The inaugural class of NASCAR's Hall of Fame might be 40 percent administrators, and rightfully so. But considering fans' enjoyment of the sport primarily involves its athletes, the King Richard Petty is the best candidate. Petty obviously took a page from his father, Lee Petty's, book when it came to winning races, but the King wrote chapter and verse when it came to tirelessly interacting with fans throughout his career, fluidly enabling sponsor involvement and activation before the term was even recognized and competing at the front of the field for well more than two decades.

The Hall's first class should celebrate builders of the sport, who embodied excellence in the process. Richard Petty's rural North Carolina roots gave him a great appreciation of the opportunity that stock-car racing had given him and his family, and at a very early stage he recognized the fans' vital place in this chain.

Petty's elaborate autograph and his willingness to dispense it to virtually all who asked make him a legend in all of sports.

The Pettys recognized the critical aspect of having an efficient organization, and within it integrating manufacturer and sponsor involvement. The "Petty Blue" that graced the championshipwinning Plymouths and Dodges that came out of the Petty Enterprises shop complex in Level Cross, N.C., became an icon in the sport, as did the colors of STP, which was a Petty trademark for decades, including multiple championships and Daytona 500 victories.

Finally, Petty's most qualifying mark, and his lock for induction was his excellence on the race track. Consistency at a very high level put Petty in position to become the first man to win seven championships in NASCAR's premier series, a standard that has been equaled only by one other Hall-worthy driver, Dale Earnhardt. And Petty's record 200 career Cup victories, a standard that will never come close to being equaled, is the last word on securing his place in the sport's Hall of Fame.