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NBC Sports Motorsports Writers Dustin Long and Nate Ryan on Tuesday threw ballots for the Nascar Hall of Fame as part of a 48-member voting panel.
After being part of the voting panel for the first six classes, Long returns this year. This is the 16th consecutive class that Ryan has voted for 2010 since the first. No vote was held in 2021, because the introduction of the class selected in the vote on June 9, 2020, delayed its induction until January 2022.
The Nascar Hall of Fame Induction process is on its second iteration. From 2010-20, the five highest votes were recorded annually from a list of 20 to 25 nominees.
For the past four votes. The mood consisted of two categories: modern era (10 nominees) and pioneer (five nominees). Two inductees are selected from the ballot of the modern era and one of Pioneer (members of the voting panel votes each vote for two modern era candidates and one pioneer candidate).
Here are the ballots of Long and Ryan for the 16th class:
Dustin Long’s mood
Modern era: 1. Jeff Burton. As highly regarded as a manager that he went to the successor to Dale Earnhardt in the no. 3 car was selected at the retirement of Earnhardt. It speaks volumes. Burton’s work with safety stretched 25 years and played a key role in protecting managers. His role on behalf of managers was invaluable to competitors. He still makes an impact on the sport in those roles and also as an analyst for NBC Sports.
2. Kurt Busch. The 2004 Cup champion won 34 races, including a Daytona 500 and a Coca-Cola 600. He won at least one race for ten consecutive years and had another series of nine consecutive seasons with at least a win before a concussion forced him to retire.
Pioneer: Jake Elder. He is known as “suitcase Jake” because he moved around regularly, and still had some of the best drivers in motorsport -driving for him and won with him. He was the crew head of David Pearson when Pearson won in 1968 and ’69 championships. He was also the crew head of Dale Earnhardt for the first 13 races in 1980, the first season that Earnhardt won the title. Mario Andretti won the Daytona 500 of 1967 with Elder as his crew head.
Landmark Award: Humpy Wheeler. The PT Barnum of the sport was more than pizzaz. While creating many sides shows to attract fans to Charlotte Motor Speedway as president and general manager of the track, he has also given many drivers to many drivers over the years. Many people who later worked for him managed and promoted other tracks and played an important role in the sport, especially during the time of boom in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Nate Ryan’s mood
Modern era: 1. Jeff Burton. “The mayor” claims two wins in Coca-Cola 600 among its 21 Cup victories over 21 seasons, but his biggest contributions were a very important vote in the Nascar industry. Over the past decade, the native of the South Boston, Virginia, was one of the main analysts for NBC Sports, and he was also an important confidant and consultant for today’s stars as director of the Nascar Council Council. Burton also played an important role in promoting safety progress, especially in the cabin.
2. Kurt Busch. The 2004 Cup Series champion counts the 2017 Daytona 500 among its 34 career victories. His title comes in the first year of the chase for the Nextel Cup that would develop in the current playoff system. Busch finished ten times in the top -10 of the standings, and his fiery side sometimes got him sideways with other drivers, media members and NASCAR officials. But on 23xi Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing, he became known late in his career for his veteran leadership, which was unfortunately hampered by a head injury sustained in an accident on Pocono Raceway.
Pioneer: Banjo Matthews. His cars, one of the largest car builders in Nascar history, won 262 of the 362 cup races of 1974-85, including all 30 races during the 1978 season, which was the third consecutive championship for a Matthews built car. He is known as ‘The Henry Ford of Race Cars’, and he also served as a mentor for some major crew heads and mechanics, such as Nascar Hall O Famer Ray Evernham.
Landmark Award: Humpy Wheeler. Wheeler, a flamboyant showman as the president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway, is one of the biggest promoters in Nascar and racing history. He is credited that he brought Janet Guthrie into a stock pair of racing (who uses her ability to sell tickets for the Coca-Cola 600 against the Indy 500). He was also a mentor for many Nascar stars and a friend of the media, who appreciated his amusing and spicy quotes who filled out his skilled big image vision. The late sports writer David Poole once referred to Wheelers as “Nascar’s Yoda” for his boundless wisdom.
Long’s previous NASCAR HALL OF FAME voters
2010: Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, David Pearson, Bill France Sr.
2011: Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Dale Inman
2012: Waltrip, Yarborough, Inman, Richie Evans, Herb Thomas
2013: Thomas, Cotton Owens, Leonard Wood, Wendell Scott, Rick Hendrick
2014: Fireball Roberts, Dale Jarrett, Hendrick, Tim Flock, Joe Weatherly
2015: Bill Elliott, Scott, Weatherly, Hendrick, Terry Labonte
Ryan’s previous NASCAR HALL OF FAME voters
2010: Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, David Pearson, Bill France jr.
2011: Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Lee Petty
2012: Waltrip, Yarborough, Dale Inman, Raymond Parks, Curtis Turner
2013: Fireball Roberts, Turner, Fred Lorenzen, Herb Thomas, Tim Flock
2014: Roberts, Turner, Lorenzen, Flock, Joe Weatherly
2015: Lorenzen, Turner, Weatherly, O. Bruton Smith, Rick Hendrick
2016: Turner, Smith, Hendrick, Ray Evernham, Bobby Isaac
2017: Hendrick, Evernham, Benny Parsons, Parks, Red Byron
2018: Evernham, Byron, Robert Yates, Alan Kulwicki, Buddy Baker
2019: Jeff Gordon, Kulwicki, Baker, Davey Allison, Jack Roush
2020: Tony Stewart, Baker, Waddell Wilson, Joe Gibbs
2022: Kirk Shelmerdine, Dale Jr. (Modern era); Jake Elder (Pioneer).
2023: Matt Kenseth, Kirk Shelmerdine (modern era); Hershel McGriff (pioneer).
2024: Jimmie Johnson, Chad Know (modern era), Banjo Matthews (Pioneer)
2025: Jeff Burton, Ricky Rudd (modern era); Banjo Matthews (Pioneer)
Beacon
2015: Raymond Parks
2016: Raymond Parks
2017: Raymond Parks
2018: Ralph SeaHraves
2019: Jim Hunter
2020: Ralph SeaHraves
2022: Janet Guthrie
2023: Janet Guthrie
2024: Dr. Dean Sicking
