The inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame has been named, and there are more than a few folks surprised and upset that David Pearson is not among the original five.
I thought when the class was announced it would include Pearson, Big Bill France, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip. It was a just a hunch, (and I have no vote).
Instead it was Bill France Jr. and Junior Johnson who joined Big Bill, Petty and Earnhardt.
Had I thought things through more thoroughly I would’ve realized France Jr. would have to be in the mix. While it was Big Bill who founded the series and planted the seeds of its success, it was France Jr. who ushered in the era that saw NASCAR grow from a regional sport to a national phenomenon.
If you’re going to have a NASCAR Hall of Fame, you have to start with the Frances.
But I still would’ve probably put Pearson ahead of Johnson, although both are deserving.
Pearson won 105 Cup races, second only to Petty’s 200. And he ran a full schedule just three seasons – 1966, 1968 and 1969 – seasons in which he also claimed the Cup championship. He and Petty were part of some classic duels, and even Petty seemed shocked that his old rival didn’t earn a spot in the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.
Of course there is a strong argument for Johnson as well. He won 50 races as a driver, and was part of six Cup titles as an owner. He was also an innovator, and one of the first owners who taught his drivers how to work the draft at places like Daytona and Talladega.
The thing is, both Johnson and Pearson belong. And Pearson will be in next year’s class, no doubt about it.
But while my selections would’ve been slightly different, I applaud the Hall of Fame committee for making sure this remains an elite club.
The International Motorsports Hall of Fame, which unveiled its first class in 1990, took the “too many, too soon” approach. In an effort to start things off with a bang, its first class included 20 motorsports greats. In 1991 10 people were inducted, and 10 more in 1992.
As the years went by the classes were pared down to five or six inductees per year, but now it’s diluted. You can take a peek at some of the more recent hall of famers and, frankly, you wonder what they did to make it in.
With the five per year approach the NASCAR Hall of Fame guarantees that each class will be special. Next year we’ll see guys like Pearson and Bobby Allison get in, and there’ll be a few guys we thought should be elected but weren’t.
They’ll go in the following year, or maybe the year after that.
And after the Hall of Fame has been around for a couple of decades and enshrined those we perceive as the legends of the sport, more drivers and owners will attain legendary status and earn their rightful place when the time comes.
I was disappointed that Pearson didn’t make it in this time, but he won’t have to wait too long.
I’m guessing he’ll be at the head of a pretty solid class this time next year.
Scott Adamson writes for the Anderson Independent-Mail in Anderson, S.C.
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