Hall of Fame list leaves out one important name

NASCAR announced Thursday night the 25 nominees to be considered for the inaugural Hall of Fame Class. From that list, 50 voters -- I am a voter -- will determine in October which five will be a part of that first class.

Give credit to the nominating committee because it's not easy to take all the key figures in the sport's history and whittle it to 25 names. I'm thankful I wasn't a part of that.

For all the committee did right, there was one omission that stands out to me -- Dale Inman.

The crew chief won 193 races and eight championships. Most of those wins and 7 of those titles came with Richard Petty. HIs other title came with Terry Labonte.

While numbers don't tell the whole story for some of the nominees, they certainly paint a picture of the sport's most successful crew chief. It was interesting, though, that of the 25 selected, 17 were drivers, six were car owners, two were officials and none were crew chiefs. Such an omission would be the one complaint to make about who was selected.

Otherwise, it's hard to fault the committee. In a couple of cases, the committee got it right in nominating Roanoke's Curtis Turner and modified driver Richie Evans.

Before the list came out, I picked my own list and had Turner on it, but I wondered if he would truly make the list. Bill France Sr. suspended Turner from 1960 until late in the 1965 season for attempting to unionize the drivers. That hurt Turner's numbers. His 17 wins are less than most of the driver nominees.  He will be a challenge for myself and the other voters to decide where he fits in with NASCAR's greats beacuse of his interrupted career. Still, even with the past issues, it was good to see him at least nominated.

Just as it was good to see Evans nominated. Remember this isn't the Sprint Cup Hall of Fame but the NASCAR Hall of Fame and should include those from all the umbrella series. Evans won nine modified championships before his death in a crash during practice at Martinsville. He's deserving to be on the list and it wouldn't be surprising to see him in the Hall within five years.

Here's a look at the 25 nominees and a brief comment:

Bobby Allison -- Could be inducted in Year 2 or 3 at the latest

Buck Baker -- Buddy's father who might get lost in the shuffle in the next few years.

Dale Earnhardt -- He likely will be an unanimous selection.

Tim Flock -- Induction likely 3 or more years away.

Ned Jarrett -- Two-time champ probably 3-4 years away from induction.

David Pearson -- Expect to see in the first class.

Lee Petty -- Likely Year 2 inductee

Richard Petty -- Automatic pick this year

Richard Childress -- Great record but probably a few years away.

Herb Thomas -- Great winning percentage could get him in in about 3 or so years.

Darrell Waltrip -- Should be in by Year 2 at the latest

Joe Weatherly -- Probably four or so years away

Glen Wood -- Good to see Wood Brothers member nominated but may not join Hall for five years

Cale Yarborough -- Argument could be made to be inducted this year.

Junior Johnson -- Strong candidate to be inducted this year.

Fireball Roberts -- Likely in the same boat as Weatherly

Bill France Sr. -- Expect him to be honored in first class

Bill France Jr. -- Question of if he'll join his father. Might be inducted in Year 2.

Bud Moore -- Is Hall worthy but might have to wait four or more years.

Curtis Turner -- Could get inducted in Year 3 but probably not earlier than that.

Benny Parsons -- People's champ might be four or more years away

Rick Hendrick -- Induction likely delayed a few years as committee works to get veterans in ahead of him.

Richie Evans -- Would be nice to see him inducted within four years.

Red Byron -- First champion but numbers not strong. Likely will need more than five years.

Raymond Parks -- First champion car owner but likely will need more than five years to get in.

There's my thoughts. Who did you think got left out of the top 25 that shoudln't have? Who would you vote for your five to be inducted next May at the Hall of Fame in Charlotte?

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