NASCAR Hall of Fame 2012: A Look at the Inductees

The 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame class has been announced and it’s a good one.

Names such as Waltrip, Yarborough and Inman are among those on the list for the third class in a group that looks just as good as the first two classes. Come with me as we take a look at the five new Hall of Famers, people that made the industry what it is today.

The 2012 class will be inducted on the weekend of January  20.

Cale Yarborough

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DARLINGTON, SC - SEPTEMBER 26: NASCAR legend Cale Yarborough speaks to fans during the Darlington Historic Racing Festival on September 26, 2009 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images)

Cale Yarborough is one of the top names in the sport and is in the league of Petty and Earnhardt. But why is he such a big name?

Yarborough was the first driver to win three consecutive Cup titles, a feat that was achieved with car owner and Hall of Famer Junior Johnson.  He also had 83 wins, 255 Top 5 finishes and 319 Top 10 finishes in 560 starts with 69 poles.

Another infamous Yarborough moment was his involvement in the last lap crash during the first live, flag-to-flag televised event that ended in a fight with the Allison brothers.

Darrell Waltrip

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CHARLOTTE, NC - JUNE 14: NASCAR 2012 Hall of Fame inductee Darrell Waltrip stands in the Great Hall during Hall of Fame Voting Day at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on June 14, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

While Darrell Waltrip is most known for his television commentary to the younger group of NASCAR fans, he is also a three-time Cup winner (1981, 1982, and 1985) and finished second in the standings three other times.

Waltrip had 84 wins in 809 Cup starts and won seven consecutive times at Bristol from 1981 to 1984 among other big wins such as the Daytona 500.

Dale Inman

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CHARLOTTE, NC - JUNE 14: Dale Inman, 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, speaks to the media during the NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Day at NASCAR Hall of Fame on June 14, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

Dale Inman joins the driver he won seven championships with, Richard Petty, in the Hall of Fame (Petty was inducted in the inaugural  2010 class). In addition to the seven with Petty, he also won an eighth one with Terry Labonte.

With Richard Petty, Inman won 10 races in a row in a magical 1967 season that ended with the two winning 27 races.

In addition to Inman’s crew chief accomplishments, he was also a mentor for a lot of the hands-on workers around the track today.

Glen Wood

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CHARLOTTE, NC - JUNE 14: Glen Wood, 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, speaks to the media during the NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Day at NASCAR Hall of Fame on June 14, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR)

One of the three brothers that make up Wood Brothers Racing, Glen Wood’s influence is still felt as his team won the 2011 Daytona 500 with Trevor Bayne.

Wood did have a short driving career around his Virgina home where he won four of 62 starts, but his real winning came as an owner whose team has 98 Cup wins.

Wood is to thank for the creation of the Wood Brothers' 61-year-old team as he laid the foundation for the team to start.

Richie Evans

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STAFFORD SPRINGS, CT - MAY 27: Ron Silk, driver of the #6 T.S Haulers\Calverton Tree Farm Chevrolet during the TSI Harley-Davidson 125 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Stafford Motor Speedway on May 27, 2011 in Stafford Springs, Connecticut. (Phot

Richie Evans may not be famous for Cup racing, but he is a Modified legend.

Evans won nine Modified championships in 13 years and shows that Jimmie Johnson still has a lot of work to do, as Evans won eight of those championships consecutively between 1978 and 1985.

Evans had the nickname of “The King of the Modifieds.” In 2003, he was rated as the No. 1 All-Time NASCAR Modified competitor and in 1998 was one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.