About Lake Oconee news. (Greensboro, GA) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 2017)
Page C6 Lake Oconee News Friday, January 27, 2017 By Godwin Kelly godwin.kelly@news-jrnl.com T he NASCAR Hall of Fame inducted car owners Rick Hen drick, Richard Childress and Raymond Parks and drivers Mark Martin and Benny Par sons as its Class of 2017. The vote for the Class of 2018 will take place in May from a list of 20 nominees generated from a group of people who work for NASCAR or closely with NASCAR. The last three Hall of Fame classes have come from all over the map. For instance, in 2015 it was all drivers, including Bill Elliott, Fred Lorenzen, Wendell Scott, Joe Weatherly and Rex White. The Class of 2016 included track owner Bruton Smith and drivers Terry Labonte, Curtis Turner, Jerry Cook and Bobby Isaac. Cook was a six-time NASCAR Modified champion. In other words, there is no real trend line to plot here. One year it may be drivers and the next car owners. Some are still working in the business, while we said goodbye to many of these folks years ago. Who is next in line for stock-car immortality? These would be my picks: Smokey Yunick NASCAR started its Hall of Fame in 2010. The first five were NASCAR founder Bill France, his son Bill France Jr., seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt, driver/car owner Junior Johnson and Richard Petty, who scored 200 Cup Series wins as a driver. The Hall is now through eight inductions, and Smokey Yunick has yet to be nominated. Yunick was one of NASCAR’s premier engine builders, crew chiefs and car owners in the 1950s and 1960s. Yunick, who owned the “Best Damn Garage In ncnviff v JLfHILC ■ - The late Smokey Yunick, outside the “Best Damn Garage In Town” in Daytona Beach. Yunick was a NASCAR pioneer racer in the 1950s and ‘60s. fox sports Town,” near downtown Daytona Beach, and Bill Sr. were friends until they had a falling - out in the 19 6 0 s. It is time to put the past behind, forgive and forget and give Yunick credit for what he brought to stock- car racing. Red Byron Another reach-back-in- time pick would be Byron, who captured the Strictly Stock championship in 1949. NASCAR started racing in 1948 but added Strictly Stock to its menu the fol lowing year. NASCAR slapped together an eight-race schedule, and the 34-year-old World War II veteran, who received a Purple Heart in battle, entered six races, won twice and scored two other top- five finishes. He had a short career, making only 15 starts through 1951, but he was the first champion of what is now called the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Roger Penske or Jack Roush Since Childress and Hen drick were inducted into the Class of 2017, it makes sense to honor one of these current car owners. Penske has 100 wins and captured the 2012 championship with Brad Keselowski. Roush has 135 victories and captured Cup Series championships in 2003 (Matt Kenseth) and 2004 (Kurt Busch). Roush and Penske have racing credentials beyond NASCAR. Roush won the Rolex 24 GT class 10 con secutive years, while “The Captain” has a record 15 Indy 500 wins. Buddy Baker Baker would be a nice feel good pick. All he wanted to do was race and go fast, and he scored 19 Cup Series victories along the way. In true Baker fashion, he captured the 1980 Day tona 500 in Harry Ranier’s famed No. 28 “Gray Ghost” Oldsmobile. Baker died in 2015, but 37 years after that Daytona win, he still holds the average-speed race record of 177.602 mph. Ray Evernham Built from the Yunick mold, Evernham did things his way as Jeff Gordon’s first crew chief at Hendrick Motorsports. Under Ever nham’s guidance, Gordon won 49 NASCAR Cup Series races and three champion ships from 1993 through 1999. After Evernham left Hen drick in order to help bring Dodge back into the sport, Gordon’s numbers suffered. From 2000 to 2015, Gordon won 44 races and only one more title (2001). There is no doubt about his skill level as an engineer and team builder. Godwin Kelly is the Daytona Beach News-Journal’s motorsports editor ; and has covered NASCAR for 30 years. Reach him at godwin. kelly@news-jrnl. SPEED FREAKS A couple questions we had to ask - ourselves Which historic NASCAR driver would be the best fit for the Rolex 24 At Daytona? GODSPEAK: I have to go with Fireball Roberts. He had a ball driving sports cars in his day, including taking a slug of wine before qualifying at Le Mans. KEN’S CALL: Easy. Curtis Turner. He’d drive a stint, go to the airport and fly off to Happy Hour, then come back, nap and drive some more. Which sports-car driver would be the best fit in NASCAR? GODSPEAK: Richard West brook, who is a hard-driving Brit. Not only does he have driving skills, but he has fun around the garage. KEN’S CALL: Another easy one. Joey Hand. Marketing is half the battle, and if your name is Joey Hand, you’re a marketing man’s dream. NASCAR Hall of Fame class of 2037. Who’s the headliner? GODSPEAK: This is hurting my brain. I’ll go with Kyle Larson, and from the old-tim ers division, Sterling Marlin. KEN’S CALL: Kyle Busch, which means he has to remain active for another 17 years. No problem. ONLINE EXTRAS news-journal online.com/nascar B facebook.com/ nascardaytona @nascardaytona Questions? Contact Godwin Kelly at godwin.kelly@news-jrnl.com or Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com QUESTIONS & ATTITUDE Compelling questions... and maybe a few actual answers The return of “The Clash” didn’t last long, did it? Oh, it’s still there. You just have to look a little harder. Back in November when the name changed again for the season opening exhibition at Daytona, we knew “The Clash at Daytona,” a slight throw back nod to the original Busch Clash, wouldn’t be around any longer than it took to land a title sponsorship. It took a little longer than we thought, but last week the newly branded Advance Auto Parts Clash was unveiled. So much for nostalgia? Well, we weren’t fully on board that particular throwback train to begin with. Just because you return the word “clash” to the title, the 75-lap, Feb. 18 event wasn’t suddenly going to remind anyone of the earliest days of the old Busch Clash, when it featured only pole winners from the previous year, just 20 laps of action and warm sunshine. But on a race day that still includes the 200-mile ARCA opener, at least we can return to the old “Clash and Crash” headlines. Speaking of late sponsorship arrivals... Tony Stewart told ESPN last week that his team’s No. 14 car isn’t as fully funded for 2017 as he’d hoped. Stewart, freshly retired from NASCAR, hands the keys of that car to Clint Bowyer this year, but Clint’s per diem might take a hit if part- time sponsor Mobil 1 isn’t joined by a deep-pocketed company sometime soon. Sure, Tony’s best days were behind him when he announced his retirement, but the No. 14, hurting for funding, illustrates how the business climate has tightened in recent years. Or, perhaps, how much money the teams are asking in order to give over primary sponsorship. Ken Willis has been covering NASCAR for The Daytona Beach News-Journal for 27 years. Reach him at ken willis@news-jrnl.com 2017 CUP SCHEDULE Feb. 18: Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona Feb. 23: Can-Am Duels at Daytona Feb. 26: Daytona 500 March 5: Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta March 12: Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas March 19: Good Sam 500k at Phoenix March 26: Auto Club 400 at Fontana April 2: STP 500 at Martinsville April 9: O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas April 23: Food City 500 at Bristol April 30: Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond May 7: Geico 500 at Talladega May 13: GoBowling.com 400 at Kansas May 20: All-Star Race at Charlotte May 28: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte June 4: AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover June 11: Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 at Pocono June 18: FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan June 25: Toyota/Save Mart 250 at Sonoma July 1: Coke Zero 400 at Daytona July 8: Quaker State 400 at Kentucky July 16: New Hampshire 301 at Loudon July 23: Crown Royal 400 at Indianapolis July 30: Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Aug. 6: TBA at Watkins Glen Aug. 13: Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan Aug. 19: Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Sept. 3: Southern 500 at Darlington Sept. 9: Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Sept. 17: Chicagoland 400 Sept. 24: New England 300 at New Hampshire Oct. 1: Delaware 400 at Dover Oct. 7: Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Oct. 15: Heilman’s 500 at Talladega Oct. 22: Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Oct. 29: Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Nov. 5: AAA Texas 500 at Texas Nov. 12: Can-Am 500k at Phoenix Nov. 19: Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead PAD GUAR, M0T0RCRAFF COMPLETE BRAKE SERVICE Youngblood MOTOR CO. *$199.95 For Heavy Duty Trucks 12K MlLE/12M0. NO-SQUEAL GUARANTEE! j ',~Fl cz ■ Iirelu (ontinemtaH • s? - Yokohama {-WHEEL ALI IMEN 1600 Athens Highway • Madison, GA 706-342-2242 COMPLETE AUTO SERVICE ALL MAKES & MODELS, CARS & TRUCKS VEHICLE CHECKUP plus tax Oil & Filter Change UP TO 6 QUARTS PLUS > Synthetic Blend Oil Change • Brake Inspection > Tire Rotation & • Multi-Point Inspection Pressure Check • Fluid Top Off Battery Test (excluding hybrids) Filter Check Belts and Hoses Check CUSTOM CLUB FITTING CUSTOM BUILD CLUBS SAME LOCATION FOR 20 YEARS CLUB REPAIR WORK CLUB REGRIPPING CLASS A CLUB MAKER HFujikura Golf Pride 1/aylorMade CRIPS Uus l=mp==> Tut 01 Sna> 7 in Gol> CUSTOM BOW STRINGS CUSTOM ARROWS LEVEL 3 NTS-COACH BOW TUNING NEW EQUIPMENT SETUP ARCHERY LESSONS IM BROADHEA.Pt winn EJ Super ( ^ Troph y^Fj^id^e* GOLD TIP 31FPKEF? Boll/s
