Putting together second HOF class just as difficult

So now that we know the names of the charter class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame -- the First Five, as you will -- attention turns to the Class of 2011, the Following Five. And the decision-making process won't be that much easier the second time around.

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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If David Pearson wasn't worthy of being enshrined in the inaugural class, he had to have been the odd man out. The Silver Fox is second all-time to Richard Petty with 105 victories, winning 10 or more races in a season five times, and collecting three NASCAR championships. In races where Pearson and Petty finished 1-2, the Spartanburg, S.C., native won 33 of those to the King's 30. In an era when purse money paid the bills, Pearson ran only selected races but still was good enough to finish third in the 1974 points, despite making only 19 starts.

So who joins Pearson in 2011? If results of the balloting are correct, there may be quite a bit of additional support for Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison. Yarborough may be best remembered for his three consecutive championships beginning in 1976, but the native of Timmonsville, S.C., won 83 times in a 31-year career, including four Daytona 500s.

In Allison's case, the original member of the Alabama Gang was as good near the end of his career as he was at the beginning. A multiple-time modified division champion before he raced full-time at NASCAR's highest level, Allison won 84 Cup races, including three Daytona 500s and the 1983 Cup title.

There are at least six drivers from NASCAR's first decade that deserve serious consideration next year, beginning with Lee Petty. Already 35 by the time he competed in the first Strictly Stock race at Charlotte in 1949, Petty won 54 races and three NASCAR championships, and captured the inaugural Daytona 500 in a photo finish with Johnny Beauchamp.

Buck Baker was every bit of Petty's equal during that same time frame. The first driver to win back-to-back titles, Baker also finished as runner-up to Petty in 1955 and 1958. During an eight-year span, Baker never finished worse than fifth in points and scored 41 of his 46 career victories. (Continued)