25 Hall of Fame nominees unveiled for inaugural class

Twenty-five of the sport's top names are eligible for the inaugural class to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in May 2010. NASCAR fans are invited to participate by voting for up to five nominees.

The Hall of Fame voting committee will hold a ballot to select the inductees. The top five nominees in the online fan voting will have a ballot cast in the nominees' favor during the selection process.

The Hall of Fame broke ground in Charlotte on Jan. 25, 2007, and will open May 11, 2010. The facility will honor the history and heritage of NASCAR and the many who have contributed to the success of the sport.

The 25 nominees for the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame Class:

Bobby Allison | Video Highlights
The 1983 Cup Series champion, Allison ended his career with 84 victories, tied for third on the all-time victory list with Darrell Waltrip.

A charter member of the "Alabama Gang," the longtime resident of Hueytown, Ala., has become one of NASCAR's most beloved former competitors, in large part because of his remarkable resilience after a career-ending accident at Pocono Raceway in 1988 -- just several months after he won the Daytona 500.

Allison continues to be cherished by the millions of fans who remember his long list of accomplishments, including:

• The 1983 championship season;
• Three (1978, '82 '88) Daytona 500 victories -- especially the third, when he beat his son Davey to the finish, earning what would be his last victory;
• Two NASCAR Modified Special Division titles, in 1962-63;
• Two NASCAR Modified Division championships, in 1964-65;
• And his fantastic 1972 season when, driving for another legend, Junior Johnson, he won 10 races and had 12 second-place efforts in the process finishing second to Richard Petty in points.

Fittingly, Allison was named one of NASCAR's "50 Greatest Drivers" in 1998.

• Allison's triumph, tragedy featured in 'Lives' DVD

Buck Baker
Elzie Wylie "Buck" Baker established himself as one of NASCAR's early greats, becoming the first driver to win consecutive Cup Series championships. That repeat performance in 1956-57 was the meat of an incredible four-year span; in 1955 and '58 Baker finished as the series championship runner-up.

The first series championship for Baker came while driving for owner Carl Kiekhaefer, who had assembled the first multi-car team in NASCAR while also blazing a trail in using his cars as promotional tools for his other business, powerboat motors. Baker's second championship came in his own cars.

Baker drove a bus before becoming an auto racer -- perhaps a partial explanation for his versatility behind the wheel, as he also won races in NASCAR's Modified, Speedway and Grand American series. But his legend was made in NASCAR's premier series; his career victory total of 46 ranks 13th all time.

Baker was named one of NASCAR's "50 Greatest Drivers" in 1998. Prior to his passing in 2002, Baker blazed another trail, founding a series of high-performance driving schools at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway and North Carolina Speedway.

His son Buddy followed his father's footsteps as well, winning the Daytona 500 and also making the "50 Greatest Drivers" list.

Red Byron
Robert "Red" Byron was there at the outset, to say the least.

Byron won the sanctioning body's first race in 1948, on the Daytona beach-road course. He went on in '48 to win NASCAR's first season championship -- in the NASCAR Modified Division.

The following year he won NASCAR's first Strictly Stock title -- the precursor to today's Cup Series -- driving for car owner Raymond Parks. The Strictly Stock schedule had eight races; Byron won two of them.

Wounded in World War II, Byron drove with a special brace attached to the clutch pedal, to assist an injured leg -- making his accomplishments even more impressive. That injury contributed to Byron's relatively brief career, after which he continued to be involved in motorsports.

When he died in 1960 at the age of 45, Byron had branched out, striving to make more history, by developing an American car capable of winning the famed 24 Hours of LeMans sports car event.

In 1998 he was named one of NASCAR's "50 Greatest Drivers," recognition of a highly significant career, the relative brevity of it notwithstanding.

• Triumphant story of one man's will

Richard Childress
Long before he became one of the preeminent car owners in NASCAR history, Childress was a race car driver with limited means. Still, he persevered, which is what you do when you purchase your first race car for $20 at the age of 17.

Childress, the consummate self-made racer, was respectable behind the wheel. Between 1969-81 he had six top-five finishes and 76 top-10s in 285 starts, finishing fifth in the Cup Series point standings in 1975.

Having formed Richard Childress Racing in 1972, Childress retired from driving in '81. The rest, as they say, is history.

Much of that history is linked to one of NASCAR's greatest drivers, seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt, who won six championships and 67 races between 1984-2000 for RCR.

But Childress has had other successes, as well. In addition to Earnhardt's championships, Childress drivers have given him five others. His total of 11 national series owner championships is tied with Rick Hendrick for the all-time lead. Childress was the first team owner to win championships in all three of NASCAR's national series.

Along the way, Childress has excelled off the track. He was one of the first owners to recognize the market potential for race team collectables. In recent years he established his own winery in North Carolina. And in 2008, Childress was recognized for his role in establishing the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

That $20 race car seems a light year away.

Dale Earnhardt | Video Highlights
As Earnhardt's black No. 3 grew larger in some unsuspecting leader's rearview mirror, so did the legend of the "Intimidator."

Earnhardt's passionate all-or-nothing driving style -- and modest everyman background -- made him a fast fan favorite. His dominance didn't hurt any, either.

Earnhardt co-holds the record for most Cup Series championships (seven) with Richard Petty. And his enormous success didn't take long to flourish.

In only his second full season, 1980, Earnhardt nabbed his first championship. After that, the crowns came in bunches. He won consecutive titles on three separate occasions (1986-87, '90-91 and '93-94). Earnhardt's 76 victories rank seventh all time.

Earnhardt won on the biggest stages. He is the all-time leader in race victories at Daytona International Speedway with 34, though the most prominent of them was a while in the making.

In 1998, Earnhardt won his most coveted race -- the Daytona 500. The scene was a memorable one, etched in the minds of race fans everywhere, forever. As Earnhardt's black No. 3 rolled down pit road, a Daytona 500 winner at last, every crew member from every team lined up to congratulate one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history.

• Remembering Dale Earnhardt (Continued)