A Voice For The Fans ~ Hall Of Fame Chicanery
3/25/2014
PattyKay Lilley
I bid you welcome gentle readers, and a warm welcome
as well to our assigned reader of all things NASCAR, suspected to be somewhere
in the heart of beautiful downtown Charlotte, North Carolina. I do hope your
task today is a pleasant one.
Just about a month ago, a proclamation came down
from on high, announcing some "tweaks" to the method of nomination for
induction into the much vaunted NASCAR Hall of Fame. At the time, very little
notice was paid to the document, and it came and went without fanfare or
conversation. That always concerns me, so I have spent the ensuing month
watching and waiting for anyone to care. Either absolutely
no one read the thing, or no one cares... but I do... and gentle readers, I
think once you understand the sleight-of-hand involved, you will care as well.
Voting Day to elect the five new Inductees of the
Class of 2015 will be coming up on May 21, and this
page annually presents a crash-course on how that works and what it means to
you, the fans. That piece will be coming when the fan voting opens. This one is
an exposé, if you will, of something that strikes your writer as somewhat
sneaky at best and possibly downright illegal, unless of course, your last name
is France.
From its inception, the NASCAR Hall of Fame has worked
from a list of 25 nominated persons, choosing 5 Inductees from that list and
shortly after their induction, adding 5 more nominees to the list. It was
announced in November of 2013 that the list of nominees would be reduced to 20
in 2014, and so it was. Following the simplest path of thought, my mind decided
that the Hall of Fame would simply not nominate five more this year to replace
the five that were inducted. Wrong! (Where is Waylon Jennings when you need
him?)
Instead, a new category was created, to be known
henceforth as the Landmark Award. "Potential
Landmark Award recipients could include competitors or those working in the
sport as a member of a racing organization, track facility, race team, sponsor,
media partner or being a general ambassador for the sport through a
professional or non-professional role. Award winners remain eligible for NHOF
enshrinement." (From Hall of Fame website)
Stay with me gentle readers; this is where it gets
tricky. Taking 5 Nominees from the previous list of 20 (after induction of the
class of 2014) leaves 15 on the Hall of Fame list of Nominees and 5 names added
as potential recipients of the Landmark Award. The lists that follow are taken
directly from the Hall of Fame website, but I have separated the five newest
nominees from the fifteen already on the list, for ease in reading.
The
15 Nominees Currently Awaiting Induction
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
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
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.
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
2015
New Nominees
Buddy Baker, won 19 times in NASCAR’s premier
(now Sprint Cup) series, including the Daytona 500 and Southern 500
Bill Elliott, 1988 premier series champion, two-time
Daytona 500 winner and 16-time Most Popular Driver
Terry Labonte, Two-time NASCAR premier series
champion
Mike Stefanik, winner of
record-tying nine NASCAR championships
Robert Yates, won NASCAR
premier series championship as both an engine builder and owner
The
five nominees for the inaugural Landmark Award are as follows…
H. Clay Earles, founder of Martinsville Speedway
Anne Bledsoe France, helped build the sport with
husband Bill France Sr. Affectionately known as "Annie B.," she is
the first woman to be nominated for induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Raymond Parks, NASCAR’s first champion car owner
Ralph Seagraves, formed groundbreaking
Winston-NASCAR partnership as executive with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
Ken Squier, legendary radio and television
broadcaster; inaugural winner / namesake of Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media
Excellence
OK, so far, it all seems open and above board,
doesn't it? We are left with the promised 20 rather than 25 HOF Nominees and 5
potential Landmark Award winners. However... when we take a closer look at the
list as compared to the list as it read in 2013, something is amiss. The lists
of those removed and those added to the list of potential Landmark Award
winners are not the same. Three of those removed from the previous list do
appear on the Landmark Award list; H. Clay Earles, Anne B. France and Ralph
Seagraves were transported from one list to the other as supposed. Ken Squier
was added and Raymond Parks, may he rest in peace, now appears
on both lists. By comparing the lists from 2013 and 2014, I've compiled this
short list of the five removed:
The
five removed from 2014 List of Nominees
H. Clay Earles, founder of Martinsville Speedway
Anne Bledsoe France
Ralph Seagraves , Marketing
and Promotion, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
Les Richter, NASCAR Executive, Former President of
Riverside International Raceway
T. Wayne Robertson, Marketing and Promotion, R. J.
Reynolds Tobacco Co.
Alright, does anyone else see anything strange about
that group of five? What happened to Les Richter and T. Wayne Robertson? Both
of those gentlemen were placed in nomination for induction into the NASCAR Hall
of Fame by the nominating committee of some previous year. Apparently then, the
current Nominating Committee, which looks very much the same it has since the
inception of the Hall, took the liberty of just "un-nominating" both
Richter and Robertson. I didn't know that could happen, did you? You'll note
when visiting their
website, absolutely no mention is made of those two now
orphaned names.
It might be amusing to some that know my opinions of
each of those gentlemen that I now seek to intercede for both of them. One, I
would go to the mat for anytime, while the other, I wouldn't wet on if he were
on fire. It's not important which is which, as it's only one lady's opinion,
but what seems to have been done to both men reeks of unfairness,
discrimination and any other fancy word you might care to substitute for screwed.
NASCAR... we, the fans, would like an answer to how and why the names of Les
Richter and T. Wayne Robertson somehow became lost in that double shuffle and
no one there is man or woman enough to even own up to it.
Oh yes race fans, here are the names of those
sitting on this year's Nominating Committee... the folks that have boasted
about finally having sat down together for the first time this year. One would
guess then, that other years were just mailed in without discussion... perhaps
as foregone conclusions?
22-Person
Nominating Committee
NASCAR
Hall of Fame:
Executive Director Winston Kelley; Historian Buz McKim.
NASCAR
Officials:
Chairman/CEO Brian France; Vice Chairman Jim France; President Mike Helton;
Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton; Executive Vice President of
Racing Operations Steve O'Donnell; Executive Vice President/Chief Marketing
Officer Steve Phelps; Competition Administrator Jerry Cook; former Vice
President Ken Clapp. (Note: Due to Jerry Cook’s inclusion on the ballot for the
2014 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, he was recused from voting for the 2015
nominee class.)
Track
Owners/Operators:
International Speedway Corporation CEO Lesa Kennedy;
Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell; Texas Motor Speedway President
Eddie Gossage; Atlanta Motor Speedway President Ed
Clark; former Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Tony George; Dover
Motorsports CEO Denis McGlynn; Pocono Raceway board
of director member Looie McNally; Bowman Gray Stadium
operator Dale Pinilis; Riverhead Raceway operators
Jim and Barbara Cromarty (1 vote); Rockford Speedway owner Jody Deery; Kingsport Speedway Operator Robert Pressley.
At-Large: Mike Joy, lead announcer
for NASCAR on FOX.
Gentle
readers, your tour guide doesn't really know what more to say. You've read it;
you know as much as I do. Don't you think that some sort of explanation should
be forthcoming, or more to the point, should have been offered at the time that
proclamation was issued? Was it just some sort of oversight that two names
already duly nominated were summarily removed without any known reason? Were
the families of those two men contacted and told their loved ones were no
longer included on the list of those awaiting induction? One wonders exactly
how that disclosure might have been worded. But then, this one wonders about so
many things that occur in, about or concerning that Hall of Fame with almost no
members, considering the 65-year old sport it purports to commemorate. The
floor is open for questions and comments race fans. It's all yours.
Be well
gentle readers, and remember to keep smiling. It looks so good on you!
~ PattyKay