Martinsville or Talladega: Which is true wild card? (cont'd)

3. NASCAR's first Hall of Fame class was selected last week. Who deserves to be in the second class?

Mark Aumann: The biggest worry I have is that the voting block is skewed in favor of the modern era drivers. Will Herb Thomas ever make it? Buck Baker? Joe Weatherly? Tim Flock? It's hard to compare eras, but they certainly deserve induction.

David Caraviello: I didn't have as much a problem with the inaugural class as some might have. Both Frances were going to get in in the first or second years anyway. The King and Earnhardt are no-brainers (unless you're Duane Cross). And Junior Johnson has an unparalleled resume even if he never won a title as a driver. Sure, you can make an argument for Pearson. But some people are acting like Lake Speed got in or something.

The first class

Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Bill France Jr., Junior Johnson and Bill France Sr. will be enshrined in May 2010.

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Joe Menzer: It's obvious, based on his unfair exclusion from the first class, that David Pearson needs to head up the second group. After that, I think the aforementioned Mr. Bobby Allison is a lock, along with Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip -- and crew chief Dale Inman.

David Caraviello: Inman wasn't even on the nomination list this year. Neither was Ray Evernham. Did people forget about the crew chiefs?

Joe Menzer: Are you guys going to answer the question? Or tip-toe around it?

Mark Aumann: If you're going to select David Pearson, Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison in the next class, I sure hope Lee Petty is the fourth on the list.

Joe Menzer: Oh, wait. I forgot about Lee Petty. OK, he goes in over Inman in this class. But Inman needs to be in the third class then.

David Caraviello: I prefer to wade in. Pearson, Waltrip, Yarborough, Allison, Lee Petty. That's your list. Happy, Menzer?

Mark Aumann: And a name that wasn't nominated and I don't know if politics were involved, but how O. Bruton Smith wasn't one of the 25 most influential people in the sport was a head-scratcher. He'd be my fifth for 2011.

Joe Menzer: Amen to that, brother. A serious oversight -- or deliberate snub.

David Caraviello: Bruton Smith is your fifth for 2011?

Joe Menzer: We all know Bruton can be a real pain in the rear, but seriously, he's been in the sport since the beginning and obviously has been a very influential -- if often controversial -- figure. No doubt he should have been among the first 25 nominated, but I don't know about being in the second overall induction class.

Mark Aumann: Yeah, I'd go with Pearson, Yarborough, Allison, L. Petty and Smith. If Little Bill was instrumental in NASCAR's evolution from a regional to national sport, Bruton revolutionized the idea of the "stadium racing" format.

David Caraviello: Hey, I love Bruton. Guy has done some tremendous things, and indeed needs to get in some day. But he's behind Rick Hendrick, who headlines the third class. He's behind Tim Flock. And Raymond Parks. And Joe Weatherly. And Bud Moore. And a few other foundation-builders who are indeed getting overlooked here.

Mark Aumann: Another name that deserves to be mentioned is T. Wayne Robertson, the marketing genius for R.J. Reynolds. This sport is nothing without T. Wayne. We're still racing in front of 15,000 folks and getting tape-delayed races on some second-rate TV network if RJR doesn't throw its marketing efforts at the sport for three decades. Remember NASCAR on MizLou? I always loved MizLou bowl games.

David Caraviello: I don't necessarily buy that. We heard years for years that the sport would founder without RJR. And Sprint took it to another level in terms of marketing. Some company would have stepped into the gap. Hey, I'm not going to disparage any individuals here. I knew a lot of the folks who worked with Winston, and they were great people. But the sport also basically let itself be used as an advertisement for a product that couldn't get itself on television any other way. Don't know if that's exactly shrine-worthy.

Joe Menzer: As successful as Rick Hendrick has been, I think you have to be careful about putting him and guys like him in too early. Mark's right in one aspect, you've got to get some more foundation-builders in there first, I think. Or you risk them being forgotten forever. Or at least not being given their rightful due.

Mark Aumann: And I'm of the opinion that guys currently in the sport -- even if they have the credentials for induction -- should wait. Rick's still got a good dozen years of ownership, easy. What's the rush?

Joe Menzer: This kind of gets back to one of the original arguments about whether or not it would have been helpful to have a bigger first class. Maybe down the road it will be like baseball's hall and they'll have an old-timer's special election where each year one or two of those guys get in.

Mark Aumann: Well, I'd like to see a veteran's/founders committee allowed to choose one worthy pre-modern individual, outside of the five. The longer it goes, the less likely guys from the early years will make it in. Out of sight, out of mind.

David Caraviello: Guys, Rick has earned it. I like the model of the basketball hall, which inducts active coaches after they've done enough to merit it. If they're good enough, they're good enough. And Hendrick is certainly good enough.

Joe Menzer: The thing about a veteran/founder committee -- sounds better than "old-timers" -- is that they could put two of those guys in every year but do it at a different time than the regular inductees, thus giving everyone their proper due and at the same time, filling the Hall up a little more quickly.

Mark Aumann: Herb Thomas' career path closely matches Richard Petty and Jeff Gordon, but his last competitive race was in 1956. How many voters do you think saw him race in person?

Joe Menzer: No one disagrees that Hendrick deserves to get in -- and he will. But in the third overall class? I don't know. That might be too early by a class or three.

David Caraviello: Yeah, you're right Joe. He'll only have, oh, nine or so Cup titles by then. Chicken feed! Listen, a lot of these guys are eventually going to get in. They can only choose five a year. A lot of fairly obvious people have to get in first. The Flocks and Thomases, I'm sure, will eventually get their due.

Mark Aumann: I don't know. If we're talking 2020 or 2025 by then, who's going to even remember if man is still alive. If woman can survive? Sorry. Had a Zager and Evans moment there.

David Caraviello: Zager gets in. Evans does not.

Joe Menzer: My new plan is to retire by 2025. I'm calling it "Stay Alive 'Til '25!"

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writers.