Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt should be among the first inductees into the new NASCAR Hall of Fame. Credit: Getty Images

Cross' Words: Hall pass

Charlotte will be home to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and the first class of inductees to call the hall home should include a wide variety of people:

• Founding father Bill France Sr.
• Car owners Lee Petty and Glen and Leonard Wood
• Drivers Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Wendell Scott and Sara Christian
• Lowe's Motor Speedway president Humpy Wheeler
• Announcers Ken Squier and Chris Economaki

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For all of its efforts to expand diversity and become more inclusive, the NASCAR Hall of Fame provides the sport with the opportunity to be more than just another hall catering to the on-track talent.

NASCAR can send a clear message that its hall is all-encompassing -- a mirror image of its fan base, which ranges from CEOs to the blue-collar workers who helped build stock-car racing into the second-most watched sport in the U.S.

NASCAR is France's sport. He conceived it, nurtured it and enjoyed the fruits of his labor.

Lee Petty and the Wood Brothers were pioneering team owners -- 268 victories for Petty Enterprises and 97 for the Wood Brothers.

Richard Petty and Earnhardt each won seven series championships, while Scott is the only black driver to win a Grand National race and Christian was the first woman to start a race (June 19, 1949, at Charlotte; she finished 14th).

Wheeler has been a dealer, making the Charlotte facility one of the premier tracks with his vision of nighttime racing and trackside condos.

Squier and Economaki brought NASCAR to the national scene with their stellar television work.

These 10 names -- diverse and all-encompassing -- would be a solid foundation for what may become the most recognized motorsports hall in the world.

The hall will reside in the bosom of the sport, which is a tribute to the grass roots beginnings of stock-car racing. Now, with its first class of inductees, NASCAR must reflect the many aspects of what will continue to make it successful on and off the track.

Inaugural inductions into the Big Three halls of fame:

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.