NHRA drag racing legend Don Schumacher was inducted, along with NASCAR team owner Rick Hendricky, legendary NASCAR crew chief Dale Inman and 1989 NASCAR Cup champion and current NASCAR on ESPN personality Rusty Wallace.

Dale Inman is a part of the first family of NASCAR, the Pettys. He’s Richard Petty’s cousin and served as Petty’s crew chief through much of the seven-time champions’ Winston (now-Sprint) Cup career.

He became a full-time employee at Petty Enterprise in 1963. That year, he and his cousin paired up to win 13 races. The duo won 27 races in 1967, 10 of those coming consecutively. Inman was the first crew chief to implement a gas and go strategy that won Petty the Daytona 500 in 1981.

Inman left Petty Enterprises that year and worked with teams includding Osterlund Racing, Hagan Enterprises, before moving back to Petty Enterprises in 1986. In addition to seven Cup titles won with Petty, Inman also guided Terry Labonte to a Cup championship in 1984 with Hagan Enterprises. Petty may be tied with Dale Earnhardt for most Cup championships as a driver, with seven, but Inman actually has one more than his cousin.

Inman moved to a management role at Petty Enterprises in 1988 and then semi-retired in 1998. He now serves as a consultant at Richard Petty Motorsports.

Rusty Wallace, hailing from St. Louis, Mo., was one of NASCAR’s first superstarts not from the Southeast. He claimed the Winston Cup title in 1989 and won 55 races, 34 of those coming on short tracks, before retiring from driving in 2005. In the time since, Wallace has been covering NASCAR on television for ESPN. He has also owned a NASCAR Nationwide Series team.

Wallace was the Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year in 1984 and put together a string of 16-consecutive seasons in which he won at least one race. His final win came in 2004 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.

Although he didn’t compete in his first full season at NASCAR’s top level until 1984, he actually made his series debut in 198- at Atlanta Motor Speedway for car owner Roger Penske. He finished second in that race.

After racing sparingly in the Cup Series for the next few years, Wallace was crowned ASA champion in 1983. It was after that title that he went full-time Cup racing. He raced for Cliff Stewart Racing for a couple of years before moving to Blue Max Racing. It was during his time at Blue Max that Wallace claimed the 1989 Winston Cup title.

Wallace reunited with Penske in 1991 and finished out his racing career there. He won a total of 18 races in the two-season stretch of 1993 and 1994, finishing second and third to champion Dale Earnhardt those two years. He won 37 races with Penske before his retirement in 2005.

Rick Hendrick started racing early, setting records at a local drag strip near his hometown of Palmer Springs, Va., at the ripe old age of 14. At 16, he won the Virginia division of an engine-building competition. But it was in team ownership that Hendrick flourished.

His automative-related ownership roots goes back to Chevrolet dealerships. In 1976, a 26-year-old Hendrick became the youngest Chevrolet dealer in the U.S. with the purchase of a franchise in Bennettsville, S.C. From their Hendrick Automotive Group has grown to 100 dealerships across 13 states.

But Hendrick is most recognized for his Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR Sprint Cup Series organization. Prior to getting into NASCAR, Hendrick owned a successful drag-boat racing team that won three-consecutive championships in the late 1970s. It was after the death of boat driver Jimmy Wright that Hendrick transitioned to NASCAR.

At first, Hendrick was a sponsor and co-owner in the NASCAR Busch (now-Nationwide Series). He was co-owner of a car the late Dale Earnhardt drove to victory lane in 1983.

Hendrick started All-Star Racing in 1984, and that’s when the dynasty was born. The team that would eventually be renamed Hendrick Motorsports began with a No. 5 Chevrolet driven by Geoff Bodine with Harry Hyde as crew chief. The team won three races and finished ninth in points in its first year of competition.

Jeff Gordon claimed the first Cup championship for HMS in 1995, and then Terry Labonte followed with a second one a year later in 1996. In all, Hendrick Motorsports now has 10 Cup level championships with three different drivers — Gordon, Labonte and Jimmie Johnson. Johnson won his five for HMS consecutively between 2006 and 2010.

In May 2012, Hendrick Motorsports became only the second team in NASCAR Cup history to claim 2012 wins. Petty Enterprises was the first.

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Here are some career highlights of the latest additions to the NASCAR Hall of Fame:

Buck Baker was the first driver to claim consecutive NASCAR premier series championships, doing so in 1956 and 1957. He finished in the top-two in points four-straight years between 1955 and 1958. After a career that saw him claim 46 wins, along with those two championshiips, Baker was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998. After retiring from driving in the mid-1970s, Baker formed the Buck Baker Driving School, teaching future NASCAR starts, including four-time champion Jeff Gordon, some of the tricks of the trade.

“Buck always made an impression, whether it was good or bad,” Baker’s widow, Susan Baker, said. “If you met him, you’d always remember him.

Cotton Owens made his mark on the sport as both an owner and a driver. He started his NASCAR career as a driver, and after dominating the modified ranks, Owens moved to NASCAR’s top level and claimed nine additional wins as a driver. For his accomplishments behind the wheel, he, like Baker, was named among NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers when NASCAR celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1998.

As an owner, Owens found even more success at NASCAR’s premier level. With David Pearson behind the wheel, Owens became a championship car owner in 1966.

“He took great pride that he could build a winning race car from the ground up,” Owens’ grandson, Kyle Davis, said. Davis also mentioned his grandfather’s four principles — God, family, friends and the 426 Hemi, illustrating the late legend’s loyalty to Dodge.

Despite his death prior to the induction, Owens did know that he’d be in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He died in July 2012, several weeks after the announcement of his 2013 induction into the Hall.

Herb Thomas was NASCAR’s first two-time premier-level champion, claiming titles in 1951 and 1953. He finished second during that year in-between, 1952. As a matter-of-fact, Thomas, like Baker, put together four-consecutive years of top-two points finishes, finishing out the 1952 and 1954 seasons second in the championship points standings. Even more impressive, Thomas finished first or second five times in six years, also finishing second in points in 1956. His one down year during that time resulted in a fifth-place finish in 1955.

Thomas has the highest winning percentage in NASCAR history, winning 48 times in only 228 starts. That stat played a huge part in Thomas being declared one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.

“I truly believe this (Hall of Fame induction) is the greatest honor a driver could receive,” Thomas’ son, Joel Thompson, said. “My father would’ve been very honored and humbled to receive this recognition.”

Rusty Wallace embarked on a Cup level career in the early 1980s and turned in a second-place finish in his series debut. Things after that were bumpy for awhile until his career took off in the mid-1980s. He claimed a Winston Cup title in 1989 and didn’t look back.

Although Wallace didn’t win another championship, his stint with Penske Racing, beginning in 1991, is considered the most productive time of Wallace’s career. Wallace remained with the Penske organization until his retirement from driving in 2005. During that time, he posted 37 of his total 55-career wins. He won 10 races in 1993, alone.

Wallace was especially productive on the circuit’s short tracks, turning in 25 short-track victories throughout his Cup career, with nine of those coming at Bristol (Ten.) Motor Speedway.

Since climbing out of the race car, Wallace has embarked on a television career, working as a NASCAR analyst for ESPN. He also owns a NASCAR Nationwide Series team.

Leonard Wood didn’t make his mark on the sport from behind the wheel. Instead, he showed his mastery on pit road and in the race shop. Wood is even credited with the creation of the modern pit stop. Wood realized that there were positions to be gained on pit road, and his reputation for formulating a fast stop even took him to Indianapolis to pit Jim Clark’s car in the 1965 Indianapolis 500.

Wood was also a master in the shop. His engine program powered 94 race wins, including 43 of David Pearson’s 105. Other drivers who won in Wood Brothers Racing entries powered by Wood include Neil Bonnett, Cale Yarborough, A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney.

“It’s certainly a high honor to go in the Hall of Fame behind brother Glen and our former drivers Cale and David,” Wood said.

Wood’s brother, Glen Wood, was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame last year.

Earlier in the day, NASCAR broadcasting legends Barney Hall and Ken Squier became the first two recipients of an award named in their honor, the Squier Hall Award for Media Excellence.

– Photos courtesy of Getty Images for NASCAR

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