Cheever, Wheldon, Ganassi among Motorsports Hall inductee finalists

Chip Ganassi

A pair of Indianapolis 500 Mile Race winning drivers, a pair of Indy 500 winning owners, a pioneering designer and a respected driver and series official have been named finalists to be this year's open-wheel inductee into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

Eddie Cheever Jr., whose Indy car career spanned 1986-2006 and including victory in the 1998 Indianapolis 500, is joined as a finalist by the late Dan Wheldon, who won at Indy in 2005 and 2011.

U.E. "Pat" Patrick, the winning "500" car owner three times, and Chip Ganassi, whose drivers have won four Indy 500s and 11 Indy car season championships in the past 20 years, are also finalists in the open-wheel category. Joining them are Wally Dallenbach Sr., who drove Indy cars for 15 years before becoming CART's chief steward, and Ted Halibrand, who developed magnesium wheels and race cars in the 1940s and '50s.

The open-wheel inductee, along with recipients in six other categories, will be named Jan. 30.