Those four:
Richard Petty.
Dale Earnhardt.
Junior Johnson.
And …  Bill France Sr.

After that, well …  

There was the expected considerable momentum among fans and media for David Pearson, the popular three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion whose 105 wins ranked second all-time behind Petty’s 200.

Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip, also three-time champs, seemed reasonable possibilities, as did two-time titlist Ned Jarrett, legendary owner/driver and World War II hero Bud Moore, Bobby Allison, too.

And …  Bill France Jr.

A wide gulf of public opinion separated the two Bills going into the voting process, which transpired on October 14, 2009, in Charlotte. After hours of deliberation by a voting panel representing constituencies from throughout the NASCAR industry — including the media — ballots were tabulated by the renowned accounting firm of Ernst & Young. That firm was on hand not because of the numbers involved but rather to demonstrate the legitimacy of the voting process.

Debate was intense during the voting panel sessions. Support for Bill Jr. grew as the debate continued. When votes were cast, he was in.

The rest of the "first five": Petty, Earnhardt, Johnson — and Bill Sr. …

Bill Sr. would’ve loved the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Just as he would have loved the decision to make him the very first inductee at the induction ceremony.

"It wasn’t an accident that he was the first one," said NASCAR Hall of Fame Executive Director Winston Kelley. "It was very intentional — as it should’ve been."

For the first several years of the NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, the inductee acceptance speeches were preceded by inductors’ speeches, designed to both honor and introduce the inductees. Some were fellow NASCAR notables. Some were family or friends. In the case of posthumous inductions, the inductors’ role was enhanced greatly. In the case of Bill France Sr.’s posthumous induction, a very special inductor was required, to say the least.

It was originally thought that Jim France would induct his father. As NASCAR’s vice chairman and the chairman of the International Speedway Corporation (ISC), he has had his own remarkable career in motorsports while somehow flying under the general public’s radar. Jim is an intensely private individual and also, those close to him say, an emotional man, which led to him reconsidering the task of standing up before a television audience and talking about his father for an extended period of time. He opted to deliver a briefer acceptance speech, which, upon further review, made more sense anyway.

John Cassidy inducts Bill France Sr. into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010.

Jim France turned to an old friend, John Cassidy, for help with the longer remarks. "Jimmy called me and said he wanted me to make the speech," Cassidy said. "I told him I would be honored. Jimmy dearly loved his father … "

Cassidy immediately went to work, as he has been doing for more than 50 years when it comes to the France family. Cassidy, then a robust 80 years old, is one of the last living direct links to Bill France Sr. and stands as one of the most interesting characters in the man’s colorful life.

Cassidy has long had NASCAR and its sister company, International Speedway Corporation (also founded by Bill Sr.) as clients, serving as a main adviser to Bill Sr. — and later, Bill Jr. — on legal matters such as antitrust, securities, competition rules, membership rights in voluntary organizations, and contracts. Cassidy was a founding partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm of Miller, Cassidy, Larroca & Lewin, LLP, which was merged into Baker Botts, LLP in January 2001. Cassidy founded his firm in 1965 after serving as a trial attorney in the criminal and tax divisions of the United States Department of Justice and as special assistant to the Attorney General of the United States, Robert F. Kennedy.

Bill Sr. had sought Cassidy’s help for the first time in 1961, when Kennedy was aggressively battling organized crime, working on prosecuting members of the Teamsters and, particularly, Jimmy Hoffa. The Teamsters had targeted NASCAR, and Bill France Sr. was on alert, absolutely convinced that unionization would cause the downfall of his sport.

"Senior had come up to D.C. to see Bobby about his Hoffa problem,” Cassidy recounted. "I was sitting in my office and the phone rang. It was Bobby. He said, ‘I’ve got a fella in my office who says his name is Bill France. He has something to do with something called NASCAR and all I know is that NASCAR has something to do with motorsports. Jimmy Hoffa is trying to move in and take it over and we can’t let that happen because this France guy …  he’s one of us. So I’m sending him down to your office and I want you to help him and NASCAR.’ "

Cassidy, still practicing law these days with Baker Botts (Baker, as in former U.S. Secretary of State and former White House Chief of Staff James Baker), took the job of inducting Bill France Sr. very seriously.

He worked on the speech for more than a month, going so far as enlisting his partner Baker as an editor. Once his initial speech draft was turned into NASCAR, the work continued, with Cassidy primarily collaborating with the late Jim Hunter, then NASCAR’s vice president of communications. Soon, however, a dilemma developed for organizers of the induction ceremony, scheduled to be broadcast on television. With each new draft, Cassidy’s speech got longer, considerably exceeding the time allotment established in the show’s script. A debate within NASCAR was squelched quickly by Hunter, with the induction only several days away.

"Goddamn it …  the speech is fine the way it is!" Hunter told staff members. "Leave it the f— alone. After all, this is Bill France Sr. we’re talking about! I don’t want to hear any more about this. Understand?"

It was understood.

As it turned out, all was fine. Cassidy self-edited on the fly, replacing a sizable portion of the prepared text with off-the-cuff storytelling. Cassidy mixed historical tidbits with personal tales and reminiscences of Bill Sr.’s life — and added his own perspective throughout, such as:

"People frequently say Bill Sr. was a ‘visionary.’ I don’t dispute that, but I prefer to call him a ‘dreamer who was also a man of action’ …  someone who turned dreams into reality. Not only did Bill follow his dreams …  he expected the rest of us to do likewise.

"Bill’s dreams of growth for NASCAR were only exceeded by his desire that stock car racing become a recognized and respected professional sport in America. If he were here today he would be the first to acknowledge NASCAR has exceeded his dreams."

NASCAR Vice Chairman and Executive Vice President Jim France accepts his father’s induction into the first class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010.

Jim France then accepted the honor of induction, along with the first-ever commemorative NASCAR Hall of Fame ring, for his late father — but came on to the stage with a special surprise in store.

"On behalf of everyone in our family, thank you, John, for that introduction and great tribute to my father," he began. "Let me begin by saying that our family is very proud to be involved in this memorable afternoon for the induction of my father and my brother Bill. We would like to thank the Hall of Fame voting panel for including them in this inaugural class with Junior, Richard, and Dale, truly the iconic heroes of NASCAR."

Jim France talked for only perhaps a minute more before sharing his surprise.

"In closing, I would like to offer the donation of this ring back to the NASCAR Hall of Fame for display wherever they would choose. Thank you."

And with that, the coronation was complete.