I don’t follow NASCAR a lot, but I am a history buff, so I took some interest in who would be picked as the original class of inductees in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Much has been written already about driver David Pearson being left out of the first five inductees, but something else struck me as odd. The voters made the puzzling decision – OK, the really stupid decision – not to include even one of the sport’s early drivers. You know, the early drivers? The wild-asses who were the reason anyone became interested in stock car racing to begin with? Herb Thomas, who won 48 races in the 1950s (and 21% of the races he entered!) before being seriously injured in a wreck, was an obvious choice. But no-o-o, they had to kiss the France family’s, um, ring, and put both Bill France Sr. and Jr. in the first five.

• Herb Thomas' "Fabulous Hudson Hornet"