NASCAR Hall of Fame nominees announced

Autoracing Betting Lines

07/02/2009 - Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR on Thursday revealed the 25 nominees for the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame induction class. Nominees included pioneers, former champions and driver-turned-team owners of the sport.

A 21-member committee - consisting of NASCAR officials and industry leaders, as well as owners/operators of current and historic racetracks - determined the nominees.

The five inductees for the hall's first class will be selected by a voting panel made up of NASCAR members, manufacturer representatives, former competitors, the media and fans. The voting will be completed by September 15, with the results announced in October.

Eligibility requirements included NASCAR accomplishments and contributions. Former drivers must have competed 10 years in NASCAR and be retired from the sport for a minimum of three years in order to be eligible. Non drivers qualify after working at least 10 years in the industry. NASCAR will grant consideration for potential candidates with shorter careers if there are special circumstances.

The inductees will be honored next May when the hall is scheduled to open in Charlotte, NC.

The 25 nominees for the first NASCAR Hall of Fame induction class:

(In alphabetical order)

Bobby Allison - 1983 Cup champion and 84 race wins.

Buck Baker - first driver to win consecutive Cup titles (1956-57).

Red Byron - first Cup champion in 1949.

Richard Childress - team owner who won six titles with driver Dale Earnhardt.

Dale Earnhardt - Seven-time Cup champion (1980, '86, '87, '90, '91, '93, '94).

Richie Evans - Modified stock car racing legend who won nine titles.

Tim Flock - Two-time Cup champion (1952, '55) and 39 race wins.

William H.G. France - NASCAR founder and racetrack mogul.

Bill France Jr. - NASCAR's president (1972-2000), NASCAR chairman (2000-2003).

Rick Hendrick - Eight-time Cup championship team owner.

Ned Jarrett - Two-time Cup champion (1961, '65) and 50 race wins.

Junior Johnson - Six-time Cup championships team owner and 50 wins as driver.

Bud Moore - team owner for 37 years with two Cup championships and 63 wins.

Raymond Parks - team owner who won NASCAR's first title with driver Red Byron.

Benny Parsons - 1973 Cup champion and first driver to qualify a stock car at more than 200 m.p.h.

David Pearson - Three-time Cup champion (1966, '68, '69) and 105 race wins.

Lee Petty - Three-time Cup champion (1954, '58, '59) and winner of first Daytona 500 (1959).

Richard Petty - Seven-time Cup champion (1964, '67, '71, '72, '74, '75, '79) and winner of a record-200 races.

Fireball Roberts - Considered as one of the best drivers to never win a NASCAR title, 33 race wins.

Herb Thomas - Two-time Cup champion (1951, '53) and 48 race wins.

Curtis Turner - Only driver to win 25 major NASCAR races in one season (1956), including 22 in the convertible division

Darrell Waltrip - Three-time Cup champion (1981, '82, '85) and 84 race wins.

Joe Weatherly - Two-time Cup champion (1962-63) and 25 race wins.

Glen Wood - legendary team owner who has been in NASCAR since 1953.

Cale Yarborough - First driver to win three consecutive Cup championships (1976-78).

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SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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