Bill France Sr.
Bill France Jr.
Richard Petty
Dale Earnhardt
Junior Johnson

No huge surprises, and I doubt anyone can seriously argue with France
Sr, Petty and Earnhardt. Anybody want to take a shot at the other
two?

I think if it were entirely my choice, I'd have David Pearson in
there, probably in place of France Jr.

"Bob" <bob.paxton (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

I agree with your substitution and would add one...

Either Raymond Parks or Red Byron instead of DE.

--
Tom in Bristol...of course, I'm a reeeely olde pharte!

Bob <bob.paxton (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote in news:4f3607b2-84be-44a2-a9ba-
8be27a3fdb0c (AT) k17g2000yqb (DOT) googlegroups.com:

I think I would agree with you. Jr Johnson seems appropriate,
because of his leading role in bringing Winston into the sport,
which was the catalyst for NASCAR becoming a big time, big
money sport (not to mention Jr was a respectable driver, very
successful car owner, innovated a bunch of stuff in car and
engine design, and invented drafting).

I could probably come up with a dozen names more worthy than
France Jr, who's major accomplishment was to keep everything
ticking along smoothly.

John

On 10/14/09 19:22, in article
4f3607b2-84be-44a2-a9ba-8be27a3fdb0c...oglegroups.com, "Bob"
<bob.paxton (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:

have been "it'll be Bill Sr and Jr and whoever gets voted in."

That said, as the Speed commentators observed (Mike Joy, DW, Kyle Petty) the
odds of the media voting for people they don't personally remember racing
isn't good, to the detriment of the older racing guys.....which also
explains the predictable "the two most important people in the entire
history of racing are Dale and Richard" vote. Junior I think got in in part
because he's still around and still visible (and has probably cooked
breakfast for most of the voters ----and the voters did understand that
they needed *somebody* from "back in the day".

I did appreciate that they didn't vote in Childress or Hendrick: I
understand that it's the nature of a successful team owner that there may
never be a time when they're an ex/retired owner and still alive, but I
still don't think anyone should be being nominated/elected to the HOF in a
role they're still actively pursuing.

I would like to see future votes split, though, in some way so that there's
at least one position that's required to be a "back in the day"
vote---whether you call it a legacy or founders vote or whatever. I'm
afraid that without that, the guys from the early years will end up outside
the running until we've flat run out of every guy who ever had a really good
run post 1990. (Any way in which the voting ends up with "Let's vote in
Mikey Waltrip because he won the Daytona 500" before a Tim Flock or Lee
Petty, IMO, is screwed up beyond belief.....but if the younger voters go
with what they know, we could end up there.)

--pig (certified old fart)

On Oct 15, 3:51*am, Listpig <list... (AT) earthlink (DOT) net> wrote:

Can't argue with that, at least in the case of Bill Sr. Not so sure
about Bill Jr, though.




I don't really think "we gotta have somebody from back in the day" was
a factor. Junior was a high profile driver and a championship car
owner, but what I think put him over the top was his bringing Winston
into the sport. Aside from it's very founding, I can't name a bigger
game-changing event in NASCAR history.



I can think of one---the aforementioned Junior Johnson.



Agreed.



I'm rather split on this one. You're right, voting in Mikey Waltrip
before Lee Petty or Tim Flock would be a travesty, but on the other
hand it seems to me that getting in because of a "we have to have
somebody from back in the day" rule kinda cheapens that selection.

Ideally, everyone who makes it in should do so 100% on their own
merits against all comers, but it's true that today's voters might not
have a solid understanding of just what kind of merits the old guys
actually have.



-Bob (another certified old fart)

Bob <bob.paxton (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote in
news:6e123029-7bf1-40e5-8812-dae72517bb87 (AT) k17g2000yqb (DOT) googlegroups.com:

Bud Moore? Cotton Owens? I can probably come up with a
couple more, given a chance to check that they haven't just
recently died (Ralph Moody was in my mind, but I think he
passed on a couple of years ago).

John

In article Bob <bob.paxton (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:

Why not?
NASCAR experienced it's biggest growth,
and most successful times under Jr.

Sr. had the idea, Jr. brought it to fruition.
I have no problem with either being in on the first shot.

On 10/15/09 09:30, in article Xns9CA5568411015pogosupernews (AT) 216 (DOT) 168.3.30,
"John McCoy" <igopogo (AT) ix (DOT) netcom.com> wrote:

Hendrick, Roush, Penske and Childress probably *will* die while being still
active team owners. Ganassi and Gibbs too, for all that.

--pig

Listpig <listpig (AT) earthlink (DOT) net> wrote in
news:C6FCA850.76BA1%listpig (AT) earthlink (DOT) net:

Another one, an obvious one, came to me moments after I posted:
Robert Yates.

You could also add the Stavola Brothers, who while not on a par
with the previously mentioned were reasonably successful (and
I gather are thinking of coming back, following the Wood Bros
example with a partial schedule).

I'm actually having a hard time thinking of a team owner who
didn't retire before dieing. You may well be right about
Hendrick et al, but history doesn't seem to point that way.

John

On 10/15/09 14:13, in article
041d8642-881b-4766-9373-fc32ff5472eb...oglegroups.com, "Bob"
<bob.paxton (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:

I'd give Jr. a gimme on the basis that he took a small, mostly regional,
fairly low budget and low awareness racing circuit and built it into the
megalith it is today. Junior Johnson may have sent R. J. Reynolds his
direction, but to thereupon give Johnson all the credit for the growth of
the franchise I think is way excessive: France had to know what to do with
that contact and interest and build on it, and he did.

--pig