Joining his brother in the Hall of Fame is.....

With Leonard Wood at the 2012 Daytona 500

It’s been a history-making year already in racedom. The Daytona 500 was rained out and postponed and there was a tie in voting for the Hall of Fame Class of 2013.

The 2013 class, announced Wednesday, will be Buck Baker, Cotton Owens, Herb Thomas, Rusty Wallace and Leonard Wood, who will be joining his brother, Glen, who was inducted in the 2012 class at the Hall.

The final spot was a tie between Fireball Roberts and Buck Baker. After a runoff, Baker nabbed the final spot.

Fan votes? Those went to Benny Parsons, Fireball Roberts, Wendell Scott, Rusty Wallace and Leonard Wood.

So, I voted for Leonard, BP, Fireball and Wendell, with my 5^th going to Tim Flock, who was apparently just outside the class behind Jerry Cook after the tiebreaker. Maybe next year I’ll have more inductees in my votes.

Induction day will be Friday, Feb. 8, 2013 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte.

I had the opportunity to meet Leonard Wood at the Daytona 500 this year. How fortuitous I was wearing a Ford Racing jacket, too. And in the pocket was my trusty Lions Club mascot Hunter Lion (short for Huntington, of course). Yup, the little lion came out for a photo op with the racing legend and the redhead from West Virginia.

A few years ago, I met Rusty Wallace at an appearance for Make a Wish Foundation in West Virginia. Members of the Official NASCAR Members Club got a quick photo with him and National Advisor Paul Mullins of St. Albans held the microphone for some of Rusty’s interviews.