A couple of weekends ago I was in Charlotte and staying in a hotel directly across the street from the NASCAR Hall of Fame. As my wife slept in and I monitored the Hall's construction from our window, I started to think about the 2010 class of inductees. While I assume the sophomore class won't be announced until the fall, the Hall itself will be opening in less than two months.

So, let's contemplate inductees six through 10.

The no-brainer
Many people, myself included, thought David Pearson should have been in the Hall's first class. Not only did he amass 105 Cup wins during his illustrious career, but he's the best driver ever to climb behind the wheel of a stock car, an argument I made in a blog late last year.

The crew chief
Dale Inman is considered by some to be the sport's first official crew chief. He is certainly its winningest. Over 190 of Richard Petty's 200 victories and all seven of his championships were won with Inman atop his pit box. That being said, Inman accomplished something the King never did when he won an eighth championship in 1984 with Terry Labonte. The Hall of Fame should induct a pure crew chief and Dale Inman should be the first.

The winners
Three drivers are virtually tied for career wins. Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip each have 84, while Cale Yarborough has 83. Allison only won a single championship whereas Yarborough and Waltrip each won three. Let's put Allison aside until next year.

In comparing Waltrip to Yarborough, one statistic leaps out: Waltrip's 809 races versus Yarborough's 560. So it took Waltrip 249 more races to record one more victory. That puts Waltrip's winning percentage at a little over 10 compared to almost 15 for Yarborough. Darrell also ran 92,825 more laps then Cale, yet led 8,531 fewer laps.

Induction into the Hall should not be based solely on statistics. The Hall itself says the basis is, “NASCAR accomplishments and contributions to the sport.” Waltrip's post-racing career as a broadcaster and NASCAR ambassador certainly add to his credentials. Of course, Yarborough's resume is nicely padded by those three consecutive championships. I say three-in-a-row trumps “boogity, boogity, boogity”. I'm going with Cale.

The pioneer
I am the first to admit I am not as well versed in the early history of NASCAR as others. However, I do feel like we need to give some special attention to the sport's pioneers.

Among the eligible drivers — to be eligible, former drivers must have competed for 10 years in NASCAR and be retired from racing for a minimum of three years — only one other man has three Championships. The same man who won the inaugural Daytona 500 and gave birth to a dynasty: Lee Petty.

Petty's 54 wins rank him ninth all-time, four ahead of Ned Jarrett and one behind Rusty Wallace. He won his third and final championship the same year his son, Richard, won the Rookie of the Year award. The following season, 1960, was Lee's last as a full-time competitor; he hadn't started until he was 35 years of age. From 1949 – 1960, he never finished lower than sixth in the standings. Once he stepped out of the car, the leadership he provided Petty Enterprises during Richard's remarkable career is hard to quantify, but impossible to overlook.

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The trailblazer
This choice will probably engender the most debate. His statistics alone do not support membership in the Hall of Fame. If you look beyond the numbers, however, then Wendell Scott's accomplishments definitely seem worthy.

In 1961, he became the first African-American to start a Cup race. In 1964, he became the only African-American to win a Cup race. He never won another race and never finished better than sixth in the year-end rankings.

However, his success in what was still a “southern sport” was singular and iconic. He deserves NASCAR's ultimate recognition: induction into the Hall of Fame.

Bass Masters and Buzz Cutler are co-hosts of Rowdy.com. For the best NASCAR community on the internet go to Rowdy.com.

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