January is busy for racing as the garages start to fill and teams roll back into the routine of the daily grind. They review the previous season, plan changes, and take the rules changes to the chassis and the track. January is also NASCAR Hall of Fame time as the newest batch of legends take their places during the ceremony, held in the Crown Ballroom of the Charlotte Convention Center, on January 20th. The total number of HoF Members is now 15.

Richie Evans, primarily a Northeastern USA Driver, won  9 Modified Championships with an estimated 475 race wins. From Rome, NY, “Rapid Roman” and the orange #61 Modified became a solid fixture on tracks throughout the northeast racing circuit.

Dale Inman, cousin and long time friend of the Petty family, pioneered the “Crew Chief” position in the early days of NASCAR. His knowledge of the overall challenges of the driver, the car and the team shaped what is now standard. As a Crew Chief, Inman has 8 championships under his belt – 7 of those with Petty.

Darrell Waltrip. Many kids growing up now may only know him as the “Boogity Boogity” commentator on race day. Waltrip has 3 NASCAR Championships, won 84 races (ranked 4th in all time victories) included the Daytona 500. He has long been respected as a driver, champion and promoter of the sport.

Cale Yarborough has a name that is as synonymous with NASCAR as Petty, Earnhardt and Johnson. He held the run for 3 straight championships until some upstart named Johnson came along and won 4. Yarborough flagged 83 wins, including 4 at the Daytona 500, and his legacy of driving and colorful personality is a shining star in the history of NASCAR.

Glen Wood took racing to a new level several times with innovations, team ownership, and a top driver list of champions. Wood, who began racing himself from a small Virginia town, drove along with the earliest names in racing. He ran against pioneers Lee Petty, Glenn “Fireball” Roberts and Junior Johnson. The Wood Brothers team continues to run the #21 Ford with their most recent 2011 Daytona 500 winner, Trevor Bayne.

Congratulations to these five champions of the sport of racing and welcome to the NASCAR Hall of Fame!