25 Hall of Fame nominees unveiled for inaugural class (cont'd)

Curtis Turner
Called by some the "Babe Ruth of stock-car racing," Turner was among the fastest and most colorful competitors in the early years of NASCAR. Turner posted his first of 17 career victories in only his sixth start on Sept. 11, 1949, at Langhorne, Pa.

Although many of Turner's victories came on short tracks and dirt ovals -- much of his career pre-dated NASCAR's superspeedway era -- he won the 1956 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway and the first American 500 at Rockingham in 1965. He also won 22 races in NASCAR's Convertible Division in 1956.

Turner competed in NASCAR's first race in 1949 in Charlotte and was the only driver to win a Cup Series race in a Nash. He remains the only series driver to win two consecutive races from the pole leading every lap.

Turner drove for many legendary NASCAR owners including the Wood Brothers, Junior Johnson, Smokey Yunick and Holman-Moody.

Turner was named one of NASCAR's "50 Greatest Drivers" in 1998.

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Darrell Waltrip | Video Highlights
A three-time Cup Series champion (1981-82, '85), Waltrip won all three with the legendary Junior Johnson. Waltrip is tied with Bobby Allison for third all-time in series victories with 84. He competed from 1972-2000, another highlight being his 1989 Daytona 500 victory in a Rick Hendrick-owned Chevrolet.

Waltrip's first series title came in 1981, when he finished with 12 wins and 21 top-fives in 31 races. He won the title by 53 points over Bobby Allison.

In his second championship season, 1982, he finished with 12 wins and 20 top-10s in 30 races, sweeping both races at four tracks (Nashville, Bristol, Talladega and North Wilkesboro).

In his third championship season, 1985, Waltrip finished with three wins and 21 top-10s in 28 races.

He was nicknamed "Jaws" during his career because of an outspoken demeanor. He currently is a commentator on FOX's NASCAR broadcasts. He was named one of NASCAR's "50 Greatest Drivers" in 1998.

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Joe Weatherly
Weatherly won two championships (1962-63) and 25 races in the Cup Series. But that's only part of his story, which is long on versatility.

A decade earlier in 1952-53, he won 101 races in the NASCAR Modified division, capturing that championship in '53. He even tried his hand in NASCAR's short-lived Convertible Division from 1956-59.

Weatherly was one of the first drivers who attracted fans to NASCAR as much for his personality as his racing ability, thus his nickname the "Clown Prince of Stock Car Racing."

When he won his first Cup Series championship, in 1962, he drove for legendary owner Bud Moore. When he repeated as champion a year later, he drove for nine different teams.

Weatherly was named one of the NASCAR's "50 Greatest Drivers" in 1998.

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Glen Wood
Wood laid the foundation for the famed Wood Brothers racing team as a driver in the Cup Series. Competing on a semi-regular basis, mostly at tracks close to his southern Virginia home, Wood won four times -- all at Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C.

His best season was 1960 during which Wood won three times and posted six top-five finishes and seven top-10s in just nine races. He also won 14 poles during a 62-race career.

Wood, of course, is best known for his collaboration with brothers Leonard and Delano in Wood Brothers Racing. The Stuart, Va.-based team, which dates to 1950 and remains active, has amassed 96 victories. The team's all-time roster of drivers is a virtual who's who of NASCAR and includes David Pearson, Curtis Turner, Marvin Panch, Fireball Roberts, Dan Gurney, Tiny Lund, Parnelli Jones, Junior Johnson, Cale Yarborough, Fred Lorenzen and Bill Elliott.

The Wood Brothers have excelled outside the NASCAR world as well, winning the 1965 Indianapolis 500 with Jim Clark.

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Cale Yarborough | Video Highlights
As competitive as the sport has always been, NASCAR has had very few dynasties. Yarborough's reign in the late 1970s, though, was one of them.

His string of three consecutive Cup Series championships from 1976-78 was unprecedented -- and unmatched until 2008, when Jimmie Johnson was crowned champion for the third consecutive year.

During his three-year dominance, Yarborough won 28 races -- nine in 1976, nine in '77 and 10 in '78. His final championship points margin in those three years was never fewer than 195 points, and was as much as 474 in 1978.

Those three years made Yarborough's career, but he enjoyed success before and after. The fiery competitor was the series championship runner-up in 1973 and '74 and again in 1980.

Yarborough totaled 83 victories in his 31-year career, and ranks fifth all time. And he won the Daytona 500 four times (1968, '77, '83-84), a mark that ranks second only to Richard Petty's seven.

When NASCAR's "50 Greatest Drivers" list was compiled in 1998, suffice to say that William Caleb Yarborough was a shoo-in.

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