With Dale Earnhardt leading the way, NASCAR candidates dominated first round voting for the Class of 2006 at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. This was a switch from the previous two years when stockcar legends managed to grab only three of the ten spots available. Following Earnhardt, who had one of the highest vote totals ever, NASCAR-related candidates took the first six spots, eight of the top ten places, and 12 of the 22 total finalists. There were 22 candidates instead of 20 because of a three-way tie for 20th. Earnhardt’s NASCAR peers include, in alphabetical order, Red Byron, Jerry Cook, Harry Gant, Ray Hendrick, Jack Ingram, Cotton Owens, Les Richter, Jack Roush, Ralph Seagraves, Humpy Wheeler and Rex White. The non-NASCAR contingent is equally talented, and is likely to grab some spots in the final group of five inductees as well. Other finalists include Indy Car standouts J. C. A-gajanian and Pete DePaolo, Formula 1 star Rene Dreyfus, sports car drivers Gene Felton, Janet Guthrie and Brian Redman, sprint car legends Tommy Hinnershitz and Jan Opperman, drag racing’s Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins and motorcycle champion Wayne Rainey. Ballots for the final round of voting will be mailed to the voting panel next week. The announcement of the Class of 2005 will be made on Wednesday, Nov. 2nd.
The date of the 2006 Induction Ceremony will be Thursday night, April 27th. It will be in the Speed Channel Dome at the Hall of Fame, and will be a black tie affair with a sit-down dinner and receptions both before and after. Tickets are $125 each, or $1,000 for a table of eight. For more information, please call 256/362-5002.(IMHOF PR)(7-23-2005)
