NASCAR Hall committee got first 25 right

Commendation is due to members of the new NASCAR Hall of Fame’s nominating committee.

They did an admirable job, in my opinion, of naming the 25 original nominees for the hall that’s scheduled to open in Charlotte in May of 2010.

A voting committee will elect the five inaugural inductees from this list in September, and their names will be announced in October.

What an honor simply to be among the first 25, considering NASCAR’s long and colorful history, which dates to 1949, when actual competition began on the tracks.

The ultimate tribute, of course, is to be one of those five men who will become the “first class” enshrined next spring.

Many were deserving of inclusion on the list of first nominees. And I’m sure there is disappointment among those that weren’t named, as it is among their fans, families and friends.

However, to have gone beyond 25 undoubtedly would have proven cumbersome and complicated the nominating and voting process.

So who should be among the next group of nominees?

My thoughts, in no particular order:

Rusty Wallace, 55 victories on NASCAR’s major circuit and the 1989 series champion.

Bill Elliott, 44 victories, the ’88 champion and multiple-time winner of the Most Popular Driver Award, now named in his honor. Elliott also holds the record for NASCAR’s alltime fastest qualifying speed, 212.809 mph, set at Talladega Superspeedway in 1987.

The late Bobby Isaac, 37 victories, the 1970 champion and winner of 49 pole positions.

Terry Labonte, 22 victories and championships in 1984 and ’96.

Dale Jarrett, 32 victories, the 1999 championship and three victories in the Daytona 500.

Rex White, 28 victories and 38 poles in just 233 starts, plus the 1960 series title.

Ricky Rudd, 23 triumphs in a whopping 906 starts.

Dave Marcis, five victories during 883 starts, mostly in cars he built and fielded himself. Marcis started every Daytona 500 from 1968-99, an incredible streak.

Harry Gant, a winner 18 times. Four of those victories came consecutively in the fall of 1991 when Gant was 51 years old.

Jack Roush, a team owner with 97 victories and Cup titles with drivers Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch.

Jack Ingram, five times the champion of what’s now known as the Nationwide Series. Ingram ran so many races each season to get his titles that he became nicknamed “The Ironman.”

Jerry Cook, who won six NASCAR Modified Division titles, including four in a row during the 1970s.

Dale Inman, a crew chief who led his teams to seven championships, six with Richard Petty and one with Terry Labonte.

The late Clay Earles, who built his Martinsville Speedway in Virginia in 1947, the year before NASCAR was formed. Perhaps the fan-friendliest track owner/promoter ever, he upgraded his facility, smallest on the big-time NASCAR tour, every year until his death in 1999.

The late Enoch Staley, one of NASCAR’s founding fathers at the sanctioning body’s organizational meeting in 1948 at the Streamline Motel in Daytona Beach, Fla. Staley was president of North Wilkesboro Speedway until he passed away in 1995.

Bruton Smith, founder of what’s now known as Lowe’s Motor Speedway. As head of Speedway Motorsports Inc., Smith oversees operations at other major tracks and is credited with spearheading the drive that’s led to tremendous upgrading of all the Sprint Cup Series facilities.

Humpy Wheeler, who during a 34-year tenure as president of the Lowe’s Speedway reigned as the premier promoter in the sport, noted for creating pre-race shows and special events that enthralled spectators.

And finally, driver Buddy Baker, winner of 19 races, 18 of them on superspeedways. He won at all the premier big tracks of his time—Atlanta, Charlotte, Daytona, Michigan, Talladega. Buddy continues to hold the record for the fastest average speed in the Daytona 500, 177.602 mph, set in 1980.

Speaking of Buddy, his late father, Buck, is among the 25 original nominees for the new hall of fame, well into construction in Charlotte.

I’m aware that you can’t please everyone, and Buck was one of those singled out for criticism when the inaugural list was divulged last week.

One writer termed Buck a “second tier driver.”

Second tier?

Obviously, this fellow never saw Buck Baker drive. Nor did he thoroughly check Buck’s record. The elder Baker won 46 races and took season-long championships in 1956 and ’57. He won the Southern 500 at Darlington, the toughest race of all, in 1953, 1960 and, remarkably, again in 1964 when he was 45 years old, far beyond retirement age for drivers in that era. And he did this without the power steering and air-conditioning gear drivers employ nowadays.

The rising Hall of Fame’s nominating committee is due praise for its diligence in selecting the original 25 candidates. Buck Baker stands out among the reasons why.