CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NASCAR executives and racing royalty filled a ballroom at the Charlotte Convention Center Wednesday afternoon. David Pearson, Cotton Owens, Ned Jarrett, Bruton Smith, Glen and Eddie Wood and Ricky Rudd were among stock car's dignitaries on hand, eager to hear the inaugural five-person NASCAR Hall of Fame class. The room went totally silent when NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter took the stage to introduce chairman Brian France. And in an eight-minute ceremony carried on live television, France opened sealed envelopes announcing one-by-one that his grandfather, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr.; the sport's all-time winningest driver, Richard Petty; Brian France's father, Bill France Jr.; the late seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt; and champion driver and owner Junior Johnson will go down as the first to be in enshrined when the Hall opens next May.
The inclusion of France Sr., Petty and Earnhardt was a given, it was the final two selections that created an air of suspense.
