CHARLOTTE -- Dale Jarrett showed up dressed for a pool party and ended up in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Jarrett was among five people selected for the Hall's 2014 class on Wednesday, though it came as a shock to the popular former champion; he wore khaki pants and a blue-and-white plaid button-down shirt so he could arrive at his son's high school graduation party dressed for the occasion.
"I came by to support the Hall of Fame because I believe in this place," said Jarrett, who was in his first year of eligibility. "… I wasn't planning on having my picture made or anything like that. I am very much surprised this happened on the first ballot."
Jarrett will be joined by NASCAR's first superstar, Fireball Roberts, two-time champion Tim Flock, engine builder Maurice Petty and Busch Series star Jack Ingram when the Hall inducts its fifth class on Jan. 29, 2014.
The 1999 Cup Series champion and a three-time Daytona 500 winner, Jarrett got a hug from his father, Hall of Famer Ned Jarrett, when his name was announced by NASCAR CEO Brian France. He shook his head in disbelief and his eyes appeared to well with tears.
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"Once I saw I was on the (nominees) list, I was very appreciative of that and figured in a few years down the road it would probably happen," he said. "But I really came here with no idea. I just really didn't think that."
Team owner Joe Gibbs, whom Jarrett drove for from 1992-94, said in part in a statement:
"We are thrilled to hear that Dale has been named to the NASCAR Hall of Fame today. It is well deserved. His contributions to the sport are well documented and I can tell you his contributions to Joe Gibbs Racing really helped us to establish ourselves in the sport.
"The whole Gibbs family ... really appreciated Dale taking a chance on us as our first driver. He gave us our first win which just happens to remain our only Daytona 500 win."
Like Jarrett, Petty was also voted in on his first try. The younger brother of "The King" Richard Petty, Maurice was responsible for building the engines that powered seven championships and a record 200 wins.
He became the fourth member of the Petty clan to be inducted, along with Richard, father Lee and cousin Dale Inman, who was the team's crew chief.
Petty said the hair on the back of his neck stood up when his name was announced.
"Golly, it's great," he said. "That the Lord for it."
Maurice suspected Richard did some extensive lobbying on his behalf, but joked he didn't owe his brother anything for it.
"No," he said with a laugh. "He owes me for building all those motors."
Ingram made his name in one of NASCAR's lower series – the Late Model Sportsman division, which later became the Busch Series (now Nationwide). He won three Late Model Sportsman titles and added two more when the series reorganized to become the Busch Series in the early 1980s.
Wearing a big grin, Ingram said he "almost fell out of that chair" when his name was called. He leapt up, waved to those in attendance and walked down a row of seats accepting congratulations and shaking hands.
"It's a great, great thing to happen to somebody that put a life into short-track racing and Saturday night racing," he said. "To be recognized for what you accomplished is a good feeling."
Roberts, who lost on a tiebreaker during last year's vote, was arguably NASCAR's first superstar. A two-time winner of the Southern 500 and the 1962 Daytona 500 winner, Roberts -- nicknamed for his baseball pitching prowess -- is known as one of the greatest drivers to never win a title. He died in a fiery crash in 1964.
Flock, a two-time champion in the 1950s who was famous for racing with a pet monkey in his car, had 39 wins in only 187 starts. He retired in 1961, though his win total still ranks 18th on the all-time wins list. He died in 1998.
Flock's widow, Frances, wore a top with a monkey on it to symbolize Jocko Flocko (the monkey's name). She smiled broadly as she told reporters about the time Tim had to make a pit stop because Jocko had been hit in the head with a pebble, causing the primate to go wild in the car.
The top five vote-getters were elected from a ballot of 25. There was no minimum percentage required for induction, and voters each chose up to five names.
With 76% of the vote, Flock had a higher percentage than any other inductee in the class. Petty was next at 67%, followed by Jarrett (56%), Ingram (53%) and Roberts (51%).
NASCAR said the next top vote-getters were modified racer Jerry Cook – who barely missed for the second straight year – two-time champion Joe Weatherly and Wendell Scott, the first African-American driver to win a NASCAR race.
The class was voted on earlier Wednesday by a 54-member panel that included USA TODAY Sports' Nate Ryan, other media, NASCAR officials, track operators and former competitors. Ryan voted for Roberts, Flock, Turner, Lorenzen and Weatherly.
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Racetrack magnate Bruton Smith; Rex White, the 1960 champion on NASCAR's premier circuit; and Larry Phillips, a short-track legend and five-time champion on NASCAR's Weekly Racing Series, were among first-time nominees not elected.
Joining Smith, White, and Phillips were 17 holdover nominees from last year's ballot that didn't get in. Those were Red Byron, Richard Childress, Jerry Cook, H. Clay Earles, Ray Fox, Anne B. France, Rick Hendrick, Bobby Isaac, Fred Lorenzen, Raymond Parks, Benny Parsons, Les Richter, T. Wayne Robertson, Wendell Scott, Ralph Seagraves, Curtis Turner and Joe Weatherly.
The nominees were chosen by a 21-person committee consisting of NASCAR officials, Hall of Fame reps and track owners. On the panel are: Hall of Fame executive director Winston Kelley; historian Buz McKim; NASCAR Chairman/CEO Brian France; Vice Chairman Jim France; President Mike Helton; Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton; Senior Vice President of Racing Operations Steve O'Donnell; Competition Administrator Jerry Cook; former Senior Vice President Paul Brooks; former Vice President Ken Clapp; International Speedway Corporation CEO Lesa Kennedy; Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell; Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage; Atlanta Motor Speedway President Ed Clark; former Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Tony George; Dover Motorsports CEO Denis McGlynn; Pocono Raceway board of director member Looie McNally; Bowman Gray Stadium operator Dale Pinilis; Riverhead Raceway operators Jim and Barbara Cromarty (1 vote); Rockford Speedway owner Jody Deery; and Kingsport Speedway Operator Robert Pressley.
Last year, the three highest vote totals of those who weren't inducted belonged to Roberts (who lost to Buck Baker on a tiebreaking vote for the final slot in the 2013 class), Cook and Flock.
PAST CLASSES OF HALL OF FAME
2010: Richard Petty, Bill France, Dale Earnhardt, Junior Johnson, Bill France Jr.
2011: David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Ned Jarrett, Bud Moore, Lee Petty
2012: Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough, Glen Wood, Dale Inman, Richie Evans
2013: Rusty Wallace, Cotton Owens, Herb Thomas, Buck Baker, Leonard Wood
Bruton Smith's nomination to the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Wednesday was long overdue, David Newton writes.