Throughout the history of NASCAR, there have been many greats that have graced the sport. There was Richard Petty, who we call the King. Then we had Dale Earnhardt Sr., the Intimidator. Finally, in the modern era, we had someone named Jimmie Johnson. Ever heard that name? Well, clearly these four people haven’t.
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Recently, NASCAR journalists unearthed that four individuals in the voting panel for the Hall of Fame inductions decided to go against the masses and vote against Jimmie Johnson and his crew chief, Chad Knaus’ nomination.
Since no one knows who these four people are, Denny Hamlin asked a NASCAR journalist to sniff that information out. Soon enough, several fans of the sport had also registered their outrage asking for their voting rights to be taken away immediately.
Denny Hamlin asks for an investigation into Jimmie Johnson’s HoF voters
The saga started from a tweet by Jeff Gluck who stated, “NASCAR Hall of Fame class: Jimmie Johnson received 93% of the votes of a 65-vote panel. Looks like four voters did not have him on their ballots. Chad Knaus received 81% of the votes. Donnie Allison received 53% of the votes.“
Later, he highlighted his tweet to correct some details and stated, “Actually, I’m told it was a 57-vote panel (not 65). But it’s still four voters who did not have Johnson on their ballots; 53 of the 57 did.“
Do some investigating Jordan. Surely you can dig out the culprits.
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) August 3, 2023
Soon enough, another NASCAR journalist, Jordan Bianchi, stated, “Remarkable to me that some folks didn’t have Jimmie Johnson on their ballot. Unfathomable.“ Subsequently, replying to Bianchi, Denny Hamlin mentioned, “Do some investigating Jordan. Surely you can dig out the culprits.“
Interestingly, there has never been a unanimous vote on any HoF induction to date and things weren’t any different for JJ either. However, with someone like Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus on the ballot, who would even argue that they do not deserve to achieve this remarkable recognition?
Not unanimous. What a joke a disgrace to one of the sports greatest ever.
Make it public who said no and remove them from the voting panel..
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) August 2, 2023
Meanwhile, a little while after Hamlin called for an investigation, he tweeted, “Not unanimous. What a joke a disgrace to one of the sports greatest ever. Make it public who said no and remove them from the voting panel..”
NASCAR fans are outraged with the four people that didn’t vote for Johnson
It was not just Hamlin who was upset with the four people who voted against the former Hendrick Motorsports legend. Even the fans of the sport had become agitated upon learning about what went down. They asked to have those four people either stripped of their voting rights or have them locked up in prison.
Put those 4 in jail
— iago (@halnweb) August 2, 2023
I need to have a talk with those 4 people
— Jack Callahan (@Cal915121Jack) August 2, 2023
A few people shouldn’t be allowed to vote ever again.
— Grant Parr (@GParr48) August 2, 2023
Those four people should lose their spot on the panel immediately
— Nick Asselin (@Nick_A95) August 2, 2023
However, are these reactions justified? Well, maybe. Considering the legacy that Johnson has created over the years in the sport with his seven championship wins and so much more, it would be criminal to even think that he did not deserve to be inducted into the HoF.
But with these reports in, the opportunity is once again gone to have NASCAR’s first-ever unanimous voting for the HoF nominations thanks to these four incomprehensible individuals.
