NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee spotlight: Tim Flock

The Flock family was one of the first families in NASCAR racing and its represented by Tim Flock among the 25 nominees for induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame and rightfully so. While Flock's 39 wins place him on 17th on NASCAR's all-time win list, he amassed those 39 wins in only 187 starts.

Flock's best racing season came in his second championship season -- 1955. He dominated that year, winning nearly half the races he started -- 18 wins in 39 events. He also posted 32-top fives in those 39 races. Flock's 18-win season was a NASCAR single-season win record that stood until surpassed by Richard Petty's 27 victories in 1967.

Flock already had one NASCAR title prior to his 1955 dominance. He scored eight wins and 22 top-five finishes in 33 starts to claim what is now the Sprint Cup Series championship three years earlier in 1952.

To read more of this bio, visit Cup Series News and Notes.

Photo of Tim Flock courtesy of ISC Archives/Getty Images.

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NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee spotlight: Red Byron

Several drivers among the latest class of nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame were around during the early days of the sport. Nominee Red Byron was around from the very beginning. As a matter of fact he won NASCAR's first race in 1948 on the beach course at Daytona. He also won NASCAR's first championship, being awarded NASCAR Modified Division champion later that same year. Byron also became NASCAR's first Cup-level champion a year later when he won NASCAR's Strictly Stock (the precursor of the Sprint Cup Series) title in 1949.

Byron's racing career actually came to be before NASCAR was even formed. He began racing in the 1930s and was a successful racer in Alabama in the 1940s before his service in the Army during World War II.

To read more of this bio, visit Cup Series News and Notes.

Photo of Red Byron courtesy of ISC Archives/Getty Images.

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Nominees announced for 2011 NASCAR Hall of Fame second class

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 1, 2010) – NASCAR announced Thursday the list of 25 nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s second induction class. From that list, five inductees will be chosen via a process that includes a nationwide fan vote on NASCAR.COM.

The 2011 inductee class will be announced in October and honored next year at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C.

This year’s inaugural induction class consisted of Dale Earnhardt, Junior Johnson, Bill France Jr., Bill France Sr. and Richard Petty.
The second round of nominees, which again includes many of the sport’s legendary names, were selected by a 21-person nominating committee consisting of representatives from NASCAR, the NASCAR Hall of Fame and track owners from both major facilities and historic short tracks. The committee’s votes were tabulated by accounting firm Ernst & Young.

Joining the 21-person committee this year is Jody Deery, owner of acclaimed quarter-mile short track Rockford (Ill.) Speedway. She replaces Tom Blackwell, former owner of Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway, who passed away in April.

The HOF’s inductees will be determined by the Voting Panel, which has 53 members – the entire Nominating Committee, media members, manufacturer representatives, retired competitors (drivers, owners, crew chiefs) and recognized industry leaders. In addition, the fan vote will result in the Voting Panel’s 53rd and final ballot. Four new members will join the Voting Panel this year: Richard Petty, Kyle Petty of TNT, legendary media member Chris Economaki, and Jim Campbell of Chevrolet.

Following are the 25 nominees:

•  Bobby Allison, 1983 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and winner of 84 races
•  Buck Baker, first driver to win consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup championships 
• Red Byron, first NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, in 1949
• Richard Childress, 11-time car owner champion in NASCAR’s three national series
• Jerry Cook, six-time NASCAR Modified champion
• Richie Evans, nine-time NASCAR Modified champion
• Tim Flock, two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion
• Rick Hendrick, 12-time car owner champion in NASCAR’s three national series
• Jack Ingram, two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion
• Dale Inman, eight-time NASCAR Sprint Cup championship crew chief
• Ned Jarrett, two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion
• Fred Lorenzen, 26 wins and winner of the Daytona 500 and World 600
• Bud Moore, 63 wins and two NASCAR Sprint Cup titles as a car owner
• Raymond Parks, NASCAR’s first champion car owner
• Benny Parsons, 1973 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion
• David Pearson, 105 victories and three NASCAR Sprint Cup championships
• Lee Petty, winner of first Daytona 500 and first three-time series champion
• Fireball Roberts, won 33 NASCAR Sprint Cup races, including the 1962 Daytona 500
• T. Wayne Robertson, helped raise NASCAR popularity as R.J. Reynolds Senior VP
• Herb Thomas, first two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, 1951 and ‘53
• Curtis Turner, early personality, called the “Babe Ruth of stock car racing” 
• Darrell Waltrip, winner of 84 races and three NASCAR Sprint Cup championships
• Joe Weatherly, two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion
• Glen Wood, as driver, laid foundation for Wood Brothers’ future team success
• Cale Yarborough, winner of three consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup titles, 1976-78

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Photo: Red Byron

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Dale Earnhardt Family Honors the Racing Legend at NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction

In a ceremony attended by NASCAR's finest, five legends of the sport became the first to be enshrined in the new NASCAR Hall of Fame, located in Charlotte, NC, the heart of racing country. The 2010 inductees were honored on Sunday.

Racing greats Dale Earnhardt, Junior Johnson and Richard Petty and NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. and Bill France, Jr. were the 2010 inductees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Johnson and Petty were in attendance and members of the Earnhardt family represented Earnhardt, representing Bill France Sr. was his son Jim France, representing Bill France Jr., was his daughter Lesa France Kennedy, and his son Brian France.

Current drivers and past champions came together to celebrate the special day. NASCAR Champions Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, who were all absent from the Hall of Fame Opening Ceremony, attended the induction ceremony on Sunday. All three are expected to be future Hall of Fame members.

Most eyes, however, were on the Earnhart family as they came together to honor the senior member. Dale Earnhardt's family, despite any previous differences, stood united as they spoke about the racing legend that they knew as not only a great driver but also as a father and husband.

Dale Earnhardt family honors the racing legend at NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony

The Earnhardt Family at Dale's Hall of Fame Spire

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

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