Stock Car Hall of Fame UPDATE: Dale Earnhardt, Bill France Jr., Glen Wood and A.J. Foyt will be inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association’s Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame on Sept. 1 in Darlington, SC. Earnhardt, the seven-time Winston Cup champion who died in a crash on Feb. 18 during the Daytona 500, will be the first to go into the hall under a new rule allowing “exceptional” candidates to be considered immediately after the end of their careers. The NMPA membership approved the creation of that category of candidates at its annual convention in January. Earnhardt was named on 95 percent of the ballots submitted by NMPA members. France and Wood were each named on 84 percent and Foyt was chosen on 73 percent of the ballots. Candidates needed 65 percent of the vote to win election(That’s Racin’)(7-14/8-31-2001) UPDATE: Four men whose accomplishments have made their names synonymous with success in American motorsports were inducted into the Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame Saturday night. Among them was Dale Earnhardt, the seven-time Winston Cup champion who was killed in a Feb. 18 crash during the Daytona 500. For Earnhardt, who was joined in this year’s class by Bill France Jr., Glen Wood and A.J. Foyt, election by members of the National Motorsports Press Association is undoubtedly the first of many such honors. Earnhardt was the first person voted in under a rule adopted in January allowing “extraordinary candidates” to become eligible immediately. “Dale Earnhardt is one of the best drivers we ever had in this sport, if not the best,” said Junior Johnson, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973. “He put his whole life into it – the determination he had, the will to win, not giving up and his record stands for that.” In an unusual turn of events, France was inducted by his brother, Jim, then immediately inducted Earnhardt. NASCAR President Mike Helton read a letter from Earnhardt’s widow, Teresa, who did not attend the ceremony. Kathy Watkins, Earnhardt’s sister, accepted on behalf of the family.(more at That’s Racin’ and The acceptance speech of Kathy Earnhardt Watkins)(9-4-2001)
