Thaindian News

Charlotte, Oct 15 (THAINDIAN NEWS) NASCAR Hall of Fame 2010 has five inductees including a father son duo and 3 other great personalities in the field of racing. Bill France Sr., who founded the NASCAR, was appropriately the first Hall of Famer in the very first batch.

The eclectic group of inductees drew mixed reactions from the audience and gasps from the other 20 finalists who where not selected into this elite batch. All the honored personalities were chosen after a lengthy voting session at the Charlotte Convention Center.

The five are Bill France Sr., Richard Petty, the seven-time Cup champion and NASCAR’s all-time wins leader, Bill France Jr., who spent nearly 30 years at the helm of America’s top motorsports series, Dale Earnhardt, NASCAR’s other seven-time champion, and Junior Johnson, a 6 championships owner and a former driver and car owner whose early days of running moonshine through backroads of North Carolina stands as a symbol of NASCAR’s start.

“When I seen the two Frances was in, I knew I didn’t have a chance,” Pearson said moments after the ceremony ended. “That wouldn’t have been my pick,” he said.

There was a panel of 50 NASCAR executives, journalists, former participants who helped in this crucial decision-making and one combined fan vote from NASCAR’s official Web site, the voters had a list of 25 finalist to consider. Petty, who was not on the panel, said he made his own list and had Pearson as his top pick.

“Anybody that won 105 races and didn’t make the cut — somebody ain’t adding right,” Petty said of Pearson.

It may be recalled that NASCAR has launched a NASCAR Hall of Fame, which will honor drivers who have shown exceptional skill at NASCAR driving, all-time great crew chiefs and owners, and other major contributors to this exciting sport.