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Award-winning columnist Tom Archdeacon — an old-school storyteller in a brand-new venue — writes about sports, the city, southwest Ohio and anything else that catches his fancy… or yours.Home > Blogs > Through the Arch > Archives > 2009 > October > 19 > Entry
Three Questions for NASCAR
When the first five inductees into NASCAR’s Hall of Fame were announced last week — and that quintet includes Bill France and Bill France, Jr., Richard Petty, Junior Johnson and Dale Earnhardt — three questions came to my mind:
Who should have been in that first class?
Who should be the next five enshrinees?
Who of today’s current drivers and owners deserves to land in the Hall one day?
NASCAR’s Hall of Fame opens in Charlotte in May of 2010 — that’s when the five will be officially enshrined — and it will be one of the history houses in sports I’d like to visit one day soon.
I covered a lot of stock car racing in the late 1970s and the 1980s and have done so sporadically since. I’m partial to the era of Richard Petty, David Pearson, the Allison brothers and Cale Yarborough, so I’m sure that will color some of my thinking here, but those were great times for the sport, too.
Anyway, here are the three questions:
Who should have been in that first class?
I agree with Petty, the sports most iconic figure, Johnson, the moonshine legend who was a successful driver and owner and Earnhardt, the seven-time Cup champion. But I think just one the Frances — Bill Sr., the founder and first president of NASCAR — should have been included.
Although his son, Bill Jr., developed his father’s dream ten fold, he should have been put into the next class and The Silver Fox, David Pearson, should have made the first five.
Pearson, quite arguably, is the best driver NASCAR has ever had. He ran partial schedules most of his career and still won 105 races, second most all time to Petty’s 200. To get an idea how he did that, consider he entered just 18 races in 1973 and won 11 of them. He only ran three full seasons and won the championship in each of them.
When Major League Baseball began its Hall of Fame with five enshrinees in 1936, it settled on Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson and Honus Wagner. All the business suits — great as they may have been, guys likes Comiskey and Spalding — had to wait.
Who should be the next five enshrinees?
There are a lot of folks from which to choose. NASCAR initially put out a list of 25 possible candidates, though that collection had a couple of glaring omissions, including Wendell Scott, the first black man ever to win a big-time stock car race. The odds — the racial barriers, the outright prejudice — he overcame were almost insurmountable and he deserves to be included in one of the first few classes enshrined.
With Pearson snubbed this year, he heads my list for the next class. I’d also include Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip and either Ned Jarrett or Fireball Roberts. Probably Jarrett, because along with his two driving championships, he was the honey-coated broadcasting voice who introduced much of America to the sport.
To take it just a little father, my third class then would be Fireball Roberts, Lee Petty, Curtis Turner, Joe Weatherly and Wendell Scott.
One woman who belongs in the Hall — and yet is unknown by the casual race fan and not included on that NASCAR list of 25 — is Louise Smith, the hell-raising gal who travelled and raced with Turner, Tiny Lund. the Flock brothers and the rest of the first band of drivers and once hocked her diamonds to bail the whole bunch out of jail so they could go race in the next town.
Finally, question three:
Who of today’s current drivers and owners deserves to land in the Hall one day?
My group would include Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Richard Childress and Rick Hendrick.
Gordon’s a four-time champ, whose popularity and marketing skills especially in the late 1990s made him an equal of the superstars of other sports, a recognition stock car drivers always had trouble obtaining
Johnson has won three straight titles — and is well on his way to No. 4.
Stewart — who joins the ranks of A. J. Foyt and Mario Andretti — as the best all-around drivers ever, went from open wheel success — he won the Indy 500 pole — to stock cars and became even greater. He has two Cup Series driving titles and deserves recognition as a team owner and now the driving force of Eldora Speedway, too.
Childress, himself a longtime driver, made an even bigger mark as a team owner, especially in giving Dale Earnhardt the opportunities he did. And Hendrick has been the most successful owner of this era, giving the wheel to everybody from Gordon and Johnson to Kyle Busch.
One final thought: I’ve heard some folks say they think NASCAR might not have enough appropriate candidates to keep filling induction classes for years to come. They think the pool will run dry.
At five slots a year, I think there are more than enough worthy choices to go on for 30 or 40 years — maybe more — without missing a beat. And by then, there’ll be more stars. Besides, in four decades, who knows what kind of cars folks will be driving.
One thing for certain, no one will ever drive them better than guys like Richard Petty, David Pearson or Dale Earnhardt.
Permalink | Comments (16) | Post your comment |
Comments
By just me
October 24, 2009 11:26 AM | Link to this
Pearson belonged in the first class. He better be in the 2nd. The wild finish between Pearson & Petty in the 1976 Daytona prompted CBS to obtain the rights of the 1979 race. The big fight at the end of the ‘79 race was the start of NASCAR’s rise. Like any other sport, once money becomes the driving factor over competing, the sport is going to decline. If NASCAR wants to gain back it’s popularity, put more money on wins and finish position and take the big money away from the winning the Championship and “The Chase”.
By Arnie (Inland retiree)
October 24, 2009 10:51 AM | Link to this
Arch, Another of your many great articles. Your selections are right on. I am always amazed at the content your articles contain. You addressed the Inland Retire Club some years back and I still remember the items you covered then. You are the best thing the DDN has. Let’s hope management reconizes this?
By nullDojo
October 20, 2009 4:56 PM | Link to this
NASCAR shot it’s self in the foot with the COT. Where is the clever ways of making the speed needed to race? When you see a cheese box going around the track it reminds me of the small wooden block cars we built in the Cub Scouts and raced dwon an incline. Ford? Chevy? Dodge, Toyota? I have never seen any that look like what is running around the tracks. I have an idea paint all Fords black, Chevys white, Dodges blue and Toyotas red. Then we would know what manufacture car was leading. Nah, too inovative
By bigmo
October 20, 2009 9:51 AM | Link to this
Wendell Scott won how many races? Why would the sport choose someone because of the color of their skin, white, black, red or yellow? How about the content of their character, or in this case, the record of their driving?
By 02
October 20, 2009 9:42 AM | Link to this
Persons drove #21. Kunckleheand…Restrictor plates has killed NASCAR. Bill Elliott holds the track record at one track at 212mph. Anyone guess which track. It will never be broken.
By gettindizzy
October 19, 2009 9:47 PM | Link to this
never understood why people liked to watch a car going around in a circle all day..
By MISSU3
October 19, 2009 8:08 PM | Link to this
Amazing how many people take the time to comment on here when they haven’t watched since the 70’s, 80’s or 90’s. I don’t get the Pearson whine. I voted for Tim Flock as the 5th man. Do fans of the last 15 years even know what number Pearson ran? 9 yrs after Dale died, you still see #3’s on cars all over the country. Put the known names into a HOF first so the people will come, then the lesser knowns so we can educate the fans on the history.
By acrim
October 19, 2009 7:03 PM | Link to this
NA$CAR is a bore-fest anymore. I watched in the 70’s because it was special. By the mid 80’s it was dull, and now it is unwatchable. NA$CAR was really great in the 70’s and Petty, Pearson, Cale, Allison, France Sr. did all the heavy lifting. Ironhead came in afterwards and doesn’t below in the first class, no matter what the johnny-come-lately NA$CAR media says.
By oldopenwheeler
October 19, 2009 6:39 PM | Link to this
Hey, got it fixed, and then edited my comments Cool, Just like NASCAR, fix it to come out the way you want it…
By sec 312
October 19, 2009 4:12 PM | Link to this
they are still racing? wow didn’t they start back in early Feb? It never ends but its always the same…BORING! But one thing is true, I read the article because Arch wrote it..its always good
By Leal
October 19, 2009 3:57 PM | Link to this
Gettin’ old is b***h. I mean to write Harold Brasington who built Darlin’ton.I think the Woods Brothers a lot of other chief wrenchs/team owners deserve some recognition before some drivers. They almost need two categories — drivers and owners/crew chiefs/promoters, etc. That way they could put six or eight people in a honor those who gave so much to the sport.
By Cuz
October 19, 2009 2:02 PM | Link to this
Nice article Mr Archdeacon. I agree with your selections. But like Real race Fan I think the sport has become boring with everyone’s vehicle so neatly/nearly a perfect clone. I suggest they change “Stock” to “Specialty” in the NASCAR name as there is no mechanical resemblance to a stock car anywhere on the track…at least not in the sense of a stock car from the early “50’s thru the late “70”s.
By Cuz
October 19, 2009 2:01 PM | Link to this
Nice article Mr Archdeacon. I agree with your selections. But like Real race Fan I think the sport has become boring with everyone’s vehicle so neatly/nearly a perfect clone. I suggest they change “Stock” to “Specialty” in the NASCAR name as there is no mechanical resemblance to a stock car anywhere on the track…at least not in the sense of a stock car from the early “50’s thru the late “70”s.
By Real Race Fan
October 19, 2009 1:24 PM | Link to this
NASCAR is so predictable and boring, it has become nearly as un-watchable as Major League Baseball. It’s too bad because 25 years ago it was completely different.
By Leal
October 19, 2009 12:55 PM | Link to this
One name people forget is Howard Brasington who built Darlington Speedway and introduced the country to big time stockcar racin’. For years the Southern 500 at Darlington was THE race, much more so than Daytona. Howard deserves to be in the second class inducted moreso that some of drivers you mentioned. France may have promoted it. but Howard built the foundation for NASCAR racing and kept it together when a lot of drivers wanted to jump to other organizations which came and went.
By oldopenwheeler
October 19, 2009 12:50 PM | Link to this
Tom, You pretty much hit the nail on the head about the France’s, just the old man the first time around.. And Pearson has got to make it next year… Dead on about Ned Jarrett,too.. . And eventually,Tony Stewart should be in virtually every racing Hall of Fame there is.