NASCAR ranks heads the list of the inductees in this year’s Talladega-Texaco
Walk of Fame located at Davey Allison Memorial Park in uptown
Talladega.Throughout Mark’s stellar career, his strong determination to succeed - and win - has set him apart from his fellow competitors. It is the reason he is included in the list of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers. Mark led the fans’ vote for active driver to be inducted into the Walk of Fame.
Two other men included in that list of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers will also be inducted into the Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame as the inactive drivers of 2002. Robert "Red" Byron and Bobby Isaac led the fans’ vote in that category.
The 2002 induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Davey Allison Memorial Park in uptown Talladega, a block south of the town square. The annual induction ceremony takes place on Saturday night during the EA SPORTS 500 Weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. The ceremony and all festivities - including a concert - are free to the public.
"The fans have again spoken and we couldn’t be more pleased with Mark as their choice," said Ken Allen, chairman of the Walk of Fame’s board. "Obviously Mark is very, very deserving of this honor and it will be an extremely proud moment for us when he is enshrined during our induction ceremony."
Mark, the driver of the No. 6 Pfizer/Viagra Ford owned by Jack Roush, is
second in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series points chase, just 106 points
behind Sterling Marlin.As proof of Mark’s determination, last year was the first time he finished out of the Top 10 in the Winston Cup points standings since 1989. This season he is a clear threat to win his first Winston Cup championship. Mark finished second in the points race in 1994, the same year he won his first of four IROC titles.
Red Byron, who hailed from Anniston, Ala., and began racing on a track in Talladega, was NASCAR’s first Winston Cup champion in 1949. He also won the first NASCAR sanctioned race on Daytona’s beach-road course in February of 1948. Before Byron’s heroics on the track, he spent 27 months in military hospitals rehabilitating his left leg after being shot down in a B-24 during World War II. On his 58th mission as a tail gunner, he was shot down over Kikta in the Aleutian Islands.
Isaac won 37 NASCAR Winston Cup Series events and the 1970 Winston Cup
championship. In that same year, Isaac set a world closed-course record
when he ran 201.104 mph at Talladega Superspeedway. In September of 1971,
Isaac set 28 world class records on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Many of
his records exist to this day. Isaac won 50 pole positions in his
NASCAR career.Fans can find out more about the Talladega/Texaco Walk of Fame on www.talladegawalk.com. The Talladega/Texaco Walk of Fame was created in 1994 after the death of Davey Allison. Since 1995, one active driver and two inactive drivers have been inducted into the Walk of Fame based on the fans’ vote.
Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, Neil Bonnett, Red Farmer and Davey Allison were inducted as the inaugural class in 1994 by decree of the board of directors.
The late Dale Earnhardt was the first active driver to be inducted in 1995. Ernie Irvan, Dale Jarrett, Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Hamilton and Ricky Rudd followed as active driver inductees. Richard Petty and Benny Parsons were the first inactive drivers to be inducted. Alan Kulwicki, Cale Yarborough, Ned Jarrett, Buddy Baker, David Pearson, Junior Johnson, Harry Gant, Lee Petty, Tim Flock, Fireball Roberts, Buck Baker and Joe Weatherly have been inducted as inactive drivers since.
