Waltrip disappointed about exclusion from Hall

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- As if being excluded from a NASCAR Hall of Fame class he thought he deserved to be in wasn't torture enough, then Darrell Waltrip had to conduct television interviews Wednesday with those who were elected ahead of him.

Waltrip, winner of three Cup Series championships and 84 races during his long driving career, did not hide the fact that he was disappointed. Most had projected that both he and another three-time champion, Cale Yarborough, would be included among the five inductees to the second Hall class.

Instead, both were left out. The five who were voted in by the Hall's 52-member voting panel (a 53rd vote cast by fans was determined by on-line balloting on NASCAR.COM) were David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Lee Petty, Ned Jarrett and Bud Moore.

Class of 2011

David Pearson, Bud Moore, Lee Petty, Ned Jarrett and Bobby Allison honored for careers.

• Complete story
• HOF Reactions
• Photo Gallery
• Shop: HOF gear
• Complete coverage

Video highlights

Relive the moments as Brian France reveals the second five voted to the Hall of Fame.

• Selection 1: David Pearson
• Selection 2: Bobby Allison
• Selection 3: Lee Petty
• Selection 4: Ned Jarrett
• Selection 5: Bud Moore

Obviously, it was not all about numbers of race victories or championships.

"We competed against each other. The first go-around it was the guys with seven championships [each] in Richard [Petty] and Dale [Earnhardt]," Waltrip said. "This time it seemed like putting the guys in with three made sense. It would have put a pretty ribbon around it -- but they didn't see it that way."

Jarrett, who won two championships and 50 races but retired at age 34 after only nine seasons of racing full-time at what was then the Cup level, said he felt for Waltrip and Yarborough. He said he thought the first couple of Hall classes should have been larger than only five people.

"I certainly feel for those that did not get in. And I felt all along the first couple of classes should be larger than five," Jarrett said. "NASCAR went out and talked to a lot of people inside the industry [before setting the voting procedure]. They came and talked to [son] Dale [Jarrett] and I together -- and we both thought there should be maybe 15 the first time, and then go to 10 the second, and maybe five from there. Because it's going to be so long for some of these people to get in who are so deserving."

It shouldn't be long for Waltrip or Yarborough, according to voting member Humpy Wheeler.

"Darrell doesn't bother me too bad because Darrell came in a little bit later and he's got plenty of time to make it," Wheeler said. "He should be kind of in David Pearson's role next year -- as Cale should be."

Pearson was excluded from the inaugural Hall class, but was a near-unanimous selection Wednesday to head up the second class. Waltrip said he was told by members of the voting panel that they believed he was going to be a shoo-in even after lengthy discussions amongst the committee earlier Wednesday.

"I think when you have people like Mike Joy and Ken Squier ... these are my friends, and they came out and they said, 'You're in. Don't worry about it.' So I was feeling pretty confident about it," Waltrip said. "But the more I thought about it, I got kind of a sinking feeling -- especially when they started reading off the first couple of names."

Waltrip said he knew when Lee Petty was the third name announced that he was in serious danger of not making it.

"I knew right there I probably was not going to make it," Waltrip said. "Hey, five people. It's hard to make it. Somebody was going to be the odd man out."

Jarrett said that he was sure his many contributions away from the track led to his inclusion in the class. What was left unsaid by Jarrett -- but not completely by others -- was that while Jarrett spent many years promoting the sport unselfishly, the perception was that perhaps Waltrip and Yarborough did not, especially earlier in their driving careers.

"I'm sure Darrell is feeling let down and sad -- and he should, because he certainly is a deserving candidate. Cale Yarborough certainly is a deserving candidate to get into the Hall of Fame," Jarrett said. "They have the numbers, there is no question about that. They are great race-car drivers and Hall of Fame material.

"But there was a lot of discussion about things people have done other than their driving career, plus the fact that some of the others went back further from a historical perspective. There is no question those guys will get in some day. But I think when the voting members looked who did what when -- and Lee Petty certainly is a good example of that; he got in because he was one of the early superstars of the sport -- they looked at it from the standpoint of more than just what they did while driving their race cars."

Wheeler indicated that the mere fact that Waltrip is younger than the other inductees and has greater exposure through his current post-driving career as a television broadcaster may have had much to do with how Wednesday's vote went down.

"It's almost an impossibility [to explain], except maybe for the simple fact that Darrell may have cast an illusion -- the illusion, really, that he just quit; that he hasn't been gone that long [as a competitor]," Wheeler said. "Well, he has been gone from the steering wheel. But he's on TV so much that it's almost like he's still racing in a certain way. That's just kind of the feeling I get toward that. I don't think anybody's got anything against him personally. It's funny how votes go; how things happen."

At least it appears Waltrip will not have to sweat next year's vote -- although he wasn't necessarily feeling that way Wednesday.

"You know, at this point I wouldn't make a prediction," he said.