The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • B1

Thursday, May 21, 2015 Sports charlotteobserver.com/sports SECTION Thursday, May 21, 2015 KAHNE LOOKING FOR MORE AFTER HOT START He has a Truck series win at Charlotte this season but wants a Cup victory. 7B PANTHERS PART WAYS WITH KUGBILA Multiple surgeries, one practice mark offensive tenure. 2B O. Bruton Smith, who grew up in the small Stanly County town of Oakboro and founded the first motorsports com- pany to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange, leads the newest class of in- ductees to the NAS- CAR Hall of Fame. Smith, the owner and longtime CEO of Speedway Mo- torsports re- ceived 68 percent of the vote from the 57 votes that were cast by the Hall voting panel (including one vote cast by race fans).

Joining Smith in the Class of 2016 are two-time Cup series champion Terry Labonte; Curtis Turner, nicknamed the Ruth of Stock Car Jerry Cook, a six-time NASCAR modi- fied series champion; and Bobby Isaac, a 37-time winner in the Cup series, who also won the 1970 se- ries championship. I found out that I was nominated, I realized how much this meant to my family and the 15,000 employees that work for my Smith said in a statement. I realize how much it means to In announcing selection to the Hall, NASCAR Chairman Brian France, who is also on the voting panel, said Smith our fans an experi- ence that has transformed the Cook was the only member of the new class who was present Wednesday to hear the an- nouncement. Labonte was in Tex- as. Isaac died in 1977 but was rep- resented by his son, Randy.

Turn- er died in 1970. TERRY RENNA AP Bruton Smith, the owner and longtime CEO of Speedway Motorsports which includes Charlotte Motor Speedway, received 68 percent of the vote from the 57 votes that were cast by the Hall voting panel. Smith leads the way Terry Labonte, Curtis Turner, Jerry Cook and Bobby Isaac complete class By Jim Utter Cook Labonte Isaac Turner NASCAR HALL OF FAME 2016 CLASS SEE HALL, 6B I watched film of Mario He- zonja, the 6-foot-7 guard from Croatia who probably will be gone when the Charlotte Hornets make their first pick. But if Hezonja somehow is available, be tough to ig- nore. He can run and jump, shoot and handle the ball, and only 20.

His highlights are mesmerizing, especially those that are accompanied by mu- sic. If the highlights of Char- Bismack Biyombo were accompanied by music, say: We need this guy. With the ninth pick in the June 25 NBA draft, the Hornets should add a good player. But I trust them. If you were to detail strengths, draft night would not be among them.

say that the Hornets do draft astutely. What will the impact be? Will the Hornets suddenly become a team that can win a playoff se- ries? Or will they become a team that makes the playoffs, which in the Eastern Confer- ence means they finish too many games below The Hornets are not one player away from being good, unless that player is LeBron James, Stephen Curry, James Harden or somebody elite. one player away from being OK. If this continues, the strategy that makes the most sense is to tear down what they have and start over. The prevailing NBA busi- ness model is to fashion a team around three players.

The three choose are Kemba Walker, Michael Kidd-Gil- christ and Noah Vonleh. Walker and Kidd-Gilchrist work harder than anybody on the roster. Walker needs to make more shots or take fewer shots. But what his critics choose not to realize is that he needs scorers to which to pass. Walker find them if not on the roster.

Kidd-Gilchrist plays very good defense, and last season his renovated jump shot forced defenders to move up on him and enabled him to better go to the hoop. He likely will never be a consistent scorer. To be ef- fective, he have to be. But his work ethic is such that become a better shooter. Vonleh played one season at Indiana before the Hornets se- lected him with the ninth pick in the 2015 draft.

athletic and appears to be versatile. But guessing. P.J. Hairston, who played at North Carolina, was the other first-round pick last sea- son. To his credit, he had sever- al triple doubles.

For Hairston, a triple double is showing up where supposed to, when supposed to, and hitting a jump shot. A player who should have another season in him is Big Al Jefferson. To accomplish this, Big Al has to show up less Big. About the rookies: A player often slips past the place the mock drafts say he will go. I imagine Justise Winslow being available at No.

9. But we can dream. Devin Booker might be the best shooter in the draft. Not a terribly gifted athlete, he could be J.J. Redick.

Tickets are forming as we speak. Arizona small forward Stan- ley Johnson plays without fear, and versatile. If Willie Cauley- Stein slips to No. 9, the Hornets will have a fine inside defender who should learn to score. An intriguing pick is Texas IN MY OPINION TOM SORENSEN Hornets drafting skill iffy SEE SORENSEN, 2B Cydney Clanton is a lit- tle tired after a long stretch of traveling and playing on professional golf tours.

But that grind brings Clanton to Raintree Country Club, where she will tee off Thursday in the opening round of the Symetra Classic. The Sy- metra Tour event is in its fourth year playing at Raintree, less than an drive from Clan- family home in Con- cord. is my sixth week (in a on the tour, Clanton said, I needed to make this week fun. My energy going to be a touch lower, so I needed to keep this week light and fun. I really want to play well Now in her fifth year as a professional golfer, Clanton, 26, had many fun moments.

bounced between the LPGA Tour and the Syme- tra Tour, the de- velopmental series. While she has had her share of success on the Sy- metra Tour one win (in 2013 at South Bend, Ind.) and seven more top-10 fin- ishes in 25 career starts the LPGA Tour has pro- ven to be more problem- atic for Clanton. Golf Cydney Clanton driving for success Concord golfer tees off Thursday at Symetra Classic By Bill Kiser Correspondent Clanton SEE CLANTON, 8B NELL REDMOND Providence midfielder Ellie Deaver (24) battles Charlotte Catholic forward Lindsey Poff during a N.C. 4A third-round soccer match Wednesday at Providence High. For updates, visit charlotte observer.com N.C.

HIGH SCHOOL PLAYOFFS Racing promoter and entrepreneur Bruton Smith final- ly made it into Hall of Fame on Wednes- day, and to do so he got an assist from the family that he feuded with off-and-on for decades. Smith had a 50-year rivalry with the France family, which rules NASCAR with a tight grip that Smith often tried to pry loose, one finger at a time. But on Wednesday afternoon, before 57 hall of fame voters cast their ballots in Charlotte, cur- rent NASCAR CEO Brian France spoke positively about Smith and said he deserved to be in the hall of fame. Suddenly, the mood in the room changed. Within a few hours, Smith had become the leading vote-getter of the NAS- CAR Hall of Fame Class of 2016 and that was after Smith been among the top eight vote-getters in 2015.

think some peo- ple might have been said Ned Jarrett, both a mem- ber of the hall of fame himself and a voter. France show- ing his support was Said Humpy Wheeler, who ran Charlotte Motor Speedway on a day-to-day basis for three decades: was really important. Brian obviously car- ries a lot of weight when he comes out for Smith, 88, has built an empire of tracks with his Speedway Mo- torsports Inc. that stretch across the country, starting with Char- lotte Motor Speedway in 1960. He certainly is deserving of a hall of fame spot and should have gotten in a couple of years ago.

But his feud with the France Bruton Smith draws honors from NASCAR IN MY OPINION SCOTT FOWLER SEE FOWLER, 6B.