The list of nominees was reduced from 25 to 20 names for the first time this year, with many names returning to the list.
Below are the list of nominees, listed alphabetically:
Buddy Baker: won 19 times in NASCAR's premier (now Sprint Cup) series, including the Daytona 500 and Southern 500.
Red Byron: First NASCAR premier series champion in 1949.
Richard Childress: 11-time car owner champion in NASCAR's three national series.
Jerry Cook: six-time NASCAR Modified champion.
Bill Elliott: 1988 premier series champion, two-time Daytona 500 winner and 16-time Most Popular Driver.
Ray Fox: legendary engine builder and owner of cars driven by Buck Baker, Junior Johnson and others.
Rick Hendrick: 14-time car owner champion in NASCAR's three national series.
Bobby Isaac: 1970 NASCAR premier series champion.
Terry Labonte: Two-time NASCAR premier series champion.
Fred Lorenzen: 26 wins and winner of the Daytona 500 and World 600.
Raymond Parks: NASCAR's first champion car owner.
Benny Parsons: 1973 NASCAR premier series champion.
Larry Phillips: Only five-time NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion.
Wendell Scott: NASCAR trailblazer was the first African-American NASCAR premier series race winner, and first to be nominated for induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
O. Bruton Smith: Builder of Charlotte Motor Speedway and architect of Speedway Motorsports Inc.
Mike Stefanik: Winner of record-tying nine NASCAR championships.
Curtis Turner: Early personality, called the "Babe Ruth of stock car racing."
Joe Weatherly: Two-time NASCAR premier series champion.
Rex White: 1960 NASCAR premier series champion.
Robert Yates: Won NASCAR premier series championship as both an engine builder and owner.
So now that you've seen the list, who do you think should make up this year's Hall of Fame class? I think I've already decided who I want to be a part of this year's class:
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| Raymond Parks deserves to be in the HOF. |
Raymond Parks
Benny Parsons
O. Bruton Smith
Curtis Turner
Raymond Parks is definitely my first choice for the Hall of Fame. I've voted for him every year since the first class, and every year I've been disappointed by the fact he hasn't made it in. I think many people just don't know much about him, and they should check him out. He was a part of the famous meeting that created NASCAR in Daytona, and he needs to be a part of the Hall of Fame.
Check out the book Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR by Neal Thompson for more info about Parks and NASCAR in general. Go buy it on Amazon here.
So the list is shorter this year. Now that the nominees have been announced, who do you think got snubbed and was left off the list. Of course you're thinking Mark Martin, and I am too. Hopefully he'll get onto the ballot next year and become a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Who is on your list for this year's class? Comment below with your Hall of Fame picks!
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