WALTRIP
LEADS 1ST ROUND VOTING TALLADEGA, AL – Three-time NASCAR Cup champion and current TV analyst Darrell Waltrip heads the list of the Top 20 Finalists for induction into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2005, but there is an awful lot of talent right on his bumper. Waltrip, who won championships in 1981, 1982 and 1985, led all candidates in the first round of voting in his first year on the ballot. In all, seven nominees made the Top 20 for the first time. In addition to Waltrip, drag racers Joe Amato and Bob Glidden, Grand Prix champions Rene Dreyfuss and Nigel Mansell, powerboat superstar Chip Hanauer and Indy 500 winner Tommy Milton all made the finals. The rest of the list of finalists have been there before. Among them are the first NASCAR champion Red Byron, six-time Modified champion Jerry Cook, AAA champion Pete DePaolo, stock car great Harry Gant, versatile Janet Guthrie, Modified and Sportsman champion Ray Hendrick, and five-time Late Model champ Jack Ingram. Also on the final ballot for the Class of 2005 are sprint car legend Jan Opperman, stock car driver/owner Cotton Owens, Superbike and 500cc motorcycle champion Wayne Rainey, innovative promoter Humpy Wheeler of Lowes Motor Speedway, and 1960 NASCAR champion Rex White. “Our finalists have two common threads each year. In addition to excelling in the field of motor sports, each group has a wide diversity, and this year is no exception,” said Executive Director Jim Freeman. “The group has competed in at least a dozen major sanctioning bodies, and the finalists represent drivers, owners, car builders and promoters.”
The Class
of 2005 will be announced in late fall of this year, with the induction ceremony set for FROM IMHOF PUBLIC RELATIONS (256/362-5002) 07/22/04cml.Contact IMHOF |
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