NASCAR’s first family: Two Frances make the cut for Hall of Fame’s inaugural class

CHARLOTTE - Bill France Sr., NASCAR’s founder, headlines stock-car racing’s first Hall of Fame class, but the group drew mixed reactions with the inclusion of France’s son instead of driver David Pearson.

France, who formed the National Association of Stock Car Racing in 1947, was the first inductee announced yesterday in a ceremony that followed a long voting session at the Charlotte Convention Center.

Richard Petty, a seven-time Cup champion and NASCAR’s career wins leader, was the second inductee revealed by Brian France, NASCAR’s current chairman. Bill France Jr., Dale Earnhardt and Junior Johnson were next in the one-by-one announcements.

“When I seen the two Frances was in, I knew I didn’t have a chance,“ Pearson said after the ceremony.

Bill France Jr. spent nearly 30 years at the helm of America’s top motorsports series, Earnhardt is NASCAR’s other seven-time champion, and Johnson is a former driver and car owner whose early days of running moonshine through North Carolina back roads stand as a symbol of NASCAR’s start.

Pearson’s exclusion surprised many, including Petty. Ushered into the ballroom moments after the inductees were announced, Petty had to be told who had been selected with him for next May’s induction ceremony.

“That wouldn’t have been my pick,“ he said.

The selections were made by a panel of 50 NASCAR executives, journalists, former participants and one combined fan vote from NASCAR’s official Web site for a list of 25 nominees.

Pearson, a three-time Cup champion, ranks second only to Petty’s 200 victories on the all-time wins list with 105. .

“The same people don’t like everybody,“ Pearson said. “So there got to be some people voting for other people. If they don’t like me, they’re going to vote for somebody else anyway, so that’s all right. I’m happy.“

Voters gathered earlier yesterday to debate the nominees before a secret ballot. Some of the voters described an emotional two-plus-hour meeting. A presentation was made for each nominee, and then the floor was open for discussion.

“It was a meeting like I’ve never been in in racing, because I think everybody wanted to do the right thing, and I think NASCAR was really nervous about the two Frances getting in,“ said voter Humpy Wheeler, a longtime executive.

Bill France Sr., widely known as “Big Bill,“ began as a promoter of beach racing in Daytona Beach, Fla., until he gathered several principals at the Streamline Hotel to form a governing body that became NASCAR. Regarded as one of the most influential figures in American motorsports, he ruled with an iron first from NASCAR’s first race in 1949 until his 1972 retirement, when he handed control over to his son, Bill Jr.

“Billy” France led NASCAR through a period of extreme growth and was at the helm as the sport began to push past its Southern roots to become a national series. He held the top role until 2000.

NASCAR did not release the voting totals and said that the order in which inductees were announced did not reflect the results. Ramsey Poston, a NASCAR spokesman, said that Pearson, Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison were the next three highest vote-getters but did not reveal in what order.

Johnson didn’t attend the announcement after serving on the voter panel. A winner of 50 races as a driver, and another 132 and six championships as an owner, he said in a statement that his selection left him speechless.

“I’ll tell you, this is a big, big deal to me,“ he said. “It’s the greatest thing that’s happened to me in this sport.“