Riverhead Raceway owners help pick first class for NASCAR Hall of Fame

Barbara and Jim Cromarty's legacy will live forever at Riverhead Raceway, but their most recent endeavor contributed to the annals of stock car racing's most hallowed ground.

The Cromartys, who have owned and promoted Riverhead Raceway since 1985, were on the 20-member nominating committee and the 48-member voting committee chosen to elect the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C. "We're very honored to have been a part of it," Barbara Cromarty said by phone on Thursday from the couple's home/office in Copiague. The Cromartys were the only members of either committee from the tri-state area.

The nominating committee consisted mainly of track owners and NASCAR representatives, while the voting committee also had media representatives, car company reps, former drivers, crew chiefs, and one fan. Nominations were conducted in Charlotte in July 2009, and the five inductees - NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., his son, Bill France Jr., who succeeded him as president of NASCAR, seven-time NASCAR champions Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, and driver/owner Junior Johnson - were selected in October. The top five vote-getters will be formerly enshrined at the 150,000-square foot facility on May 23.

The Cromartys will not be in attendance because they will be at their home track hosting the NASCAR Hall of Fame 100 for NASCAR Modifieds to coincide with the weekend festivities. The race, which will award over $2,500 to the winner, is the first 100-lap race at Riverhead in at least eight years, according to the Cromartys.

Riverhead Raceway is a place Jim Cromarty, 78, and his wife - "[my] darling is very close" in age, Jim quipped - hope to be for many years to come. "As long as we can stay healthy," Jim said of remaining at the track. "It's a big part of Long Island."

Added Barbara: "We're on our third generation of racers. First we were Mr. and Mrs. Cromarty, then we became Mom and Dad, now we're Grandma and Grandpa."

NASCAR MODIFIED STANDINGS

After two races

1. John Fortin Holtsville82

2. Chuck Steuer Bohemia80

3. Ed Brunnhoelzel Levittown72

t4. Mike Andrews Jr. Ridge66

t4. Bill Park Manorville66

THIS WEEK

Racing on Saturday begins at 5 p.m., featuring Modifieds (100-lap Hall of Fame race), Legends, Late Models, Blunderbusts, 8 Cylinder Enduros