BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Greg Biffle, NASCAR Xfinity and Camping World Truck champion; and Brendan Gaughan, a two-time ARCA Menards Series West titleholder and NASCAR Cup Series veteran, are among 11 finalists for induction into the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame.
Biffle, who also finished runner-up in NASCAR Cup Series points, came closest to date to sweeping championships in NASCAR’s three national series. The Vancouver, Wash. competitor won 56 races across the three national tours.
Gaughan, whose father Michael was inducted into the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2017, won multiple off-road championships prior to joining the ARCA Menards Series West. He subsequently starred in the NASCAR Camping World Truck series, winning eight times – including four races in a row at Texas Motor Speedway.
Five additional first-time nominees have reached the final round for the Hall’s Class of 2022. They are David Gilliland, two-time ARCA Menards Series West crew chief champion, Daytona 500 pole winner and winning NASCAR truck team owner; Eric Holmes, three-time ARCA Menards Series West champion with 17 wins and 13 poles; John Moore, 2021 NASCAR State of California/All American Speedway champion and longtime sponsor of numerous West Coast races; Brad Noffsinger, two-time California Racing Association sprint car champion, member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and NASCAR Cup Series crew chief; and Jimmy Sills, three-time U.S. Auto Club Silver Crown champion, eight-time World of Outlaws race winner and operator of a nationally-known racing school.
Previous nominees appearing on the final ballot are Garrett Evans, three-time NASCAR Northwest Tour Elite Series champion and longtime operator of Wenatchee Valley (Wash.) Raceway; Tony Hunt, nine-time U.S. Auto Club sprint car champion and motion picture stuntman; Brent Kaeding, 13-time Northern Auto Racing Club (Calif.) sprint car champion and World of Outlaws race winner; and Danny Ongais, National Hot Rod Association Indianapolis Nationals drag racing champion, six-time U.S. Auto Club championship car winner and Formula 1 competitor.
Final voting by the Hall’s Board of Directors to select the five 2022 inductees continues through February 7, 2022. Five Heritage candidates from racing’s historic era also will be inducted in the Class of 2022. Their selection will be announced later this spring.
The Class of 2022 will be enshrined Thursday evening, June 9, 2022. The event, presented by World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, will be staged in Sonoma Raceway’s beautiful, new VIP/hospitality complex and will feature naming of the 2nd Annual Knockin Doorz Down Philanthropist of the Year presented by 51FIFTY.
“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,” said Ken Clapp, Chairman and CEO. “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.
“But it has happened; and heading into 2022, with Ralph Sheheen becoming our new President, we are shooting for $700,000 in charitable donations by the end of the year and moving our annual induction to the famed Sonoma Raceway’s new, multi-million VIP building which wraps around Turn 11. Along with the continued supporting and presenting sponsorship of World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, this simply spells never-imagined greatness for 2022 and years beyond.”