On Wednesday, October 14 the Voting Panel for the NASCAR Hall of Fame will select 5 of the 25 nominees to represent the inaugural class. The announcement will be made at 4pm live on Speed, MRN, Sirius, NASCAR.com and ESPN. The NASCAR Hall of Fame puzzle is coming together; it’s been a long time coming.

The first NASCAR Hall of Fame meeting I attended was during the summer of 2004. The concept was but an embryo of an idea. At that time there were so many pieces of the puzzle to attach.

In February, 2005 we named seven locations to submit proposals for the Hall, including, Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte, Daytona Beach, Kansas City, Richmond and Detroit. We went on a barnstorming tour to view each location and consider proposals. In the end, Charlotte’s passion, location and connection to the sport’s heritage won out. That was a piece of the puzzle.

Winston Kelley was named Executive Director of the Hall of Fame in July, 2006. That same day Ralph Appelbaum Associates was tapped as the exhibit designer – more important pieces.

The morning of the 2008 NSCS Awards Ceremony, I met with the NASCAR Board of Directors in a conference room at the Waldorf Astoria to layout a plan for nominating and inducting the members of the Hall of Fame. A panel of the industry’s longest serving and most knowledgeable people representing tracks, former drivers and owners, the media, manufacturers, and broadcast partners would nominate and select the members of the Hall. The Board liked that. The Board especially liked the idea of having the fans be represented on the Voting Panel. This is the first time any major sport had included the fans in its Hall of Fame process. Later that morning the Board approved the nominating and voting process. Attach another piece of the puzzle.

January 22 of this year that process was announced. 50 legends of the NASCAR industry agreed to commit their time and knowledge to nominating and selecting the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Cotton Owens, Bud Moore, Waddell Wilson are on it – Clay Campbell, Ken Clapp, and Jerry Cook are on it – Ned Jarrett, Dale Pinilis and Doc Mattioli are on it too. You might not have heard of all these people, but they are pioneers in their own rights who know more about this sport than most of us will ever forget. Another piece attached.

Early July, 2009 the list of 25 nominees is reveled in Daytona. All the names you would expect are on the list: Petty, Lee and Richard; Earnhardt; France, Bill Sr. and Jr; Pearson, Allison, Baker, Yarborough, and Junior Johnson. Many of the pioneers are there too: Red Byron, Joe Weatherly, Curtis Turner, Fireball Roberts, and Raymond Parks. NASCAR.com launched an overwhelmingly successfully on-line fan vote. More than 750,000 fans cast a ballot. Piece attached.

This brings us to today's vote. The voting panel will meet from 10am to 2pm ET to discuss and debate the nominees. Emotions will play a role. Facts will play a role. Stats will play a role. All of this will accrue to attaching the next piece of the puzzle: The 5 members of the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame will be announced. The next big piece will be May, 2010 when the Hall officially opens and a few days later the first class is enshrined.