[sceckert]

I've heard of Wally. Sid's name sounds vaguely familiar, but I am not the Encyclopedia Sprintanica my brother is, so I certainly can't speak for him on that. I can certainly guess that he has some recognition of them but it'd only be a guess.

[SUPERDUKE]

Originally Posted by sceckert i've heard of wally. Sid's name sounds vaguely familiar, but i am not the encyclopedia sprintanica my brother is, so i certainly can't speak for him on that. I can certainly guess that he has some recognition of them but it'd only be a guess.

sid drove for dizz wilson in one of his rangers! And was killed at fort wayne driving for dizz! He was from mt. Carmel ill. And wally was from ohio and was killed in a highway wreck while sleeping in the back seat while his wife was driving to a midget race!

[sceckert]

Certainly driving for Dizz puts Sid in the food chain of greatness. And I'd rather go out like Sid then the way Wally touched the void...

[SUPERDUKE]

Originally Posted by smith19 the man from hooks, texas has got my attention for years. Gary wright has won more than 318. He was a very good modified driver and a damn good latemodel driver. He has beat the best many times. Most memoral victories were at kc raceway in the night the stars come out when he started mid pack and won against a strong field. And who could forget the azz whippin he gave at the hoosier fall classic when he started on the tail and won. He should definatly get in on his first try. Oh yes he's one of my fav's.

there is a lot of drivers mech. Owners promoters that should be in there!

[sceckert]

Indeed there are certainly a significant number of exceptional talents who should be enshrined in the NSCHoF, and that is why I feel the choices made by the voters should be publicly disclosed. Whether the choice not to publicly reveal the votes of the members falls to "not wanting to have their vote coerced", or not, it seems to me this disclosure either during or immediately after the votes are tallied would give real weight to the discourse regarding who has earned a place and who may have to wait for later opportunities.

Mostly, I feel it presents the chance for records to be used to fortify arguments for-and-against certain individuals over others, and makes more stark the bias of present day competitors over men whose careers ended before ground was even years or decades away from being broken on the Hall itself. I don't want to see Titans of the sport's past overlooked for guys who are still racing to this day, and remain competitive. Once the past worthy names are inducted, the process can renew for today's talents.

Let's not bypass the heroes of those we are enshrining as soon as they turn 50.

[SUPERDUKE]

Originally Posted by sceckert indeed there are certainly a significant number of exceptional talents who should be enshrined in the nschof, and that is why i feel the choices made by the voters should be publicly disclosed. Whether the choice not to publicly reveal the votes of the members falls to "not wanting to have their vote coerced", or not, it seems to me this disclosure either during or immediately after the votes are tallied would give real weight to the discourse regarding who has earned a place and who may have to wait for later opportunities. Mostly, i feel it presents the chance for records to be used to fortify arguments for-and-against certain individuals over others, and makes more stark the bias of present day competitors over men whose careers ended before ground was even years or decades away from being broken on the hall itself. I don't want to see titans of the sport's past overlooked for guys who are still racing to this day, and remain competitive. Once the past worthy names are inducted, the process can renew for today's talents. Let's not bypass the heroes of those we are enshrining as soon as they turn 50.

most people don't know or care about the history of sprint car racing! You have drivers today that don't know who troy ruttman parnelli aj pancho opp gary b lighting larry j r or vuky ole bub was!!!!!!!!!!!

[sceckert]

Sure many don't care about the history, but I'd speculate that none of those people are voters for the Sprint Car Hall of Fame. If simply reading the case made for the inclusion of these rare talents opens the eyes of some voters whose regional limitations didn't allow them to see the talents of the mechanics, promoters, builders and racers, then that in itself is progress. And if knowing that the guy you see at the race every other week bypassed voting on (for instance) Johnny Anderson, but instead voted for (for instance) Gary Patterson causes a full-on fan to express his own preferences to that voting member, so be it. Any voter ought to be capable of defending ANY vote they authored.

[smith19]

johnny anderson used to drive a red #21 right.

[sceckert]

When Anderson raced with Kenny Woodruff, it was in the #21, that is correct.

[Dick Monahan]

I think the big problem is the rule that allows active drivers to be admitted at age 50. That was ok when hardly anyone survived that long, but not now. I don't disagree with any of the recent admissions, but they could have waited, while some of the older guys took their places.

And, it's true about the lack of interest in history. I was part of a group that gave a couple of annual historically-based awards at the NEMA banquet a few years ago. Everyone else in the group is dead, leaving me as seemingly the only person who cares, except for the descendents of the original donors, so I keep doing it. But, I've been unable to find anyone to help, or to carry on after I can't do it any more. I understand that today's racers are interested in today's racing, but you'd think a few would care about the great history we're part of. I'm sure part of it is that, even though I didn't get involved with NEMA until it was about 15 years old, most of the original crew were still around, so I knew them all. Now, they are just names in a book to the current crop. The same is true of the bigger names. I've talked to many of the stars (and even more of the non-stars) of the 50s & 60s, and once spent an afternoon with Johnny Thomson. Again, they're just names in books to the current fans.