Rusty Wallace: Induction into NASCAR Hall of Fame Well-Deserved for Racing Giant

It didn't take Rusty Wallace long to gain entry into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, as well it shouldn't have.

Wallace was elected to join Buck Baker, Leonard Wood, Cotton Owens, and Herb Thomas in the Class of 2013 on Wednesday by a 54-person panel in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The 55-year-old Wallace is easily the most junior member of this group, and came in third among them in terms of voting with 52 percent, behind Wood and Thomas at 57 percent.

But none of that diminishes what an honor it is for Wallace to join the likes of Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough, and David Pearson (among others) as a member of just the fourth group to be inducted.

Wallace ran in 749 races across three different NASCAR circuits during his 25-year career, highlighted by a Winston Cup championship in 1989. The Missouri native wound up in Victory Lane on 55 occasions, placing him ninth on the all-time wins list.

Perhaps more importantly, Wallace has long been a tremendous ambassador for the sport of stock car racing. He joined ESPN as an analyst in 2006, shortly after retiring at the close of the 2005 Spring Cup series season.

Wallace has also gone so far as to build a track of his own in Newton, Iowa, known as (you guessed it!) the Iowa Speedway, which he modeled after Richmond International Speedway. Wallace's venue has hosted NASCAR events since 2009, when the Nationwide Series came to town.

All told, it figures to be an emotional moment for racing fans when he takes to the podium in Charlotte next February and officially joins the pantheon of the sport's most important contributors.

As well he should.

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