Too many Frances, too few Pearsons

   There aren’t any circumstances under which I’d put two administrators and only three drivers in any hall of fame class. But that’s what NASCAR did Wednesday.

   The organization’s first hall of fame choices include Bill France Sr., who assembled NASCAR, and Bill France Jr., who took over when his father left.

   Brian France, the chairman of the board and CEO of the family business, was not elected.

   But he will be. Bill France Jr., who took a regional sport national, also would have been. He could have waited a year. The first class needs more speed, more daring, more of the drivers who loved the sport and risked what they had to be part of it.

    Specifically the class needs David Pearson (above). Pearson, out of Spartanburg, S.C., won three championships and 105 races. Only Richard Petty, who was elected Wednesday, won more races.

   As dominant as Petty was, Pearson regularly filled his rearview mirror when he wasn’t in front of him. Pearson was a major talent, and he drove as if handling a race car was the one thing he was put on Earth to do.

   It would have been fitting to honor him this week as NASCAR gathers at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Pearson won four races and a staggering 14 poles at the track.

Comments

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Amen to that! No class should include more than 1 administrative type person. The exclusion of David Pearson in the first class lessens its importance. Second overall in number of wins, but not in the inaugural class??? Bill Jr inherited NASCAR from his father. Yes, he did a decent job running it, but without his father, there would be nothing. He should be saved for the second or even third class. And why did the NASCAR Hall of Fame not follow other HOF's and put more in the first class (10 would probably be an appropriate number) and then 5 thereafter. One thing I disagree with you completely on is suggesting that Brian France will eventually get into the hall. Please don't diminish its importance with someone like him.

[Kravon]

This is exactly why most folks think NASCAR is a joke.

[sonny]

Don t think i ll be making the trip to the hall no pearson!!!

[Gray Newman]

Com'n Tom, what did you expect? I am just surprised the didn't include Brian and the two France bozos that got arrested last week for drag racing in Daytona.

[Mitchel]

I thought that the voters had a set of family Jewels, but I was wrong. No David Pearson means a driver that has more wins than anyone, races to wins ratio is not a HALL OF FAMER, come on give me a break VOTERS. This vote was a JOKE putting the both Frances in at once.

[Jim]

What is the difference between Wall Street, the government and NASCAR? Wall Street is controlled by big business. The government is controlled by big business. NASCAR and the HOF is controlled by the Frances.

[Bob Fister]

I aggree with with Tom, It was a bad thing to do putting both France's at the same time. Nastycar will suffer for that move, just watch. What a joke. People come to see the drivers, not the owners!

[Richard Pugh]

I, too, agree with you, Tom. NASCAR administration has become a joke. Almost as if they must be placated or they'll take their sport and go home. What kind of "Big Boss" must be stroked in order to make them feel important?.....Oh,.....sorry, Bruton.

[DriversFirst]

It's a disgrace that David Pearson didn't get selected in the first HOF class. He should have been the 4th candidate chosen, after France Sr, RP and DE. The credibility of the HOF is now an open issue.

[Miller]

Good luck to the citizens of Charlotte on getting your $200 million investment back!!!

[David Miller]

Just what we need...some idiot from Wisconsin or whereever telling us about NASCAR. Tom had no idea who David Pearson was until he drove that Nova south.

[Tsk! Tsk!]

Ya think this whole Hall of Fame thing was first and foremost nothing but a vanity booster for the Frances???

[The Angry American]

Yeah, there definitely should've been more drivers in this first class. Both David Pearson and Cale Yarborough would've been on my first ballot.

[Mark]

Incredible buffoons. With all the history to start from, the first class was EASY! France senior was obvious, as was Petty,Earnhardt, Johnson and PEARSON! But this demonstrates how self-absorbed NASCAR has become in their direction. Look at the mess the COT has created.

This was just to simple to mess up, and yet they did.

[Ghoul]

Just like the races themselves, the HOF voting was fixed. When the doors open on the first day, people will have to wait 15 minutes to get in because of a debris caution.

[jeff harmon]

i wonder if smokey yunick will get in right next to france? hahahha

[Tom Chandler]

I used to listen to races on Sunday afternoons on my AM radio specifically to hear duels between Petty and Pearson. Would have been appropo to see them go in
the Hall side by side. But NOOOOOOOO ! So much for the luster. Me being a senior and having been to over 150 races in 51 years, well, I won't be going to the Hall until Pearson's well enshrined.

Tom

[Ashamed]

Tom's right. I just don't know what to say. I look at the halls of fame of other sports -- baseball, football and hockey -- and can't help but notice how their greatest stars are front and center. Not diminishing the contribution of the Frances, but I believe they place second to the likes of Pearson, Petty, Allison and Yarborough.

[Mainer race fan]

Do any of you realize that NASCAR did not select the first class. It was selected by a combination of the media, former drivers, a fan vote and many other VIP's not directly related to NASCAR. If any of you read the article on the home page, there was a big discussion on whether to include both Frances.

While I agree that Pearson is very deserving of getting in the first class, it was unfortunatly not to be. Of course, without France Jr. we might not even be having this debate. He did alot of things to help grow the sport into what it is today; Winston sponsership, first flag-to-flag coverage of the 79' Daytona 500 and racing at Indy or only a few things that came with him at the helm.

[john]

jeff gordon made nascar take off in the 1990s

[john]

lets recognise something here regardless of your views.

[Tsk! Tsk!]

IMO The Frances very well may have gotten in on the vote of "a combination of the media, former drivers, a fan vote and many other VIP's not directly related to NASCAR" as Mainer race fan said. But I can't help but think those votes were influenced in large part by what those voters felt would the repercussions from the powers that be in NASCAR if they didn't!!

[LoneWolf9356]

The Frances' are all a joke and all about the "MONEY". I would love to see someone like, say, Bruton Smith, with as manytracks that he owns, get together with some other investors and split off from NASCASH and start their own series like CART & INDY did and go back to using the old style cars instead of COT cars. What would the Frances' do then? The HOF voting was a joke and a real dishonor to all drivers and crews alike. Its not just about owners, drivers and VIP's. WHat about the crews that make all of it work on Sunday's? JMO

[Bob]

Only in American Sports can a Felon go back to work and be elected in a Hall of Fame! What an absolute SHAME!!!!

[lifelongfan]

I'm not sure why people are overly surprised...this was pretty much what many expected the first class to look like. Bill Jr. did a lot to continue what his father started, and the only real crime I see of his was letting Brian take over.

This will be a VERY unpopular comment, but if I was to replace anyone for Pearson it would be Earnhardt. Johnson, Petty, and Pearson did a lot to pioneer the action on the track and off, and my preference is to honor the pioneers who made the sport be in the first class. These three, plus both Frances, gave us a sport and environment where an Earnhardt & company could thrive. Earnhardt absolutely deserves to be an early enshrinee, and yes possibly the first, but I don't think being in the second class would have been that bad.