JEFFERSONVILLE — If there is a name for the latest group of inductees heading into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, it would be the politically correct class.

The 2012 induction class, which was announced Tuesday, represents nearly everything the NASCAR faithful wanted — two of the best drivers ever, the greatest crew chief of all time, an old-school car owner and a NASCAR short-track legend who the average NASCAR fan probably has never heard of before.

This time, it was a no-brainer that Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip be included in the third Hall of Fame class.

Each man won three Sprint Cup Series championships, with all of Yarborough’s titles coming in succession. Each NASCAR great is ranked in the top six of all-time Cup victories. Waltrip collected 84 career victories. Yarborough won 83.

All you have to do is look at Dale Inman’s statistics as a crew chief to be convinced that he is a Hall of Famer.

In his 34-year career, Inman is the all-time leader in victories (193) and Cup championships (eight) by a crew chief. Seven of his eight championships were with his famous cousin, Richard Petty, and his eighth one came with future Hall of Fame driver Terry Labonte.

Glen Wood is one-half of the famous brother duo who built Wood Brothers Racing into one of the most successful racing organizations in NASCAR history. Along with his brother and Hall of Fame nominee Leonard Wood, who should have went in along with his sibling, Glen Wood has built an organization that has won 98 races in its 61-year history.

Plus Glen Wood was one of the team’s drivers in the 1950s and 1960s, as he won four times in 48 starts.

The final 2012 inductee is Richie Evans, who won the NASCAR modified championship nine times and is legend to NASCAR short-track fans along the East Coast.



BUT …

Even though I think each of these NASCAR icons are worthy of getting into the Hall, I still think the Hall of Fame has not done enough to get more of the early stars of the sport into the stock-car shrine.

The Hall still needs to induct championship drivers from NASCAR’s infancy like Red Byron, Tim Flock, Fireball Roberts, Joe Weatherly and Herb Thomas and successful car owners like Raymond Parks and Cotton Owens.

If these icons continue to get snubbed, then the Hall of Fame needs to consider some form of a veterans committee, like the one that the National Baseball Hall of Fame has.

That would guarantee that at least one NASCAR great or pioneer will get in the Hall each year.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame was built to celebrate the sport’s past. Hopefully, future Hall of Fame elections will honor the accomplishments of NASCAR’s founding fathers and give them the recognition they deserve.



SUNDAY’S HELUVA GOOD! 400

at Michigan International Speedway

TOP-FIVE CONTENDERS

1. CARL EDWARDS: It will be interesting to see how Edwards and his No. 99 team bounce back after having engine problems at Pocono last week. My guess is they will rebound nicely as Edwards’ career average finish at Michigan is 6.3. Plus the Roush Fenway cars are usually pretty stout at car owner Jack Roush’s home track.

2. DENNY HAMLIN: The Virginian’s last four finishes at MIS have been third, 10th, first and second. So on paper, he should be in contention with Edwards today. But I pretty much said the same thing about him prior to Pocono last week, and bad pit work and a cut tire let him down despite having a fast car.

3. TONY STEWART: Despite only one career Michigan victory, Stewart has always ran strong at the track with 10 top-five finishes and 16 top-10s.

4. GREG BIFFLE: Edwards should not be the only Roush driver to have fun at Michigan today. “The Biff” has placed in the top 10 four times in the last six MIS races. In addition, he has two Michigan’s victories under his belt, one in 2004 and the other in ‘05.

5. DALE EARNHARDT JR.: Michigan is one of the few tracks that has treated Junior well the past few seasons. He has placed in the top 10 six times in the last 10 events at the 2-mile oval. That includes his last Cup victory in 2008 and I was there to see what is now considered a historic NASCAR moment since Junior has not visited Victory Lane in three years.



TODAY’S DARK HORSE

• BRIAN VICKERS: Last year, the Red Bull driver did not get a chance to run at Michigan, one of his favorite race tracks, because of blood clots that caused him discomfort and required surgery.

Prior to sitting both MIS races in 2010, Vickers had five consecutive top-10 finishes at the track. The last time he raced there, he won.

Expect Vickers to get reacquainted really well with Michigan today.



DRIVER MOST LIKELY TO STRUGGLE

• JEFF BURTON: The veteran is flat out struggling this year as he has not cracked the top 10 once. Things could get worse today at Michigan, where he has placed in the top 10 only once in the last 17 races. But on the bright side for Burton fans, the one top-10 happened in this race last year so maybe there is a ray of hope that he can turn his season with a similar performance. But I would not put money on that.



OLD KEV’S POWER POLL

1. Carl Edwards

2. Jimmie Johnson

3. Kevin Harvick

4. Matt Kenseth

5. Kyle Busch

6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

7. Tony Stewart

8. Jeff Gordon

9. Clint Bowyer

10. Denny Hamlin

11. Kurt Busch

12. Ryan Newman

13. Greg Biffle

14. David Ragan

15. Mark Martin