NASCAR honored a pair of its most famous and successful families with inductions into the Hall of Fame on Wednesday. Past champion Dale Jarrett joined father Ned in the hall and master mechanic Maurice "Chief" Petty became the fourth member of his famous lineage to be selected for enshrinement.
Maurice joins older brother, "King" Richard Petty; their father, championship driver Lee Petty; and cousin Dale Inman, Richard's longtime crew chief in the hall.
Tim Flock, a two-time premier series champion, also was selected along with Jack Ingram, who drove to success on what is now NASCAR's Nationwide Series; and Fireball Roberts, the flashy showman from the 1950s who raced to 33 victories before his death in 1964.
The group will be inducted into the hall during ceremonies here next January.
Ned Jarrett jumped out of his seat and hugged his son after his name was announced. Dale Jarrett said he was dressed for his son's graduation party and expected to bolt out once the announcements were made. He was humbled to join the hall.
"I've always felt like it was an honor and a privilege to drive for NASCAR, and this sport has been such a huge part of the Jarrett life," Dale said. "Now to be part of something that my father is a part of, it just means the world to me."
The 1999 Sprint Cup champion was a three-time winner of the Daytona 500 and is 21st on the career list with 32 victories. He and Ned become the third father-son combo in the hall, following Bill France Sr. and Bill France Jr. and Lee and Richard Petty.
Ned was part of the 54-person voting panel and told the group earlier Wednesday that his son's talents should be why he's elected and not because of his father's backing. Brian France, NASCAR chairman and CEO, followed that Dale Jarrett's on-track success made him worthy of inclusion.
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