Daily NASCAR

by Holly CainDAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The second slate of NASCAR Hall of Fame nominees was released Thursday night and includes five new names among the 25-person list, including Richard Petty’s longtime crew chief, Dale Inman, and the late longtime R.J. Reynolds executive T. Wayne Robertson, who guided the tobacco company’s involvement through the Winston Cup years as the sport began peaking in popularity.

The five new nominees are: Inman, an eight-time champion crew chief (including one title with Terry Labonte); Robertson; six-time NASCAR Modified Series champ Jerry Cook; 1965 Daytona 500 winner Fred Lorenzen and two-time Nationwide Series champion Jack Ingram.

They join a list of 20 previous nominees: Bobby Allison, Buck Baker, Red Byron, Richard Childress, Richie Evans, Tim Flock, Rick Hendrick, Ned Jarrett, Bud Moore, Raymond Parks, Benny Parsons, David Pearson, Lee Petty, Fireball Roberts, Herb Thomas, Curtis Turner, Darrell Waltrip, Joe Weatherly, Glen Wood and Cale Yarborough.

Share The inaugural class of five inductees — Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Junior Johnson, Bill France Sr. and Bill France Jr. — was inducted in a ceremony at NASCAR’s new Hall of Fame and Museum in downtown Charlotte on May 23.

A voting panel of 53 plus a “fan vote” will decide which five of the 25 nominees will be inducted as the second Hall of Fame class. The announcement will be made this October with the induction coming next May.

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Hmm, and Jimmie Johnson’s Chevy is carrying what paint scheme, exactly? Kobalt Tools 500.

Where it’s a tad chilly, but, thank goodness, the skies are clear: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Ga.

Big guns: Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne.

Long shots: Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Jeff Burton, Ryan Newman, Martin Truex Jr., Brian Vickers, Elliott Sadler, David Reutimann, Jamie McMurray, Scott Speed, David Ragan, Brad Keselowski, Marcos Ambrose and A.J. Allmendinger.

The hunch here: Kyle Busch.

Just the facts, please

- Though this track was reshaped and reversed (the front straight) in 1997, its distance changed only slightly: from 1.522 to 1.54 miles. Originally named Atlanta International Raceway, the name was changed to Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1990.

- The track opened in 1960. Fireball Roberts both won and started on the pole in the first race.

- The all-time leading winner is Dale Earnhardt, who won here nine times. Cale Yarborough won seven. Richard Petty and Bobby Labonte are tied with six career victories.

-The most recent driver to win here after starting on the pole was Kasey Kahne in 2006.

- Though Geoff Bodine’s track record still stands (197.478 mph, Nov. 15, 1997), Earnhardt Jr.’s pole speed (192.761) was significantly higher than last year’s (Mark Martin, 187.045). It was the fastest qualifying speed at any track since the generic car was implemented.

- Bill Elliott has won more Cup races (44) than any other driver from Georgia. Five of the wins were here.

Snappy quotes

"This has been a really, really slick race track for a long time." - Jeff Burton.

"Forty is the new 30, anyway. That’s what I’m going with." - David Reutimann, who turned 40 on March 2.

"If I thought we’re softening up the competition in some way, shape, or form, it would be foolish on our part." - Jimmie Johnson.

"We might be in the top 10, but we’re not running as well as we need to be running." - Carl Edwards.

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Smokey Yunick (left) with Fireball Roberts. Yunick’s skill in the garage helped Roberts to a Winston Cup title in 1951.

The great mechanic Smokey Yunick, who died at age 77 in 2001, competed in one NASCAR race as a driver. It was on a half-mile dirt track in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 30, 1952. Yunick, driving a Hudson Hornet, started 19th and finished 18th, completing only seven laps. He never climbed behind the wheel again. Herb Thomas, who also drove a Hudson, won that day.

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Smokey Yunick (left) with Fireball Roberts. Yunick’s skill in the garage helped Roberts to a Winston Cup title in 1951.

The great mechanic Smokey Yunick, who died at age 77 in 2001, competed in one NASCAR race as a driver. It was on a half-mile dirt track in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 30, 1952. Yunick, driving a Hudson Hornet, started 19th and finished 18th, completing only seven laps. He never climbed behind the wheel again. Herb Thomas, who also drove a Hudson, won that day.

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Jimmie Johnson celebrates winning the Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 on Sunday, his seventh victory of 2009. Overall, he’s won 18 Chase races. (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)

- Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin have competed in 265 races together. Martin has scored 108 more points (the current margin separating the two) than Johnson in nine of them. The most recent, of course, was at Texas on Nov. 8.

- Career victory No. 47 puts Jimmie Johnson one ahead of Buck Baker and one behind Herb Thomas. He’s in 13th place all-time.

- All Kyle Busch has to do to wrap up the title is start the Nationwide Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Ron Hornaday Jr. has already wrapped up his record fourth championship in the Camping World Truck Series.

- Johnson won for the fourth time at Phoenix International Raceway. No one else has won at the Desert Mile more than twice.

- While Jeff Burton was closing in a bit on Johnson late in the Checker O’Reilly 500, he was realistic afterwards. "We were catching him, but Johnson has a way of finding a little extra when he needs it. I’m sure the final three or four laps that he knew the margin he had," he said.

- This is the third time Johnson has won four or more races in the Chase. His career total of Chase victories is 18.

- Ford drivers have won the past five Homestead races. Greg Biffle won three in a row (2004-06), followed by Matt Kenseth in 2007 and Carl Edwards last year. Coincidentally, it’s billed as Ford Championship Weekend.

- Homestead-Miami Speedway is the only Sprint Cup track where Jeff Gordon has never won.

- Kurt Busch led the first 52 laps at Phoenix. Johnson then led 238 of the remaining 260.

- The Cup season finale is one of three races held in the State of Florida. NASCAR history is dotted with the names of Sunshine State natives like Fireball Roberts, Lee Roy Yarbrough, Marshall Teague, Joe Nemechek and David Reutimann.

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