WOW! It's been a LONG time since I've written on here. Been really busy lately but recent events in the NASCAR world left me with some things to write about.
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| Raymond Parks |
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Red Byron
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The two men pictured here were pioneers in NASCAR. Raymond was the owner of the first "super-team" in NASCAR with his driver Red Byron. Together they won the first NASCAR Championship in 1948. Byron was a World War 2 veteran and raced until his death with a piece of Japanese shrapnel in his leg; this requiring a special clutch in the car allowing him to shift. Parks made his name as a moonshiner and through owning a successful string a vending machines in the Atlanta, Georgia area. together they experienced great success and were among the first stars of the newly formed NASCAR racing series in the early 40's and on into the 50's.
Tuesday we saw the 3rd class announced for the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina. Cale Yarborough, Darrel Waltrip, Dale Inman, Richie Evans, and Glen Wood were inducted in the 2012 class. But sadly, for the 3rd year in a row, both Raymond Parks and Red Byron were left out of the Hall of Fame. How can a sport have a Hall of Fame without having it's first champion in it? As on owner, Parks notched multiple wins in NASCAR with Byron as well as several other famous pioneers in the sport.
So what do you think? Has the voting committee gotten it wrong so far? Or should these men be enshrined in the Hall of Fame farther down the road?
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| Red Byron with his 1948 NASCAR Championship trophy. |
