In NASCAR, being inducted into the Hall of Fame is the highest honor in the sport. But what exactly makes one worthy of being inducted? Is it the number of race wins? Is it the championships? Or even before those things, is it the series in which the wins and the titles came? Because that was a take shared on the Dale Jr. Download, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. did not appreciate it at all.

Dale Jr. annoyed with his co-worker’s take on Hall of Fame eligibility

During the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download, a member of the show, Travis Rockhold, shared his take on what makes a driver worthy of being considered for the Hall of Fame. As Dale Jr. mentioned the name of Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports as someone he’d vote in to be a Hall of Famer, Rockhold said no.

Allgaier, while winless at the Cup level in 86 starts, is hugely successful in the O’Reilly Series. He has 30 wins and a championship to his name. But because Rockhold said no to Earnhardt’s proposal of Allgaier into the HoF, the JRM co-owner asked whether his driver could be considered should he win another championship. “I don’t think Xfinity, O’Reilly, Busch, Nationwide should count,” Rockhold clarified.

This infuriated Earnhardt as he replied, “Are you f*****g serious? It’s the NASCAR Hall of Fame. It’s not the NASCAR Cup Hall of Fame. That is a pretty… It’s a pretty bad take. It is literally not the Cup Series Hall of Fame.”

Rockhold gave the example of Major League Baseball to further his point, but Earnhardt claimed that Major League Baseball claims to be the top. In NASCAR, the Hall of Fame is ‘Cup and more.’ Rockhold added that, in his opinion, it is the Hall of Fame and not the ‘Hall of really good.’

“No one ever came in and said, ‘Hey, y’all, this is just Cup only.’ And you’re saying that. Well, it’s not. It’s not the Hall of Fame. You’re changing literally what the Hall of Fame is,” Earnhardt Jr. added.

It’s worth mentioning that Dale Earnhardt Jr. was inducted into the HoF in 2021. But Junior is one of the rare drivers who was inducted despite not winning a Cup title. In fact, he only won 26 races at the Cup level. On the other hand, his numbers in the Busch Series were 24 wins and two championships, in 1998 and 1999. Probably that’s why he feels the pulse of the non-Cup drivers.

But Rockhold’s hot take and Earnhardt Jr.’s strong reaction to it also kick-started a discourse among NASCAR fans, who, much like the most popular driver of his era, also felt the HoF was more than Cup.

NASCAR fans make a case against the idea of HoF being Cup exclusive

Reacting to Travis Rockhold’s take on only Cup drivers being eligible to be inducted in the HoF, NASCAR fans were united in disagreement with it, and supported the ignored faction.

One fan echoed Dale Jr.’s take as they wrote, “If it’s the NASCAR Hall of fame, and not the Cup Series Hall of Fame, then yes because every discipline across the entire association has Hall of Fame worthy careers that tell the history of that series.”

Another fan gave the example of the basketball HoF as they wrote, “Same reason the Naismith basketball HOF inducts college and international basketball players and coaches who may have done little to nothing in the NBA.”

One fan cited the examples of two bona fide NASCAR legends. “Kyle Busch & Mark Martin (already in) could get in based on their GNBNXOAPS stats alone,” the fan wrote.

While Martin became a HoF despite his lack of a Cup title, Busch is considered to be a locked HoFer in the future. But as the fan said, even if one takes away their achievements at the Cup level, their careers are towering successes. Busch has won a total of 170 races across the O’Reilly and Truck Series, while Martin won 56. “So yes, lower level drivers from NASCAR sanctioned series should absolutely be eligible,” the fan concluded.

A fan argued that anyone who has played a role at a high level in NASCAR, irrespective of their role or the series, should be eligible.

“Anyone that is instrumental to the sport of nascar should be in from drivers to owners, pit crew, announcers, workers at the track and anyone else that tells the story,” the fan wrote. The examples of such inductions include Chad Knaus, Dale Inman, Ken Squier, and more.

With that said, what is your take on this subject? Do you think only Cup drivers should be eligible for the Hall of Fame or does it apply to everyone across the whole of NASCAR? Let us know in the comments below.