West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame names its Class of 2024
Jimmie Johnson, the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and co-owner of Legacy Motor Club, is among this year’s five inductees into the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame.
The El Cajon, Calif. competitor, winner of 83 NASCAR Cup Series events in 16 consecutive seasons and recent inductee into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, will be joined for enshrinement by the late Dick Cobb, Las Vegas, Nev., winner of eight track championships over a 45-year racing career in Nevada and California; Eric Holmes, Escalon, Calif., winner of three NASCAR West (now ARCA Menards Series West) titles; Jimmy Vasser, Canoga Park, Calif., 10-time Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) winner, Indianapolis 500 co-owner champion and 2023 IMSA GTD championship co-owner; and Calvin (Cal) Wells III, NASCAR Cup Series race winning team owner, Off-Road Hall of Fame inductee and current chief executive officer of Legacy Motor Club.
More complete bios and images of each inductee follow this release.
The Class of 2024 – the hall’s 21st - will be enshrined Thursday, June 6, during the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame’s induction gala, presented by World Wide Technology Raceway, at Sonoma Raceway’s Turn 11 Club VIP/Hospitality complex encircling the road course’s iconic Turn 11.
“Our Class of 2024 is second to none in diversity of competition,” said Ken Clapp, Chairman and CEO of the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame. “Jimmy Johnson, Eric Holmes and Dick Cobb mastered three different levels of NASCAR competition. Jimmy Vasser, a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) champion and Cal Wells, an off-road racing Hall of Famer and team executive add two more racing disciplines to this year’s Class.
“We will be announcing our five Heritage inductees in a few weeks – selectees representing additional forms of competition.
“I am most excited about the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame’s Pioneers of Speed initiative, providing us with the opportunity to honor those whose careers began and often ended before World War II. Many 21st Century fans may not recognize the names and achievements of these distinguished and courageous figures. All, however, deserve to be honored and remembered through our organization.
“We will be announcing the first 10 honorees later this spring.”
The event opens a packed weekend of racing at Sonoma Raceway, which includes the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR/ARCA Menards Series West and the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
The organization also will induct its seventh Heritage class, comprised of individuals whose careers largely ended prior to 1971. The 2024 Heritage inductees will be named in March. Also to be named is the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame’s Pioneers of Speed, whose careers preceded or spanned the World War II era.
Also featured will be the 4th Annual Kickin’ Doorz Down Philanthropist of the Year Award presented by 51FIFTY. This award recognizes an individual that has displayed a heart for giving back to others, through charitable giving or in-kind services to the industry. Previous honorees are Mike Curb, 2001 and the Sonoma Chapter of the Speedway Children’s Charity in 2022. Last year’s honorees are the foundations of 2023 West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick.
Televised highlights of the 2024 induction ceremonies will be broadcast later this summer; network, air dates and times to be announced.
About the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame:
The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame was conceived in 2001 as a means of recognizing significant contributors and contributions to the sport of stock car/motorsports competition. The mission of the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame is founded to preserve history and heritage of the important role west coast stock car and motorsports figures have played in the sport’s development and continuation and to recognize, through annual enshrinement, of outstanding individuals and groups within the sport such as, but not limited to, designers, engineers, mechanics, drivers, race track owners, promoters, publicists and members of the motorsports media.
The Hall is a 501(c)3 charitable organization, dedicated to supporting a variety of organizations and groups from coast to coast. The Hall has raised more than $800,000 during the past six years for youth, health and safety, hospitals, animal rescue, military and other charitable causes.
For more information on the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame visit: www.WestCoastStockCarHallofFame.com
The Class of 2024
Dick Cobb
· Dick Cobb.
· Dick Cobb, a native New Yorker, moved to Las Vegas in 1968 at age 20. As driver, car builder, crew chief, driving instructor and mentor, Cobb’s racing career spanned 45 years.
· Cobb won three sportsman/late model stock car championships at the old Craig Road Speedway, a quarter-mile paved track in North Las Vegas. Following the track’s closure, Cobb won the premier division title at the old Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif.
· He captured four NASCAR Super Late Model Championships at the three-eighths-mile Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, as well as the 2000 NASCAR Sunbelt Region title. Cobb also competed in the NASCAR Elite Series Southwest Tour as teammate to NASCAR Cup Series champion Kurt Busch with the Q-Motorsports Team of West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee Craig Keough.
· During his career, Cobb won several hundred feature races. Cobb mentored a lengthy list of Las Vegas drivers and – as instructor at the Richard Petty Driving Experience – assisted West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee Brendan Gaughan’s transition from off-road to NASCAR competition. Cobb, 75, passed away in May 2023.
Eric Holmes
· Eric Holmes
· Eric Holmes is a second-generation competitor, who followed his father, Steve, into racing at Stockton (Calif.) 99 Speedway. Holmes, from Escalon, Calif., began racing karts at age eight, winning races and a pair of championships.
· He drove an occasional street stock race at age 17 and, after a season working on West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Famer Ernie Irvan’s NASCAR Xfinity team on the east coast, returned to California to begin racing fulltime.
· He won numerous events at Stockton, then began his touring career with West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Famer Allen Beebe. The pair won the 2006 NASCAR West (now ARCA Menards Series West) title, using one car and one engine while also finishing second in NASCAR Elite Southwest Series late model points.
· In 2008, Holmes joined West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Famer Bill McAnally’s potent Toyota team, repeating as champion the same season, placing second the next and becoming a three-time titlist in 2010. In 13 seasons in the West Series, Holmes won 17 times with 59 top-five and 78 top-10 finishes, as well as 13 poles.
· Holmes, 49, remains with the McAnally organization as its driver coach and spotter for BMR’s Driver Development program.
Jimmie Johnson
· Jimmie Johnson
· Jimmie Johnson, El Cajon, Calif., is one of three competitors to win seven NASCAR Cup Series championships, sharing the record with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.
· The Hendrick Motorsports driver won a record five consecutive titles between 2006 and 2010. His 83 victories – in 16 straight seasons – rank sixth among NASCAR Cup Series winners. Johnson drove the No. 48 Chevrolet in 689 races, recording 232 top-five and 374 top-10 finishes while winning 36 poles.
· After ending his fulltime NASCAR career, Johnson spent two seasons with the NTT IndyCar Series, posting two top-10 finishes. He qualified for one Indianapolis 500.
· Johnson, 48, competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series prior to his Cup career recording one victory in 93 starts. He began racing motocross events at age five and later won six off-road championships. Johnson, 48, was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2024. He is among the ownership group of Legacy Motorsports Club.
Jimmy Vasser
· Jimmy Vasser
· Jimmy Vasser, born in Canoga Park, won the 1986 Sports Car Club of American Formula Ford championship and in 1992 was the runner-up Formula Atlantic points finishers winning six times.
· Vasser moved to Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) the following year with Hayhoe-Cole Racing, signing with Chip Ganassi Racing for the 1995 season. CART’s last American-born champion, Vasser won nine times for CGR on ovals, road courses and street courses – including the CART street race in Queensland, Australia. His final victory for Team Rahal at Fontana, Calif. is CART’s fastest at an average speed of 197.997 mph.
· Vasser twice finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500 but the CART/IRL split kept him away from the Speedway during his prime years. He co-owned IndyCar’s KV Racing Technologies and over 14 seasons won seven times including the 2013 500 with Tony Kanaan.
· Vasser was selected for the International Race of Champions (IROC) and twice finished fourth at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Indianapolis.
· Vasser and Dallas businessman James Sullivan are the 2023 IMSA GTD champions, fielding Lexus cars since 2019. The team has won13 times during the five-year partnership. Vasser, 67, operates Jimmy Vasser Toyota of Napa, California.
Calvin (Cal) Wells III
· Calvin (Cal) Wells III
· Calvin (Cal) Wells III has been at the forefront of the motorsports industry for more than 40 years as entrepreneur, builder, team owner, executive and consultant. In July, Wells became CEO of Legacy Motor Club, the NASCAR Cup Series team owned by Richard Petty and Jimmie Johnson.
· It marks Wells’ third foray into NASCAR Cup competition. His PPI Motorsports team competed in seven seasons and 260 races, winning at Martinsville Speedway and Darlington Raceway with Ricky Craven.
· He then joined Michael Waltrip Racing, eventually rising to Vice President/Chief Operating Officer. Wells spent five seasons at the helm of Wells-Arciero Motorsports in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) series, winning once with Cristiano da Matta.
· Wells, with Toyota, formed PPI Motorsports in 1979 and dominated off-road truck racing, winning 88 races including three Baja 1000s and 11 Baja 500s with drivers Steve and Rod Millen and Robby Gordon, among others.
· Wells, 68, is a 2020 inductee into the Off Road Motorsports Hall of Fame.
