NASCAR’s sixth Hall of Fame class features a mixture of fan favorites and foundation picks. The voters chose, in order of votes received:
- Bill Elliott (87%)
- Wendell Scott (58%)
- Joe Weatherly (53%)
- Rex White (43%)
- Fred Lorenzen (30%)
Much controversy followed the announcement as many people questioned the inclusion of Wendell Scott and Fred Lorenzen.
Wendell Scott is credited with one NASCAR win in a 13 year career. Scott was the first (and currently last) African-American to win in NASCAR’s top series. Many people say Scott did not deserve to be in the Hall of Fame due to his numbers. Others said his contribution to the sport was monumental and deserved a spot in the Hall of Fame. In the end the human capital out-shadowed the race numbers to include a trailblazer in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Fred Lorenzen also doesn’t have the number of wins, nor championships of some of the other candidates. He had 26 wins in 158 starts in NASCAR’s premiere series. He’s called the sport’s first superstar. Fred abruptly retired, on top, in 1966. He said on Sirius Speedway Legends that he is “shocked by (his) decision today” and (he doesn’t) know why (he) did it”. In the end he attributes it to being burned out. Lorenzen staged a comeback in 1970, but was never able to reclaim his track dominance.
The new Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR will be awarded to Anne B. France. The wife of NASCAR’s founder Bill France, and CFO of NASCAR, Ms. Annie B did a little bit of everything, to grow the burgeoning sport. She has been previously nominated for the Hall of Fame along with her husband and son. Once again the value of her contribution cannot – and should not – be measured in wins or championships, but is valuable nonetheless. The Landmark Award should reduce some of the controversy surrounding some of the nominees allowing very deserving people to be honored for doing something besides scoring points or making money.
It is nice to see some Hall of Fame votes display their humanity and recognize the value of the human achievement displayed by the nominees in this class. Those who disagree with the choices use numbers to justify their position. I believe some believe the Hall should only be populated by people who can prove, in numbers, that they deserve to be there. I believe others are hiding behind the numbers – cloaking their distaste for some aspect of the nominees. Obviously Wendell Scott did not win as many races as Bill Elliott. Wendell Scott, unlike Jackie Robinson, did not have powerful white forces behind him supporting his effort. Like many others in NASCAR he was scraping together what he could to do the best he could. The difference is that he had an extra obstacle, institutional/society approved racism, many of the others – all of the others – did not have to overcome. He overcame that and more and did something thousands of drivers, with some or all of the advantages available, never accomplished. His accomplishment is phenomenal and to deny that fact leaves me asking why.
Drivers frequently mention the sacrifices their wives made/make in order for them to achieve, yet there are people who question Anne B. France’s inclusion in the Hall. It seems obvious to me that she sacrificed everything to help her husband achieve his dream, while fulfilling her obligations as wife and mother. If the drivers all say they couldn’t have done it without their wives, and they were just driving in the series – not building it from scratch – I feel its only stands to reason Bill France could not have accomplished the creation of NASCAR without her and Bill France Jr. wouldn’t exist without Anne B. France. Congratulations Hall of Fame voters on making moves in the right direction to honor those who built the sport and made it the sport we love today.
The 2015 class will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on January 30, 2015.