the NASCAR broadcast booth. And his emotional call of his son Dale Jarrett winning the 1993 Daytona 500 is on NASCAR's television highlight reel.
Bud Moore (45 percent): A decorated World War II veteran who fought at Normandy, Moore easily transitioned from the military to the fledgling world of NASCAR as a mechanic and team owner. He won back-to-back titles fielding a car for Joe Weatherly and another championship as crew chief for Buck Baker.
No comments:
Post a Comment