One thing was evident in Wednesday's results of the voting for NASCAR's Hall of Fame Class of 2011, and it was this: There was a significant disconnect between the published voting intentions of members of the NASCAR media (whether "official" voters or not) and the rest of the Voting Panel.
Doesn't it strike anyone else as odd that 90 percent of the media members who made their personal preference choices known ahead of time or right after the vote all basically agreed with four of the five inductees?
David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip were selected by virtually anyone in the media who offered an opinion of what the second Hall class should look like.
Yet when the actual vote of the entire panel was compiled Yarborough and Waltrip appeared on less than 45 percent of all voters' ballots.
Even the fan vote, compiled by NASCAR.com, revealed virtually the same thing: Pearson, Allison, Yarborough and Waltrip all found common support.
For some reason, the remainder of the voting panel had a different thought process than most media members and NASCAR fans as a group. I mean generally it's hard to get media and race fans to agree on a lot, but this seemed pretty straight forward.
Yet one large segment of the voting panel thought differently. What did the media and the fans miss?
Some component of recognizing NASCAR's history? Certainly, Yarborough and Waltrip and their respective careers encompass most if not all that has contributed to NASCAR's history.
Is it, as Waltrip suggested, some idea of wanting to recognize people while they are still with us to enjoy it? That's certainly possible. Yet, it seems to me if that were the case, Raymond Parks would have been a shoo-in for the first class.
In any case, no one should be willing to throw the word "lock" around when it comes to any Hall of Fame class for a long time to come.
Jim, does anything associated with NASCROCK make sense anymore? No one is saying guys like Bud Moore and Bobby Allison shouldn't get in, but before 3 time champions Waltrip and Yarborough? Pretty stupid.
ReplyDeleteI guess the HOF voters all think it's a numbers game. A numbers game for drivers, crew chiefs, owners, mechanics, announcers and NASCAR employees??????
ReplyDeleteDo we, or they, select one of each to join the HOF each year?
So with that said. Pearson should be in. Bud Moore, okay, but I would have went with Glen Wood. He has been a car owner since 1950, much longer than Bud Moore has been.
It's not all about the drivers. Other people involved in NASCAR have the "numbers" also. I don't have a list of the nominees in front of me. But. if Maurice Petty was on it, he should have gotten in.
My votes were:
David Pearson
Glen Wood
Bobby Allison
Bud Moore
Ned Jarrett
As per Waltrip, I struggle with the reasoning for letting in Ned Jarrett. Not that Ned isn't worthy -- he certainly is -- but a lot of talk centered around his work as a broadcaster being one of the factors for his induction. While I agree with the sentiment -- giving credit to his work as an ambassador to the sport after his driving career was over -- why not give DW the same credit? He's been called the John Madden of NASCAR, so why wouldn't his post-driving work combine with his stellar driving stats to make him a Hall lock? I fear personal vendettas here, which I honestly don't get. DW and Cale both deserve to be in.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I'm a fan of the way women's golf works for their wing of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Yes, you have voting, but there is an Automatic Nomination process. If you have a Player of the Year, Vare Trophy (lowest average score of all rounds played in the season), or have won a major, score a total of 27 points (regular tournament wins, player of the year or low score one point each, major tournament wins two points), and play ten years, they are automatic inductees.
ReplyDeleteA NASCAR system would use 50 wins in all NASCAR series to be inducted. The wins would be cut to 45 wins if there is one NASCAR major or a championship is won, 40 wins for two different majors, or 35 wins for a driver with a Career Grand Slam and a Sprint Cup Championship. A driver or team owner (combined) with five championships would be automatically inducted. A ten-year rule would be imposed.
I am a fan of the women's golf format because it rewards winning and goes for a championship. NASCAR should look at this -- no need to let politics determine who is inducted since winning does the job.