Running 2023 Motorsports thread

You are correct. The true Hall of Fame worthy people (along with many not so much) have all been inducted.
I remember when the thing opened that Larry Woody wanted to throw open the doors all at once.
More than once I told him if you did that, you wouldn't have an induction class in a generation.

 

I was a bigger Ward fan than Jeff (how can you not love Ward Burton?), but truly always liked and respected Jeff. The Mayor, 21 wins, two Coke 600s and a Southern 500. Pretty good.

 

The guys who deserve to be in there and aren't are dead, and NASCAR can't get air time for holding a ceremony for dead drivers and mechanics. So with the notable exceptions of Johnson and Knaus, they're stuck putting recently retired guys on the ballot.

Smokey Yunick is the biggest omission, and he'll never get in because of the France family.

Jeff Burton? Yeah, he has done a lot for the sport including an outstanding driving career. He's deserving. But NASCAR's already down to nominating living drivers who really weren't dominant. Rudd was a compiler and Edwards did backflips -- or one of my favorite quotes, "one of them cheerleader deals." But if you're having a chat about the best drivers of their eras, the Rooster's name may only come up because of his great road racing record. And Edwards because of the accusations that he was 'roiding.

Any list that includes Kasey Kahne in the Greatest 75 NASCAR Drivers is such horsecrap that I can't even stomach my breakfast.

 

The nature of NASCAR hurts trying to have a true hall of fame. There is always a limited number of drivers/crew chiefs, and the ones who are truly good (worthy) have extraordinarily long careers compared to stick and ball sport athletes.

 

That's so groan that I should have said it.

 

I don't like when incidents happen like this one and an article doesn't state clearly what the conduct was.

 

Here is more detail. Seems it was a tasteless George Floyd meme posted in 2020 that, at some point, Gragson (and 80,000 other people) clicked the "like" button on.
Didn't comment on it. Clicked the like button.

Dropping the Hammer: Noah Gragson's Big Mistake

 

This is a good perspective.

2 Picks NASCAR Hall of Fame Got Way Wrong

 

I'll go with this, I guess ... but "wiffed" in the second graf? And "Tim Richard" in the penultimate graf?

Ugh ...

 

Sounds like an old man is still mad at Janet Guthrie for the crime of being a woman who raced cars.