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Popularity and sentiment often help those looking for votes in an election process, but it sometimes means that people cast ballots for the wrong reasons and make huge mistakes along the way.

That seems to be what occurred this week when the NASCAR Hall of Fame announced its second crop of five inductees and found it snubbing household names Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough.

The five voted into the Hall by a panel of 53, which included the nominating committee and representatives from NASCAR's community, are: Bobby Allison, Ned Jarrett, David Pearson, Lee Petty, and Bud Moore. They will be inducted in a ceremony in May 2011 at the Hall of Fame in Charlotte and join the founding five - Dale Earnhardt, Bill France, Bill France Jr., Junior Johnson, and Richard Petty - who were put in the hall when it opened in Charlotte, N.C., in May.

It's hard to argue against three-time champion Pearson getting in - although strangely three on the committee didn't vote for him - as he is second only to Richard Petty in career NASCAR wins. The same goes for Lee Petty, who is another three time title winner who also scored 54 race wins. And Allison also gets a nod, with his one title and 84 victories.

But then things get a bit dubious.

The fifth and final nominee to slip into the Hall in the 2011 round was Moore, who received 45 per cent of the vote. That means neither Waltrip nor Yarborough - both three-time NASCAR champions - garnered more than 23 of 53 votes despite their impressive careers.

Waltrip won 84 races and three championships, something that earns him a place on most fans' and experts' Top-10 all-time great NASCAR driver lists, not to mention being popular enough to merit an appearance in Disney's Cars movie, as Darrell "Cartrip." Only two drivers, Richard Petty and Pearson have more NASCAR wins.

Two spots below Waltrip in most wins is Yarborough, who took the chequered flag 83 times. He was also the only driver to take three consecutive titles until reigning Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson came along. Johnson broke that record last year with his fourth straight Sprint Cup crown.

Voters instead went with Jarrett, who scored 50 wins and two titles. Now, there's no doubt that Jarrett should get in at some point, but arriving ahead of the No. 3 and No. 5 drivers in the all-time wins seems a bit much. Same goes for Moore who has impressive credentials with two titles and 63 race wins as a team owner, but not good enough to trump Waltrip's or Yarborough's tallies.

What's even more puzzling is that Waltrip is tied for third overall in wins with Allison and has two more championships than the new Hall member. Yarborough has just one fewer win than Allison but also has two more titles. The voters' balance sheets just don't compute.

And let's be honest about it, had Yarborough not wrecked Donnie Allison on the last lap of the 1979 Daytona 500 and then had a fistfight in the infield with his brother Bobby Allison during the first ever live national NASCAR broadcast, the stock car series may not have taken off and become the top racing draw in North America.

The scuttlebutt on the snubs is that Waltrip and Yarborough aren't well-liked and that was the deciding factor in their not getting elected. In addition, the voters likely considered the age and health of the two they elected when they passed up Waltrip and Yarborough.

And that kind of thing shouldn't sit well with fans who put Waltrip and Yarborough into the Hall with the other three drivers, Allison, Pearson, and Lee Petty, in a NASCAR.com vote. Unfortunately, while the fan ballot got it right, NASCAR only counted it as one collective vote in the grand scheme.

While fans seem to understand the concept of the sport's best interests when they cast ballots, those entrusted with voting might need a refresher course. Bottom line is that the electors should hang their heads in shame next May when the induction goes ahead without Waltrip and Yarborough.

Less than two weeks before the Formula One circus was slated to arrive, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) finally approved the brand new Yeongam Circuit, about four hours from Seoul. Under normal circumstances and for obvious safety reasons, tracks must pass inspection months in advance, but Korea was given added time to get ready for the FIA. Even with a green light given on Monday, work is still going on to get the facility ready for the Oct. 24 race.

That makes the decision to go ahead with the Korean Grand Prix a huge risk for the sport, especially as five drivers prepare to battle it out for the world championship in the final three races. For example, no one knows whether the final layer of asphalt, paved only last week, can stand up to the pounding from F1 cars after not having proper time to cure.

With that kind of thing in mind, F1 fans should keep their fingers crossed during the Korea Grand Prix weekend in the hopes that nothing goes horribly wrong in Yeongam.