NASCAR announces its inaugural Hall of Fame class

The votes are in, the ballots cast, the decisions made, and NASCAR now has its very first Hall of Fame class. While this may not be one of the most important days in NASCAR history, as some have breathlessly deemed it, it's nonetheless a time to remember and honor the most important and most influential members of the sport.

And of course, this wouldn't be NASCAR if there weren't some roof-rattling controversy. But we'll get to that in a second. First, the honorees:

Bill France Sr.: The father of NASCAR -- or one of them, at least. The man who brought the sport into existence, and a certain Hall of Famer.

Richard Petty: The winningest NASCAR driver ever, with 200 victories. An icon, and deserving of any honor bestowed on him.

Bill France Jr.: The controversial pick. The man who brought NASCAR into the television age, but is that worthy of enshrinement in the inaugural hall?

Dale Earnhardt: No man has had more of an impact on NASCAR's growth and persona in the last 30 years than The Intimidator. Sadly, it was his passing that ratcheted NASCAR to a higher level of popularity, but he's on NASCAR's Mount Rushmore.

Junior Johnson: The finest of the bootleggers-turned-racers, and later an owner, he excelled at every element of the sport from green to checkers.

Left out of this first round were David Pearson, Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison, the three leading vote-getters who didn't make the cut, and that's where the controversy begins. Does Bill France Jr. belong in the Hall? Absolutely. Does he belong there ahead of David Pearson? Plenty of people -- me included -- say no.

So now it's your turn. What are your thoughts on the initial Hall? Who deserves to be in, who should have waited a bit? Have your say now!