2011 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductees

SI Staff | May 23, 2011

2011 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductees /

2011 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductees

Here's a look at the five-man class going into NASCAR's Hall of Fame, beginning with David Pearson, whose 105 victories rank as the second most all time in the sport's history. Nicknamed the Silver Fox, Pearson won 113 pole positions and three championships during his 27-year career.

Pearson and on-track rival and fellow NASCAR legend Richard Petty finished in the one-two positions 63 times during their time on the track together. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Petty said that Pearson was the best driver he raced against. "He was the strongest competition over a period of time on all kinds of tracks," Petty said. "He was competition every week."

The Spartanburg, S.C., native was chosen by a panel of 40 NASCAR experts as Sports Illustrated's "Driver of the Century" in 1999.

Tied for third on NASCAR's all-time wins list, Bobby Allison waited a long 18 years before taking the checkers in the Great American Race.

Allison would go on to win two more Daytona 500s. His 1988 victory marked not only the first won by a driver over the age of 50, but also the first Daytona 500 in which a father and son crossed the start-finish line in the one-two positions.

Allison's 25-year racing career saw him notch 446 top-10 finishes, 58 poles and 85 wins. The famed driver retired in 1988.

Car owner Bud Moore entered NASCAR after completing a stint as a World War II infantryman. He first fielded a team in 1961, then went on to win championships in 1962-63. By the end of his career, Moore had watched his cars win 63 times.

Among drivers who piloted Moore's cars were fellow NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip and Ricky Rudd.

Though he's mostly thought of himself as a "country mechanic," Moore, through his accomplishments, opened doors to other events, including the 1970 Sports Car Club of America championship.

The patriarch of the storied Petty family, Lee Petty is best known as one of NASCAR's early pioneers and as the winner of the sport's inaugural Daytona 500.

Beginning his career in NASCAR's first-ever Cup Series race, Petty would help usher in a four-generation tradition of racing for the Petty family.

By the end of his 16-year career, Petty had made 427 NASCAR starts, won 54 races and taken the season championship three times. Between 1954 and 1979, Petty Enterprises won 10 championships -- three with Lee and seven with son Richard.

"Gentleman Ned" Jarrett may have retired at age 34, but that didn't stop him from racking up an impressive 50 NASCAR wins, tying him at 10th on the all-time wins list alongside Junior Johnson. He was named one of NASCAR's "50 Greatest Drivers" in 1998.

His impact off the track has been just as influential as his accomplishments on it. Jarrett became one of NASCAR's most well-known broadcasters in his post-racing days. His emotional call of his son Dale winning the 1993 Daytona 500 stands as one of his most memorable moments.

Jarrett's record 14-lap margin over Buck Baker at the 1965 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway remains one of his greatest and most well-known accomplishments.

Published May 23, 2011

SI STAFF