Besides the obvious big issue called attendance. It’s finding the right balance for putting people into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. And we’re putting down a marker now, because in a couple years this will be a point of discussion which gets wrapped into the attendance issue.
NASCAR is a very concentrated sport: In NASCAR’s “modern era” (since 1972), 87 drivers have won a race in NASCAR’s top division. Oh, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip have won at least 84 races each.
Another way to look at it: Only 25 drivers have won 25 or more races in NASCAR’s top division. Ever. Five are still active. Nine others were among the first 15 people inducted over the past three years. Those nine men won more than a third of NASCAR’s top division races — and none has been active in the past decade. Eight more 25+ race winners are among the 25 candidates for this year’s five person class. And they’ll all get in eventually — it’s just a question of whether it’s this year, next year, or a couple years from now.
But soon after that the field of possibilities starts getting a bit less interesting, as drivers like Fonty Flock, Davey Allison, and Buddy Baker will start entering the discussion. Each won 19 races, but never finished first or second for the season. Is that HOF worth? Not sure. Do know that once you get to nominating or enshrining such smaller names, it generates less press and fan interest. And, obviously, at some point you do have to draw a line to keep the honor an honor, which means reducing the number of people getting into the NASCAR HOF. Which is a bad combination for a museum that’s already vastly under its attendance projections.
Bonus observation: If NASCAR cares about its Hall of Fame as anything besides a means to get some money for itself, in a few years they’d try some sort of voting scheme that involves the fans voting to determine who gets in.
