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| Yarborough, Waltrip, Inman, Evans and Wood to Hall of Fame
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Special to the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
CHARLOTTE—Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip, two drivers that helped push NASCAR onto the national stage and keep it there from the latter half of the 1970s through the 1980s, headline the five-member class of 2012 inductees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
The two, along with crew chief Dale Inman, owner/driver Glen Wood and Modified legend Richie Evans were announced as this year’s inductees Tuesday at the Hall of Fame.
Yarborough received 85 percent of the vote from the 55-member voting panel, which chose from 25 nominees. Waltrip received 82 percent, followed by Inman (78 percent), Evans (50) and Wood (44). Also receiving votes were Jerry Cook, Cotton Owens, Raymond Parks and Herb Thomas.
Yarborough became the first driver to win three consecutive Cup titles, teaming with Hall of Fame car owner Junior Johnson to capture championships in 1976, ’77 and ’78.
Yarborough retired after the 1988 with 83 wins in 560 starts. In addition, he posted 255 top-five and 319 top-10 finishes and won 69 career poles. He ranks sixth all time in victories and fourth in poles.
Yarborough is a four-time winner of the Daytona 500, capturing the series’ biggest race with three different car owners, and a five-time winner of the Southern 500 at Darlington.
His involvement in a last-lap crash, and the ensuing fight, with brothers Bobby and Donnie Allison in the 1979 Daytona 500 created an unexpected windfall of fan interest in the sport. The event was the first live, flag-to-flag coverage of a major NASCAR Cup race.
Like Yarborough, Waltrip enjoyed his most successful seasons in NASCAR while teamed with Johnson, also winning three Cup titles (1981-82, ’85). He also finished second in the standings on three other occasions.
“Junior Johnson recognized his talent and put him in that car because he was a businessman,” said Jeff Hammond, a former crew chief of Waltrip and now an analyst for Speed and Fox Sports. “Junior knew that if you won races, you’d win championships. He went after Darrell for that reason. He had the option to take Dale Earnhardt, but he took Darrell over him at the time. One of our founding fathers recognized the talent and intelligence that Darrell had behind the wheel.”
 Waltrip’s 84 career wins, which came in 809 starts, is tied for third all-time in the Cup series. Among his victories are the Daytona 500 and Southern 500, and he holds the record for consecutive wins at Bristol with seven (1981-84).
Inman served as crew chief for the majority of Richard Petty’s 200 career wins but also was a mentor for a number of today’s hands-on personnel.
Inman won eight championships in NASCAR’s Cup series—seven with Petty and one with Terry Labonte. In 1967, he and Petty teamed up for 27 wins, including one stretch of 10 in a row.
Wood was the foundation upon which the legendary Wood Brothers Racing organization was built. After a brief driving career, during which time he won four times in 62 starts, he and brothers Leonard and Delano Wood stuck to ownership and turned the driving over to others.
The team has 98 Cup wins, including a win in this year’s Daytona 500 with rookie Trevor Bayne.
Evans rounds out this year’s class. A nine-time Modified champion, Evans, of Rome, N.Y., was known as the King of the Modifieds and in 2003 was named No. 1 among all-time Modified competitors in NASCAR.
NASCAR founder William H.G. France, son Bill France, drivers Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, and owner/driver Junior Johnson made up the inaugural 2010 class.
The 2011 class, inducted last month, was comprised of drivers Bobby Allison, David Pearson and Ned Jarrett, owner/driver Lee Petty and owner/crew chief Bud Moore.
The 2012 induction ceremony is scheduled for the weekend of Jan. 20-22.
(Photos: Getty Images for NASCAR)
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| NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2012: Richie Evans
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(b. 7/23/41 - d. 10/24/85)
Hometown: Rome, N.Y.
Competed: 1973-85
Starts: 1,300 (estimated)
Wins: 475 (estimated)
The recognized "king" of Modified racing, Evans captured nine NASCAR Modified titles in a 13-year span, including eight in a row from 1978-85.
In the first year of the current NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour format in 1985, Evans won 12 races, including wins in four of five events at Thompson, Conn.
Evans ranked No. 1 in the 2003 voting of the "NASCAR All-Time Modified Top 10 Drivers," and he was named one of NASCAR’s "50 Greatest Drivers" in 1998.
(Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
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| NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2012: Dale Inman
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(b. 7/19/36)
Hometown: Level Cross, N.C.
Competed: 1958-92
Wins: 193
Poles: 129
Behind every legendary driver, there is usually a legendary wrenchman.
That was Dale Inman, without whom Richard Petty might never have been The King.
Inman, Petty’s crew chief at Petty Enterprises for nearly three decades, set records for most wins (193) and championships (eight) by a crew chief.
Inman won seven of those championships with inaugural Hall Of Fame Inductee Petty (1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, and 1979), and another one in 1984 with Terry Labonte.
Credited with revolutionizing the crew chief position, Inman’s standout year was 1967. That season, Inman and Petty won a NASCAR-record 27 races – 10 of them consecutively. All 27 victories were in the same car they built a year earlier.
(Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
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| NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2012: Cale Yarborough
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(b. 3/27/39)
Hometown: Timmonsville, S.C.
Competed: 1957-88
Starts: 562
Wins: 83
Poles: 69
As competitive as the sport has always been, NASCAR has had very few dynasties. Cale Yarborough’s reign in the late 1970s, though, was one of them.
His string of three consecutive NASCAR premier series championships from 1976-78 was unprecedented – and unmatched until 2008, when Jimmie Johnson was crowned champion for the third straight year. Johnson won his fourth and fifth consecutive titles in 2009-10.
During his three-year dominance, Yarborough won 28 races – nine in 1976, nine in ’77 and 10 in ’78. His final championship points margin in those three years was never fewer than 195 points and was as much as 474 in 1978.
Those three years made Yarborough’s career, but he enjoyed success before and after. The fiery competitor was the series championship runner-up in 1973 and ’74 and again in 1980.
Yarborough totaled 83 victories in his 31-year career, ranks tied for fifth all-time. His 69 poles rank fourth all-time. And he won the Daytona 500 four times (1968, ’77, ’83-84), a mark that ranks second only to Richard Petty’s seven.
When NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers list was compiled in 1998, suffice to say that William Caleb Yarborough was a shoo-in.
(Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
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| NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2012: Glen Wood
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(b. 7/18/25)
Hometown: Stuart, Va.
Competed: 1953-64 (Driver); 1953-Present (Owner)
Starts: 62 (Driver); 1,369 (Owner)
Wins: 4 (Driver); 98 (Owner)
Poles: 14 (Driver); 118 (Owner)
Glen Wood laid the foundation for the famed Wood Brothers racing team as a driver in the NASCAR premier series. Competing on a semi-regular basis, mostly at tracks close to his southern Virginia home, Wood won four times – all at Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. His best season was 1960 during which Wood won three times and posted six top-five and seven top-10 finishes in just nine races. He also won 14 poles during a 62-race career.
Wood, of course, is best known for his collaboration with brothers Leonard and Delano in Wood Brothers Racing. The Stuart, Va.-based team, which dates to 1950 and remains active, has amassed 98 victories in 1,367 races. The team’s all-time roster of drivers is a virtual who’s who of NASCAR and includes David Pearson, Curtis Turner, Marvin Panch, Dan Gurney, Tiny Lund, Parnelli Jones, Junior Johnson, Cale Yarborough, Fred Lorenzen and Bill Elliott.
The Wood Brothers have excelled outside the NASCAR world as well, winning the 1965 Indianapolis 500 with Jim Clark.
(Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
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| NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2012: Darrell Waltrip
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(b. 2/5/47)
Hometown: Franklin, Tenn.
Competed: 1972-2000
Starts: 809
Wins: 84
Poles: 59
A three-time NASCAR premier series champion (1981-82, ’85), Waltrip won all three with legendary driver/owner Junior Johnson. Waltrip is tied with Bobby Allison for third all-time in series victories with 84. His 59 poles rank fifth all-time in NASCAR Sprint Cup history. He competed from 1972-2000, another highlight being his 1989 Daytona 500 victory in a Rick Hendrick-owned Chevrolet.
Waltrip’s first series title came in 1981, when he finished with 12 wins and 21 top fives in 31 races. He won the title by 53 points over Bobby Allison. In his second championship season, 1982, he finished with 12 wins and 20 top 10s in 30 races, sweeping both races at four tracks (Nashville, Bristol, Talladega and North Wilkesboro). In his third championship season, 1985, Waltrip finished with three wins and 21 top 10s in 28 races.
Waltrip and his wife, Stevie, reside in Franklin, Tenn. He was nicknamed "Jaws" during his career because of an outspoken demeanor. He currently is a commentator on FOX’s NASCAR broadcasts. He was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.
(Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
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| Little Lincoln Vintage Stock Car Club
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| Jubilant Waltrip to Hall of Fame
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By Matt Crossman
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
CHARLOTTE—When Brian France announced Darrell Waltrip as the newest member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Tuesday, Waltrip popped out of his seat in the front row, bounded onto stage and planted a wet one on the NASCAR chairman and CEO’s cheek.
 “I’m just glad he didn’t kiss me on the lips,” France said.
Richie Evans’ election was the most surprising. Cale Yarborough’s was the most confusing. Dale Inman’s was for greasy mechanics. And Glen Wood’s was for old schoolers. That all left Darrell Waltrip’s as the most, what’s the word? Satisfying. Because it went down exactly as you would have predicted it would.
After planting a wet one on France, Waltrip then hugged his family, his friends, friends of his family, family of his friends, and he probably would have hugged all of the 125 or so fans who attended the announcement, but there wasn’t time. He might have made a move on NASCAR president Mike Helton like he did on France, but Helton said, “I know how to handle DW.”
As the crowd stood and clapped, Waltrip pumped his fists. His face turned red. His eyes turned moist. When he hugged Jeff Hammond, his former crew chief and fellow broadcaster, his shoulders heaved. This was a public catharsis. Not that he could have hidden it if he wanted to. Waltrip wears his emotions on his sleeves, his shoes, his socks, probably his skivvies.
The Waltrip you hear on TV—the warbling, corny, full of energy, favorites-playing huckster—is the Waltrip who dominated the sport in the 1980s … and the Waltrip who drove other drivers crazy with his mouthiness … and the Waltrip who still had tears in his eyes after the names of three more guys were called.
Waltrip was loved and hated as a driver and is loved and hated as a broadcaster. People love DW because he is brash and outspoken and doesn’t care whom he offends. And they hate him because he is brash and outspoken and doesn’t care whom he offends.
“Not bashful about telling you how he feels,” is how Helton described him moments after avoiding the kiss. And he meant it as a high compliment.
After the announcement, Waltrip was in rare form, bouncing from glib to funny to heartfelt to introspective. He said he likes being in this class because it gives so many more fans a hero in the Hall of Fame. “Every driver brings some new fans. I have fans. Cale has fans,” here he paused, setting up his old rival, “not a lot, but he has fans.”
Waltrip was nervous before the announcement, worried that he had seen the white flag signifying the final lap but would crash before getting to the checkered flag. “I was sick to my stomach getting here,” he said. “I didn’t want to be disappointed again.”
He wasn’t. A lifetime of achievement—he won three championships and 84 races—was validated.
“If you love what you’re doing, you put everything you’ve got into it,” Waltrip said. “I feel like it’s an investment. It’s an emotional investment. It’s a financial investment. It’s pride, it’s ego, it’s all those things we have as human beings. You put all of that into what you’re doing. This is the ultimate reward for that. This is a return on that big investment you make all those years.”
None of the other candidates talked as openly about wanting to get in as Waltrip. There is some thought within the sport that this beautiful transparency cost Waltrip election to the Hall of Fame last year, that the lack of a filter between his brain and his mouth annoyed enough voters to cost him one year in the Hall of Fame. And make no mistake, it cost him. The snub hurt him. But that pain is gone. It has been replaced by smiles. And tears. And hugs. And kisses.
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| Commentary: Hall Must Include Founders
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The NASCAR Hall of Fame needs a founders committee to expedite the induction of the sport's pioneers, like Red Byron. (Photo courtesy of NASCAR)
By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
The NASCAR Hall of Fame voting committee got it right on Tuesday with the selections of Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough, Dale Inman, Glen Wood and Richie Evans.
But the election of the Hall's third class of inductees—some of which amounts to the correction of previous slights and oversights—highlights a problem with the selection process that will get only worse as time passes.
My only quibble with this year's class was the omission of Leonard Wood. Yes, the Hall should honor its inductees as individuals, but to include team founder Glen Wood without master mechanic Leonard Wood is akin to honoring Laurel without Hardy or Rodgers without Hammerstein.
Together, Glen and Leonard Wood formed the critical mass that propelled Wood Brothers Racing to the pinnacle of stock car racing.
With the election of the third class, however, the Hall got the sizzle it needed. The announcement of the current inductees made it abundantly clear that no one will be a more fervent ambassador for the Charlotte, N.C., shrine than Waltrip.
It also was abundantly clear that the Hall needed star power to counteract flagging attendance and a budget dripping red ink. Why else do you think the voting was moved up four months this year, coming just a month after the second class was enshrined?
The Hall needed the presence of superstars such as Waltrip and Yarborough, who were snubbed on the first two ballots.
From a historical standpoint, the real problem that the Hall faces is how to enshrine those who laid the foundation for the sport but don't have the numbers, statistically, to compete with those who have established stronger credentials on the racetrack.
Raymond Parks, who in 2009 was the only surviving member of the famed Streamline Hotel meeting at which the plans for NASCAR were laid out, received strong consideration during the voting for the inaugural class. But Parks did the worst possible thing he could have done, as far as his Hall of Fame chances were concerned.
He died.
The dilemma won't go away. In choosing the next class of inductees, voters again will face the choice between honoring the founders of the sport and inducting those who have more sparkling—and more recent—credentials.
There's already sentiment to include team owner Richard Childress, who won six championships with inaugural inductee Dale Earnhardt. The sport's fan base, which collectively gets one vote, named Childress on its ballot this year.
Owner Rick Hendrick is equally deserving, having dominated the last decade of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st.
There is sentiment for the inclusion of Maurice Petty, who built the engines for Petty Enterprises. Now that founder Lee Petty, seven-time champion Richard Petty and crew chief Inman are all in the Hall, there will be a strong push for Maurice, who provided the power that made The King go.
Benny Parsons, the 1973 Cup champion and a beloved champion of the sport as a broadcaster, also got a nod from the fans, and he'll be considered.
At this point, the Hall has elected every eligible driver with 50 or more career victories, with the exception of Rusty Wallace, who—absurdly—hasn't yet made the 25-person field of Hall nominees. The voters also will have to take a long look at Herb Thomas (48 wins, two championships) and Buck Baker (46 wins, two championships) in next year's voting.
That doesn't leave much room for deserving pillars of the sport like Parks, inaugural champion Red Byron, Rex White or Cotton Owens, to name a few.
The solution is obvious. The NASCAR Hall of Fame needs a founders committee to function in much the same way as the veterans committee for Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame. Each year, the Hall should enshrine a select group of inductees for their contributions to the origins and growth of the sport.
These inductions would take place in a separate ceremony—giving the Hall another important event to spur attendance—but the founders would enter the Hall with the same stature as those selected by the voting committee.
The time for such a committee is now, while we can celebrate the historic figures who are still with us while they are still with us—and while there are those among us who remember them. That's a much better idea than waiting for years and ultimately chasing ghosts.
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