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Presenting your 2011 NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee class

Jay Busbee
Senior writer

The second class of nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame has been announced, and boy, it's going to be tough to pick five out of this one. While the inaugural class had four slam-dunks -- Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Bill France Sr., Junior Johnson -- and one easily defensible pick in Bill France Jr., the next round of 25 nominees is phenomenally diverse. It features Cup champions, crew chiefs, owners and pioneers.

Let's check the list, shall we? Your nominees include:

• Tim Flock
• Richie Evans
• Darrell Waltrip
• David Pearson
• Cale Yarborough
• Bobby Allison
• Rick Hendrick
• Ned Jarrett
• Buck Baker
• Richard Childress
• Bud Moore
• Raymond Parks
• Red Byron
• Benny Parsons
• Fireball Roberts
• Lee Petty
• Curtis Turner
• Herb Thomas
• Joe Weatherly
• Glen Wood
• Jerry Cook
• Fred Lorenzen
• Jack Ingram
• Dale Inman
• T. Wayne Robertson

Sweet mercy, that's a stacked list. And unlike Year One, there are few clear favorites. Here are my picks: Pearson, Yarborough, Parks, Inman and Waltrip. Each one of those guys laid a foundation for all who followed; each one of them had an effect on the sport that we still see today.

So that's my set. How about yours?