NASCAR Hall of Fame's class of 2015 to be chosen tomorrow - MotorSportsTalk

Who will be the next five NASCAR legends to join the sport’s Hall of Fame? We’re one day away from finding out.

The Class of 2015 will be chosen tomorrow in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the Hall of Fame’s voting panel is charged with picking from a field of 20 inductees. One of the 55 ballots cast is a collective fan vote that officially closed earlier this afternoon.

As part of several changes to the Hall of Fame’s eligibility and voting process, the defending Sprint Cup Series champion now has a vote at his/her disposal.

Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson, who claimed his sixth Cup championship last fall, has used the opportunity as a learning experience.

“I definitely have an opinion and look forward to understanding the process,” Johnson told Yahoo Sports recently. “Some (nominees) I knew, I knew their background but I learned a little bit more.

“Others, I’m getting a nice little glimpse into their part of NASCAR and their history in NASCAR.”

The announcement will take place tomorrow at 4 p.m. ET, with NASCAR AMERICA broadcasting live at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN from the Hall of Fame.

Here’s the list of 20 potential inductees that could be chosen for induction tomorrow. Many of them are former drivers, with others having excelled in roles such as team ownership, track ownership, and engine building:

Buddy Baker
Red Byron
Richard Childress
Jerry Cook
Bill Elliott
Ray Fox
Rick Hendrick
Bobby Isaac
Terry Labonte
Fred Lorenzen
Raymond Parks
Benny Parsons
Larry Phillips
Wendell Scott
Bruton Smith
Mike Stefanik
Curtis Turner
Joe Weatherly
Rex White
Robert Yates

Also up for grabs tomorrow is the inaugural Landmark Award for outstanding contributions to the sport.

The nominees for this special honor are: TV/radio broadcaster Ken Squier; Parks, the sport’s first championship-winning team owner; H. Clay Earles, the late creator of Martinsville Speedway; Anne B. France, the wife of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr.; and Ralph Seagraves, who brought R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and its Winston brand to the sport as a sponsor in the 1970s.

The Landmark nominees are also eligible for the Hall of Fame itself.

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The NTT IndyCar Series will return to the Motor City for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix but with start times in a new location for 2023.

After a 30-year run on Belle Isle, the Detroit GP has moved a few miles south to the streets of downtown on a new nine-turn, 1.645-mile circuit that runs along the Detroit River.

It’s the first time single-seater open-cockpit cars have raced on the streets of Detroit since a CART event on a 2.5-mile downtown layout from 1989-91. Formula One also raced in Detroit from 1982-88.

The reimagined Detroit Grand Prix also will play host to nightly concerts and bring in venders from across the region. Roger Penske predicts the new downtown locale will be bigger for Detroit than when the city played host to the 2006 Super Bowl.

Here are the details and IndyCar start times for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach race weekend (all times are ET):

CHEVROLET DETROIT GRAND PRIX INDYCAR START TIMES

TV: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET on NBC and streaming on Peacock, the NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com. Leigh Diffey is the announcer with analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kevin Lee are the pit reporters. Click here for the full NBC Sports schedule for IndyCar in 2023.

Peacock also will be the streaming broadcast for both practices and qualifying.

POSTRACE SHOW ON PEACOCK: After the race’s conclusion, an exclusive postrace show will air on Peacock with driver interviews, postrace analysis and the podium presentation. To watch the extended postrace show, click over to the special stream on Peacock after Sunday’s race ends.

COMMAND TO START ENGINES: 3:23 p.m. ET

GREEN FLAG: 3:30 p.m. ET

PRACTICE: Friday, 3 p.m. (Peacock Premium); Saturday, 9:05 a.m. (Peacock Premium); Sunday, 10 a.m. (Peacock Premium)

PRACTICE RESULTS: Session I l Session II l Warmup l Combined

QUALIFYING: Saturday, 1:20 p.m. (Peacock Premium)

STARTING LINEUP: Alex Palou captured the first street course pole of his IndyCar career; click here for where everyone will begin Sunday’s race

RACE DISTANCE: The race is 100 laps (170 miles) on a nine-turn, 1.645-mile temporary street course in downtown Detroit.

TIRE ALLOTMENT: Seven sets primary, four sets alternate. Rookie drivers are allowed one extra primary set for the first practice.

PUSH TO PASS: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation (Indy NXT: 150 seconds total, 15 seconds per). The push-to-pass is not available on the initial start or any restart unless it occurs in the final two laps or three minutes of a timed race. The feature increases the power of the engine by approximately 60 horsepower.

FORECAST: According to Wunderground.com, it’s expected to be 80 degrees with a 0% chance of rain.

ENTRY LIST: Click here to view the 27 drivers racing Sunday at Detroit

INDY NXT RACES: Saturday, 12:05 p.m. 45 laps/55 minutes (Peacock Premium); Sunday, 12:50 p.m. 45 laps/55 minutes (Peacock Premium)

INDY NXT ENTRY LIST: Click here to view the 19 drivers racing at Detroit