Alles Andere » that make Bill Elliott and Mark Martin immediately

LAS VEGAS -- NASCAR announced sweeping changes to the Hall of Fame election process Thursday, including tweaks that make Bill Elliott and Mark Martin immediately eligible for enshrinement. Among the six changes: Drivers are now eligible if they have competed for 30 or more years in NASCAR or turned 55 in the calendar year before nominating day. Previously, drivers were not eligible until they had been retired for three years, so drivers can continue to compete and still reach the hall. Martin, winner of 96 races across NASCARs three national divisions, has no plans at this time to race next year after 31 seasons in the Sprint Cup Series. Elliott, winner of the 1988 Cup title, is 58 but raced as recently as 2012. Two-time NASCAR champion Terry Labonte ran in five races in 2013, but is 57 and has competed in Cup for 36 years. Other drivers immediately eligible for Hall of Fame consideration include four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday Jr., who still competes at age 55, and Ken Schrader, who said last months season finale at Homestead was his final race after 30 seasons. The ballot will also include only 20 nominees, down five from the first five classes. Also, any member of the nominating committee or voting panel who appeared on the previous years ballot or current years ballot will now be recused from participation in the nominating or voting process while they are on the ballot. Ned Jarrett, Bud Moore, Junior Johnson are active Hall of Fame voters and were on the panel when they were elected. Jerry Cook is a present voter and has consistently been on the Hall of Fame ballot. Those were the only direct changes to enshrinement as NASCAR passed on forming a veterans committee or if fewer than five should be inducted each year. "We have decided that that time has not yet arrived, but we will give strong consideration to revisiting both of those propositions after the 10th class is seated," said chief communications officer Brett Jewkes. "This year well be seating the fifth class. Long story short, those are viable things. There was a lot of debate, a lot of discussion, but weve made the decision that we wont revisit those until the 10th class is seated." NASCAR has also established the "Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions" that will begin with the 2015 class. Potential recipients could include competitors or those working in the sport as a member of a racing organization, track facility, race team, sponsor, media partner or being a general ambassador. Landmark Award winners will remain eligible for Hall of Fame induction. Five nominees for the Landmark Award will be selected by the halls nominating committee. The winner must appear on at least 60 per cent of the ballots. Beginning next year, the nominating committee will meet in person to create its ballots for both the Hall of Fame and the Landmark Award. The committee previously submitted nominees via mail to an independent accounting firm. The nominating committee will meet Feb. 21 in Daytona. NASCAR previously announced that the reigning Sprint Cup champion will be an eligible Hall of Fame voter starting with the 2015 class. Six-time champion Jimmie Johnson will be the first active driver to cast a ballot in voting next year. All of the changes were made after NASCAR examined the election process via discussions with current panelists. "A couple things we learned through this process is that our process right now is incredibly strong and comparable to other sports halls of fame," Jewkes said. "We feel very strongly about the strength of our process, and thats been borne out in the fact that we have five classes that we think are an exceptional reflection of the history of the sport. What came out of this process, it really magnified the caution we should take in comparing ourselves to other sports halls of fame. "Bottom line is our sport is very unique, the industry is very unique, the structure of our ownership and competition and the feeder series and everything in our sport is very, very unique, and therefore our process will always be a little bit unique." Brian Urlacher Youth Jersey . - Considering where Jeff Gordon was after Richmond, left out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in part due to some late-race shenanigans, he couldnt have been happier on Sunday. 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Denker figured Southern California would come out sizzling for its new coach. He figured if Arizona could survive that early surge, the Wildcats could rally to ruin Ed Orgerons debut. Denker was right about how Thursday night went down. The Wildcats just waited a few minutes too long to get going. Nelson Agholor caught seven passes for 161 yards, Javorius Allen rushed for two touchdowns and USC got off to an impressive start under interim coach Orgeron with a 38-31 victory. Denker passed for 363 yards and four touchdowns for the Wildcats (3-2, 0-2) in their second straight loss. Although Arizona outscored USC 28-10 from the final minute of the first half onward, Denker couldnt lead the Wildcats out of their early 25-point hole. "It was 100 per cent tempo," said Denker, who went 28 for 44. "If we had the tempo and pace in the first and second quarters that we had late in the third and the fourth, it would have been a different game." KaDeem Carey rushed for 138 yards in his eighth straight 100-yard game for Arizona, while Nate Phillips and David Richards also caught touchdown passes. Once the Wildcats recovered from the USC offences biggest plays early on, they controlled much of the second half. "We waited too late to get going," Arizona linebacker Marquis Flowers said. "We waited too long to try to execute, and we ran out of time. We made mistakes, and they saw the mistakes we made." Cody Kessler passed for 297 yards and two TDs as the revitalized Trojans (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12) survived Arizonas second-half rally to win for the stalwart defensive line coach who replaced the fired Lane Kiffin on Sept. 29. Orgeron set a familial mood from the moment USC entered the Coliseum, gathering the players in a circle at midfield for an emotional pep talk and prayer. "We love Coach O like a dad," linebacker Hayes Pullard said. "We look up to him. Thats a great feeling. Thats the bond you want to have with your family." Agholor caught a 62-yard touchdown pass and Tre Madden had a 63-yard TD catch in the first quarter for the Trojans, who had the Coliseum rocking as they roared to a 25-point lead in the first half. After Garic Wharton caught his second TD pass for Arizona with 4:18 to play, Silas Redd punctuated his season debut for USC with seven consecutive clock-draining runs for 43 yards in a drive that began at the Trojans 4, allowing USC to ensure a sideline shower for Orgeron and frustration for Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez.dddddddddddd "Everyone knew they were going to run the ball," Rodriguez said. "They were running to the short side with great success all game. We didnt get off blocks, and we didnt tackle. But give them credit ... and give Lane Kiffin credit. Lane recruited these guys, and theyre talented, and they played hard. But we didnt execute at times, missed some coverages and some opportunities. I know well be sick when we watch the film." Nearly 12 days after Kiffins stormy four-year tenure ended in a dark airport parking lot, the Trojans played with passion and excitement for Orgeron, who promised to return fun to a season dominated by drudgery. The Coliseum crowd that booed frequently last month amid chants of "Fire Kiffin!" gave several standing ovations to their Trojans in a rare Thursday night game at the historic stadium. Clay Helton, the Trojans new play-caller in Kiffins absence, dialed up an aggressive game plan that succeeded even without star receiver Marqise Lee, who sat out with a sprained knee. Justin Davis also rushed for a score for the Trojans, who racked up 546 total yards. Although USC had just two healthy scholarship receivers, Helton regularly called long, daring pass plays -- something the notoriously conservative Kiffin rarely tried. USC managed just one pass play longer than 60 yards under Kiffin this season, but the Trojans had two TD catches longer than that in the first 10 minutes against the Wildcats. Kessler threw a long pass down the middle on the Trojans first play of their second series. Agholor, the speedy sophomore who replaced Robert Woods in this seasons starting lineup, sprinted to make a fingertip catch just 3:39 in, stunning a crowd starved for exciting football. Madden caught a midrange pass over the middle a few minutes later and romped through the Arizona secondary. Davis scored from 11 yards out in the second quarter before Allen made a high dive into the end zone for a 28-3 lead. Phillips slipped behind USCs defence for a 57-yard touchdown catch 56 seconds before halftime. Richards caught a 9-yard TD pass with 6:48 to play, and Wharton pulled the Wildcats within seven points before Redd ran out the clock with a 10-yard run on third-and-8 with 1:38 left. Redd, the Penn State transfer who led USC in rushing last season, had 80 yards on the ground after missing the first five games of this season with a persistent knee injury. ' ' '