Dale Earnhardt Jr. makes case for two names to be added to NASCAR Hall of Fame ballot

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is pushing for two people to be on the NASCAR Hall of Fame ballot in the near future. On this week’s Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt said he would like to see Ray Elder and Butch Lindley on the modern-era ballot.

Earnhardt then explained why Lindley should be considered a NASCAR Hall of Famer. “Butch is very synonymous with short-track racing. Won like 500 races in the late ’70s racing around the Sportsman Series and so forth,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “He was so good.”

Earnhardt then detailed what made Elder special. Elder is known for his time in the NASCAR Winston West Series and was a six-time champion. “If you have a six-time champion of anything, that’s Hall of Fame,” Earnhardt stated.

Continuing on Elder, Earnhard admitted that West Coast drivers in the 1970s didn’t have the same speed as the NASCAR Cup drivers. But Elder hung with the drivers and even beat them a couple of times. Earnhardt also said that Elder and other West Coast drivers helped NASCAR become more national because of the work they put in.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. reveals his NASCAR Hall of Fame pioneer ballot

“Not only was Ray a champion and a consistent winner, but he was also doing a lot of work laying the foundation for our sport to become nationwide,” Earnhardt said. “I made a big push for him.”

Butch Lindley was a two-time champion of the NASAR Sportsman Division, winning the titles in 1977 and 1978. He died at the age of 42 in 1990, and he was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame in 2005.

Ray Elder won his NASAR Winston West Series titles in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, and 1975. He also won two NASCAR Cup Series races in 31 starts and is a member of the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame.

Earnhardt then discussed who should be on the NASCAR Hall of Fame pioneer ballot, which is for drivers who made the most impact in their careers before 1966. With Earnhardt being part of the Hall of Fame committee, he revealed that he voted for his grandfather, Ralph Earnhardt, to be on the pioneer ballot. Dale Jr. also voted for Harry Hyde, Herb Nab, Larry Phillips, and Bob Welborn.