the jade gurss blog

Who Would You Select for the NASCAR Hall of Fame?

The fan voting is now open for the first class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The hall will open in uptown Charlotte in 2010 and induct an inaugural class of five hall-o'-famers. 

Which five would you select?  The 25 nominees (plus fan voting details) can be found here. 

Here are my picks for the first five: 

There are three 'no-brainers' that should likely be unanimous selections:

1.) Bill France - (pictured at left with his son, Bill Jr.) "Big Bill" was the founder and original iron-handed leader of NASCAR. He also created and built Daytona International Speedway. 

2.) Richard Petty - He still holds most of the statistical records and his 200 wins will never be duplicated. 

3.) Dale Earnhardt -  Tied with Petty as the only seven-time Cup champions. His life and death still hovers over the sport almost a decade later.

After the first three, the choices become less clear. The 25 nominees are all deserving, and will likely be inducted in future years, but here are my votes for the remaining inductees:

4.) Bill France Jr. -  Led the sport through what is known as 'the Modern Era.' His tenure included the most extensive national growth period in the sport's history (late 90s - early 00s).

5.) Junior Johnson - This final spot was a tough choice because an argument could be made for many of the nominees. But, Johnson gets my vote for his 50 victories as a driver, his numerous championships as a team owner, and his influence in bringing major sponsors into the sport. For example, Johnson chose not to sign Winston as a team sponsor but instead pointed them toward sponsoring the entire series. It turned out to be a successful 30-year relationship for Winston and was essential for the growth of the sport.  

Disagree? Leave your selections in the "Comments" section.

Back on the Grid

I've been away for more than a week... went home to help my mom with some things and relax in Kansas. It was good to disconnect for awhile. 

It has been quite a weekend already. The Felipe Massa accident was a freak occurrence, but it's not the first time an open-wheel driver has been hit in the helmet by debris. Usually, the impact is fatal - such as last week when Henry Surtees was killed after being struck by a loose wheel at Brands Hatch in England. (Surtees' father, John, was the first to win world championships on two wheels and then on four in Formula One.) Tom Pryce was a promising F1 driver who was killed after being struck by a fire extinguisher in a tragic accident that also killed a track worker in 1977. I'm not sure what would solve the problem, but I suspect the drivers will push for a safety review. 

What a feat for Ron Hornaday to win four Truck Series races in a row. That 33 team is hitting on all cylinders on all types of tracks. 

Now, it's time for the Brickyard - and double-file restarts with a narrow turn one entrance. Could be calamitous and should be exciting.

More GM Racing Fallout

A federal judge ruled Monday that GM can "shed" a long series of sponsorship and support contracts, mostly in the sports and motorsports category. These are in addition to the motorsports cuts that were already made in the past month. If you look at the list of contracts that are now null and void, you'll find tracks (Daytona, California, Richmond), teams and series (GM-backed Grand-Am competitors plus sanctioning bodies like the NHRA and Grand-Am), and NASCAR drivers with race teams or personal services deals (Ryan Newman, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer for example). The full list of contracts can be found here.  (It will appear in your browser as a PDF file.)

I believe this is a sign of things to come for the rest of the year and into the 2010 season. Many sponsor budgets and contracts are set each year before January 1 rolls around, so many current contracts for 2009 were completed long before the economy tanked in the fall of 2008. Now, as teams try to renew or find new sponsors, the conditions are simply not good for most companies. It's going to get worse before it gets better, so if you don't like start-and-parks, you may have a rough year ahead of you. 

Jimmie Johnson's "Winning Confidence"

Nascar Champ Jimmie Johnson's Self Help DVD from Jimmie Johnson

Ricky Carmichael and Ken Block meet "Top Gear"

Ken Block and Ricky Carmichael go head-to-head to the apparent delight/terror of "Top Gear" co-host James May (aka "Captain Slow"). Soon to air in the United States on BBC America.

Robert McNamara Has Died: One of recent history's most reviled yet compelling figures, Robert McNamara, has died at age 93. He is the subject of one of my all-time favorite films, "The Fog of War." The brilliant documentary looks at McNamara's eleven essential lessons of war and chronicles a very smart and complex man who went from being the president of Ford Motor Company to the Secretary of Defense under John F. Kennedy. I cannot recommend "The Fog of War" strongly enough. Here is the film's trailer.