Hall of Fame to hold supplemental vote in Nobby Clark case

Reacting to the outrage that led to some of its Hall of Famers resigning their enshrinement The American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation Board of Directors announced that it will conduct a supplemental vote for the inclusion of Derek "Nobby" Clark in this year's Hall of Fame induction class.

The AMA put out a release to announce the decision, which is being held to rectify the error in the balloting process that first nominated the long-time mechanic and crew chief - then denied his nomination.

"We believe Mr. Clark is worthy of induction into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame," said Jeffrey V. Heininger, the chairman of the AMHF. "It's important to stress that the balloting errors were not of Mr. Clark's making, and the entire board offers its sincere apologies to Mr. Clark. The only people who can elevate Mr. Clark to the Hall of Fame are the voting members, which include the living Hall of Famers," Heininger said. "A clear vote in light of all that has happened allows Mr. Clark to enter the Hall with the honor he deserves. We expect to start contacting voting members for balloting early next week."

The AMHF Executive Committee recommended the supplemental vote earlier in the week, when a report detailing problems with the 2012 Hall of Fame balloting process was discussed. The full report can be found here

According to the statement, Heininger told the AMHF board that the executive committee would convene a review panel to evaluate the Hall of Fame selection committees' structure and procedures for nomination and enshrinement.

"There were errors made at the staff and committee levels in the formulation of the 2012 ballot." Heininger said. "Those errors were rightly investigated, and the process must -- and will be -- corrected going forward. Recent events show that while the procedure for selecting Hall of Famers is sound, the implementation of that procedure leaves too much room for mistakes," Heininger said. "It is important, for the integrity of the selection process and the Hall of Fame itself, to make sure our balloting is beyond reproach."

Calls and requests to the AMA headquarters for further comment went unanswered.