By The Commish

Every time I cruise on I-277 in uptown Charlotte, I see more of the NASCAR Hall of Fame rising above the skyline. The shiny silver headquarters for racing memories is slated to open in May 2010, just in time for the All-Star Race. Winston Kelley and his team have been busy rounding up cars, helmets, uniforms, trophies, and film to fill the galleries. Now it's time to decide who the inaugural members of the Hall will be. Even though fans and the media pressed for a larger initial class for the Hall, NASCAR has decided to limit inductees to five a year. So just after the Coca-Cola 600, voting for that class will begin. To be eligible, former drivers must have competed 10 years in NASCAR and be retired from racing for a minimum of three years. Non-drivers must have worked at least 10 years in the industry; exceptions for candidates with shorter careers, such as Alan Kulwicki, can be considered in special circumstances.

The procedure for electing members of the Hall will, in typical NASCAR fashion, be baroque and confusing; a nominating committee made up of NASCAR representatives, Hall officials, and a variety of track owners will nominate a slate of 25 candidates, then the 20-member nominating committee, fourteen media representatives, four manufacturers' representatives, three retired drivers, three retired crew chiefs, and three retired owners will vote for the five inductees. A final vote will be cast collectively by fans voting online throughout the summer of 2009.

Every fan, media member, and racing expert seems to be compiling a list for the first class, so why not an amateur like me? Jeff Gordon, of course, isn't eligible yet. But here are my choices for the five inaugural inductees to the NASCAR Hall of Fame:

1. Bill France Sr. He ran in the first race on Daytona Beach in 1936, took over promoting the race in 1938, and of course hosted the famous meeting at the Streamline Hotel in 1948 where NASCAR was formed. He dominated the sport until his death in 1992 and his legacy continues to dominate the sport.

2. Richard Petty. NASCAR's winningest driver with 200 wins and seven championships. The King would be a slam-dunk based on statistics. But Petty also set the gold standard for how NASCAR drivers interact with fans, perfecting a flamboyant autograph and never refusing to sign it and establishing the first museum to draw fans to his race shop in Level Cross, NC, where he still greets visitors. He bridges the old and new eras of NASCAR racing.

3. Junior Johnson. The Last American Hero, as Tom Wolfe described him, Johnson never won a championship as a driver but won 50 races from 1953 to 1966. Then, as an owner, he won six championships with Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip. But his biggest contribution to NASCAR came in 1971, when he brokered the deal that brought R.J. Reynolds in as the title sponsor of Winston Cup racing, taking the sport to the big-league level. And he convinced Chevrolet to fund the initial Winners Circle program, starting a tradition of supplemental funding that’s become traditional in the sport.

4. Dale Earnhardt. This was one the hardest decision for me, because I am a big David Pearson fan, but while Pearson has more wins, Earnhardt tied Petty with seven championships. And he established two major sources of income in NASCAR by running the first special paint scheme and by partnering with Action Performance to license his image, his marketing identity, and his car into the die-cast and merchandising markets. Eight years after his death, his merchandise still sells. That's a marker of how influential he continues to be in the sport.

5. Red Vogt. Probably the greatest mechanic and crew chief stock car racing has ever known, Vogt could make a Ford V-8 engine do things that Henry Ford never imagined. His cars outraced revenuers in the Georgia hills and then made magic for owner Raymond Parks on the track. Besides, he invented the acronym NASCAR—even if Bill France snookered him out of the power to run the organization.

My second-year class: Bill France Jr., David Pearson, Buddy Baker, Raymond Parks, and Smokey Yunick.
My third-year class: T. Wayne Robertson, Darrell Waltrip, Fireball Roberts, Rick Hendrick, and Ray Evernham.

Now the ball’s in your court—who would you choose? Log onto the forum and let us hear your opinion.

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