One of the most legendary names in motorsport is being considered for induction to the Auto Racing Hall of Fame at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.

Bruce McLaren, founder of the eponymous team that is still contesting F1, having won numerous titles not only in the pinnacle of motorsport, by Indy Car, Can-Am, F5000 and GT, is being considered as a nominee along with Eddie Cheever and Dario Franchitti.

A former teammate to Jack Brabham at Cooper, at the end of 1965 McLaren followed the Australian's example and left Cooper to set up his own Formula One team. He recruited Robin Herd, who had been working on systems for Concorde, and Herd penned a radical design with a monocoque made from Mallite, which was a sandwich of aluminium and balsa wood.

The first two years of the McLaren F1 team were dogged by the lack of a suitable engine, but the availability of the DFV in 1968 elevated McLaren to the status of a top team and the company's huge success in Can-Am, helped put the fledging company onto a secure financial footing, as did success in Formula 5000 and Indycar.

As a driver, McLaren, who perished while testing a Can-Am car at Goodwood in 1970, won four Formula 1 Grands Prix, two Can-Am championships, and co-drove to a win in the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours with fellow Kiwi Chris Amon.

The three newest contenders join 13 holdover nominees to form a ballot from which a panel of racing journalists, participants and historians will select.

The 2017 inductees will be announced on 'Founders Day', March 20, 2017, the 108th anniversary of the day the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Company was officially formed.