Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton headline NASCAR’s 2021 Hall of Fame ballot
NASCAR announced the 15 nominees for the its hall of fame’s class of 2021 on Tuesday, a list which includes Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards. All three former Cup Series drivers are all first-time nominees and join seven other individuals in their category.
In February, NASCAR announced the Hall of Fame ballot structure and number of inductees would change beginning with the 2021 class. The number of inductees will now only include three individuals (previously five) and will be split into two categories — one for contemporary stars (“Modern” ballot) and one for the NASCAR pioneers (“Pioneer” ballot).
In addition to Earnhardt Jr., Burton and Edwards, former drivers Neil Bonnett, Harry Gant, Larry Phillips, Ricky Rudd and Mike Stefanik are listed on the Modern Era Ballot. Former championship crew chiefs Harry Hyde and Kirk Shelmerdine round out that list.
Individuals are eligible for the Modern Era Ballot if their career started within the past 60 years. They are able to remain on that ballot for 10 years.
The five individuals on the Pioneer Ballot are former drivers Red Farmer and Hershel McGriff, former crew chief Jake Elder, former NASCAR car builder Banjo Matthews, as well as former driver and team owner Ralph Moody. This is Elder and Matthews’ first nomination.
Voting for the NASCAR Hall of Fame was scheduled to take place on May 20, but there’s no update as to whether that date will change or if the meeting will take place virtually, according to NBCSports.com. A voting panel consisting of team owners, former drivers and various NASCAR personnel submits 65 ballots, including one ballot from a nationwide fan vote, to determine the three inductees.
Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Ron Hornaday Jr., Dale Jarrett, Roger Penske, Darrell Waltrip and Rusty Wallace are included on the voting panel, according to NBCSports.com.
In addition to the three inductees, one Landmark Award recipient will be selected from a list of five individuals in 2021. The Landmark Award is given to “competitors or those working in the sport as a member of a racing organization, track facility, race team, sponsor, media partner or being a general ambassador for the sport through a professional or non-professional role,” according to NASCAR.
The 2021 Landmark Award recipient nominees include former driver Janet Guthrie, NASCAR’s first flagman Alvin Hawkins, former NASCAR president Mike Helton, Pocono Raceway founder Dr. Joseph Mattioli and former business executive Ralph Seagraves. Those individuals will all still be eligible for a Hall of Fame nomination.
“I feel our process is as strong as any Hall of Fame, sport and entertainment alike,” NASCAR Hall of Fame Executive Director Winston Kelley said in a statement in February. “I am equally enthusiastic about these changes to our process and concur wholeheartedly that now is the right time to transition to fewer inductees and establish a process dedicated to NASCAR’s iconic pioneers.”
The full list of nominees (provided by NASCAR) is below:
Modern Era Ballot
Neil Bonnett, won 18 times in the NASCAR Cup Series, including consecutive Coca-Cola 600 victories.
Jeff Burton, won 21 times in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the Southern 500 and two Coca-Cola 600s.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., 15-time NASCAR Cup Series Most Popular Driver and two-time Xfinity Series champion.
Carl Edwards, winner of 28 NASCAR Cup Series races and 2007 Xfinity Series champion.
Harry Gant, winner of 18 NASCAR Cup Series races, including two Southern 500 victories.
Harry Hyde, 1970 NASCAR Cup Series championship crew chief.
Larry Phillips, first five-time NASCAR weekly series national champion.
Ricky Rudd, won 23 times in NASCAR Cup Series, including the 1997 Brickyard 400.
Kirk Shelmerdine, four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief.
Mike Stefanik, winner of record-tying nine NASCAR championships.
Pioneer Ballot
Jake Elder, three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief.
Red Farmer, three-time NASCAR Late Model Sportsman champion; 1956 Modified champion.
Banjo Matthews, built cars that won more than 250 NASCAR Cup Series races and three championships.
Hershel McGriff, 1986 NASCAR West Series champion.
Ralph Moody, two-time NASCAR Cup Series owner champion as mechanical genius of Holman-Moody.
Landmark Award
Janet Guthrie, the first female to compete in a NASCAR Cup Series superspeedway race.
Alvin Hawkins, NASCAR’s first flagman; established NASCAR racing at Bowman Gray Stadium with Bill France Sr.
Mike Helton, named third president of NASCAR in 2000; career included track operator roles at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.
Dr. Joseph Mattioli, founder of Pocono Raceway.
Ralph Seagraves, formed groundbreaking Winston-NASCAR partnership as executive with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.
This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 4:53 PM.
