CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Stock car racing giants ranging from Bill France Sr. and Junior Johnson to Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt are among the 25 nominees for NASCAR's first Hall of Fame class.

The announcement Thursday night comes 10 months before the Hall of Fame's scheduled opening in downtown Charlotte. An inaugural class of five will be chosen from the group that includes the bootleggers who helped create the sport to the drivers, owners and officials who made it popular.

NASCAR patriarch France and his son, Bill France Jr., were among the candidates selected by a 21-member panel. The drivers include Petty, Earnhardt, Johnson, David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarbrough and Glenn "Fireball" Roberts.

The Complete List:

Bobby Allison, 1983 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and winner of 84 races

Buck Baker, the first driver to win consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup championships

Red Byron, first NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, in 1949

Richard Childress, 11-time car owner champion in NASCAR's three national series

Dale Earnhardt, won record seven NASCAR Sprint Cup championships

Richie Evans, nine-time NASCAR Modified champion

Tim Flock, two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion

Bill France Jr., NASCAR president, chairman and CEO (1972-2003)

Bill France Sr., NASCAR founder and first president (1948-1972)

Rick Hendrick, 11-time car owner champion in NASCAR's three national series

Ned Jarrett, two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion

Junior Johnson, 50 wins as a driver, 132 wins and six championships as an owner

Bud Moore, 63 wins and two NASCAR Sprint Cup titles as a car owner

Raymond Parks, NASCAR's first champion car owner

Benny Parsons, 1973 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion

David Pearson, 105 victories and three NASCAR Sprint Cup championships

Lee Petty, winner of the first Daytona 500 and first three-time series champion

Richard Petty, 200 wins and seven NASCAR Sprint Cup titles -- both records

Fireball Roberts, won 33 NASCAR Sprint Cup races, including the 1962 Daytona 500

Herb Thomas, first two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, 1951 and '53

Curtis Turner, first to win Daytona 500, Southern 500, Coca-Cola 600 in same year

Darrell Waltrip, winner of 84 races and three NASCAR Sprint Cup championships

Joe Weatherly, two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion

Glen Wood, as driver, laid foundation for Wood Brothers' future team success

Cale Yarborough, winner of three consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup titles, 1976-78