For the most part the voting panel that selects nominees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame gets it right more often than not. It’s screwed up a time or two—ignoring David Pearson for the inaugural Class of 2010 was inexcusable—but generally the Panel is usually pretty close.
But not this year. It wiffed badly on two of its four votes.
The 62-person Panel got it 100 percent right on seven-time championship driver Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus, his crew chief for those championships. There was hardly a discouraging word uttered about either during the recent gathering at the Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina. Johnson got 93 percent of the votes and Knaus got 81 percent.
No argument and no debate. Slam-dunks from the moment this year’s class of 2024 ballots were revealed. The only mild surprise was that neither (especially Johnson) was voted in unanimously. So far, none of the 66 Hall of Famers has been named unanimously, not even Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt in the inaugural Class of 2010.
While the first criteria for any hall of fame is to be, you know, famous, Donnie Allison shouldn’t have been named in his first year of eligibility. His 53 percent approval rating speaks volumes about the panel’s opinion of his career.
Donnie Allison.
The “other Allison” raced sporadically for parts of 21 years, but never ran anything approaching a full season.
He won 10 races for three owners in 242 starts, most of them high-profile, long-distance events on major speedways that garnered widespread attention. But with a career-best 16th in points, he never came close to competing for a championship. In truth, his greatest asset was his last name.
The Panel also stumbled badly by naming Janet Guthrie as its Landmark Award recipient. While not strictly entered into the Hall of Fame itself, the award is a fairly big deal in the NASCAR community. It is given annually in recognition of someone’s lifetime contributions that add esteem and prestige to NASCAR. In Guthrie’s case, her “contributions” are difficult to find.
She had been on the Landmark ballot for six years. That, despite her paper-thin resume that shows only 33 starts spread over five years. She was a top-10 finisher five times, but never finished on the lead lap. She was a combined 54 laps behind in those top-10 finishes.
Supporters spoke eloquently about her career-best sixth-place at Bristol in 1977 without mentioning that she was 13 laps behind that night.
So, what will the Voting Panel have to look forward to in coming years?
A handful of current drivers and crew chiefs likely will retire and become HOF eligible by the end of this decade.
Brothers Kyle (left) and Kurt Busch are HoF shoo-ins when they become eligible.
Even now, it’s easy to predict that former champions Kyle and Kurt Busch will make it. So will two-time and defending champion Joey Logano, plus former champions Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., and Brad Keselowski. Three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin (but not yet a champion) will also make it. (Except for Bill Rexford in 1950, every eligible Cup Series champion is in the Hall of Fame).
Depending on when that group retires and becomes eligible, Modern-Era ballot holdovers Neil Bonnett, Harry Gant, Carl Edwards, Jeff Burton, and Ricky Rudd might not make it.
A.J. Foyt and the late Sam Ard will remain on the Pioneer ballot for the foreseeable future. Future Pioneer ballot nominees should include short-track champions Butch Lindley and L.D. Ottinger.
The late Tim Richard has never been nominated, nor has the late Smokey Yunick or Junie Donlavey. The late Jim Paschal, the winningest (with 25) eligible driver not in the Hall, is also in jeopardy of being overlooked. Likewise, two-series champion Greg Biffle remains on the outside looking in, along with Daytona 500 winner Geoffrey Bodine.
And somewhere down the road—for better or for worse—get ready for Danica Patrick’s name to show up. You have been warned.
Who do you think belongs in the NASCAR Hall of Fame? Who do you think doesn’t belong? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Contributing Editor
Unemployed after three years as an Army officer and Vietnam vet, Al Pearce shamelessly lied his way onto a small newspaper’s sports staff in Virginia in 1969. He inherited motorsports, a strange and unfamiliar beat which quickly became an obsession.
In 53 years – 48 ongoing with Autoweek – there have been thousands of NASCAR, NHRA, IMSA, and APBA assignments on weekend tracks and major venues like Daytona Beach, Indianapolis, LeMans, and Watkins Glen. The job – and accompanying benefits – has taken him to all 50 states and more than a dozen countries.
He’s been fortunate enough to attract interest from several publishers, thus his 13 motorsports-related books. He can change a tire on his Hyundai, but that’s about it.
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