Today, Justin Allgaier is a NASCAR champion who has won 30 races and beaten drivers like Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell in the O’Reilly series. In an ideal world, no one would refute the idea of him being considered a Hall of Famer. However, one of the members of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s podcast did just that, which sparked a discourse in the NASCAR community, leading to Larry McReynolds sharing his take on the subject.

Larry McReynolds wonders why Bill France Jr. and Sr. are in the NASCAR Hall of Fame

Larry McReynolds, the semi-retired crew chief and broadcaster, voiced his thoughts on the subject of which drivers can be considered for the Hall of Fame on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. McReynolds said that it is not the NASCAR Cup Series Hall of Fame, even though it has a lot of Cup names in it.

Speaking about JR Motorsports champion Allgaier, the former crew chief said, “Justin Allgaier, when you look at his numbers, he’s a future NASCAR Hall of Famer. And we’ve got a lot of past Xfinity Series, Busch Series, now O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and Craftsman Truck Series drivers that will be eventually in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.”

McReynolds added to Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s point about the MLB, as the former Hendrick driver claimed that in baseball, MLB is the highest tier. Therefore, the MLB Hall of Fame has MLB players, which is also the case in the NHL, the NFL, and the NBA.

“But ours is a NASCAR Hall of Fame, and NASCAR encompasses three major series. and quite honestly I think eventually Larry Phillips that ran the NASCAR weekly series races that won more races than some people will ever start in their career will eventually be in there,” McReynolds described.

He challenged that in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Bill France Jr. and Bill France Sr. should also not belong since they never made their mark in the Cup Series. But the two pioneers of the sport are in there because the whole of NASCAR makes a living, which came from their ‘vision.’

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the motorsport legend who shouldn’t be in the NASCAR HoF

Talking on his podcast, Dale Earnhardt Jr. promoted drivers like Justin Allgaier as eligible for HoF induction. He protested against the idea that only Cup drivers should be allowed in the HoF.

However, he also drew a line against the induction of someone who, while being an undisputed motorsports legend, didn’t contribute much to NASCAR. The legend in the subject was AJ Foyt, who was nominated for the NASCAR HoF in the Class of 2023.

“I think a lot of people just say, he’s one of the greatest drivers ever, and he races with us [at NASCAR]. I’m not sure I agree with that… AJ came at times, had success, and won. But there were also times when he was cantankerous and difficult, and problematic,” he said.

Earnhardt claimed that while it doesn’t mean as much, factors like whether the person nominated lifted NASCAR up, whether they promoted the sport, and the rest matter to him.

Do you agree with Dale Jr.’s opinion on this subject? Let us know in the comments below.