Voting for 2016 Hall of Fame Now Open

The fan vote for the NASCAR Hall of Fame is now open.  Fans are allowed to choose five nominees from the list of 20.  The top five with the most votes will be submitted as the Fan Ballot on Voting Day.

Voting Day this year will take place on Wednesday, May 20 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.  Later that day, the Class of 2016 will be announced live from the Hall of Fame on NBC Sports Network.

Below is my ballot, which should totally be your ballot.

Mark Martin

Mark Martin
This one is a serious no-brainer.  I could not push the vote button faster.  I even made sure I selected him first, even though he's way down on the list.  Seriously, with 96 NASCAR wins across the top three touring series, Martin deserves to be in the Hall of Fame regardless of his lack of championship or Daytona 500 victory. 

Raymond Parks
I have been a huge supporter of getting Parks in the Hall of Fame.  NASCAR may have been built by Bill France, but it was funded by Parks.  If not for Parks' moonshine money, NASCAR may have been bankrupt in those early years.  In my opinion, there is no one more deserving of the Hall of Fame on this list.

Red Byron
Speaking of Raymond Parks, his driver Red Byron should be in the Hall of Fame as well.  Byron won the sanctioning body's first race on the Daytona Beach road course in 1948, and went on to become the sport's first Strictly Stock champion.  Plus, this guy drove with a special brace after being wounded in World War II.  Talk about tough.

Raymond Parks

Benny Parsons
Benny Parsons was a champion in everything he did.  He won 21 races and ran up front most of the time, finishing in the Top 10 an astonishing 54% of the time.  After he retired from driving, he became a commentator for NBC and TNT.  As a major voice of the sport, Parsons remained a commentator until his death in 2007 at the age of 65.

Bobby Isaac
Bobby Isaac won 37 races in his career and the 1970 championship, but it may be his prowess in qualifying that sets him apart.  His 49 poles put him 10th on the all-time list, including 19 in 1969 alone.  19 poles in a single season is still a record, an impressive mark considering that only 38 drivers have 19 or more poles in their entire careers.  In September 1971, he also set 28 world-class records on the Bonneville Salt Flats in his Dodge.  I don't know what that means, but it sounds impressive.



To vote, head here before May 20 to submit your ballot.