Motorsports Hall of Fame announces 11 finalists for 2022 induction

The finalists for the 2022 West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame were announced on Jan. 2, including seven first-time nominees. A total of 11 finalists hope to be one of the five inductees voted in on Feb. 7 and presented by the World Wide Technology Raceway at Sonoma Raceway on June 9. Among the finalists are Greg Biffle, a NASCAR Xfinity and Camping World Truck champion and Brendan Gaughan, a two-time ARCA Menards Series West titleholder.

“As we enter our 22nd year of honoring those who have achieved and given above and beyond to better the motorsports world, I have never been more excited and prouder of where the Hall is – and is headed for the future,” Chairman and CEO Ken Clapp said. “Having become the highest recognized and respected for motorsports on the West Coast and one of the most desired to be recognized in America is more than I ever dreamed possible.”

Biffle won 56 races across three tours and came closest to date to sweep championships in NASCAR’s three national series. He also finished second in NASCAR Cup Series points.

Gaughan, son of 2017 inductee Michael Gaughan, joined the ARCA Menards Series after winning multiple off-road championships, then won the NASCAR Camping World Truck series eight times.

Gaughan and Biffle are first time nominees along with five other racers, owners and champions; David Gilliland, two-time ARCA Menards Series West crew chief champion, operates the David Gilliland Racing team which competes in the Camping World Truck series, the ARCA Menards and the CARS Tour; Eric Holmes won the ARCA Menards three times, with 17 wins and 13 poles; John Moore, who was the 2021 NASCAR State of California/All American Speedway champion; Brad Noffsinger, a sprint car champion and already a member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame; and Jimmy Sills, a three-time US Auto Club Silver Crown champion and eight-time World of Outlaws race winner.

Among the returning nominees are Garret Evans (three-time NASCAR Northwest Tour Elite Series champion), Tony Hunt (nine-time US Auto Club sprint car champion), Brent Kaeding (13-time Northern Auto Racing Club sprint car champion) and Danny Ongais (National Hot Rod Association Indianapolis Nationals drag racing champion).

The annual nomination is managed by a nominating committee on the basis of recognizing competitors of traditional stock car racing as well as other racing vehicles under international and national sanction by the FIA (IndyCar, US Auto Club, International Motor Sports Association, GRAND-AM and the Sports Car Club of America).