NASCAR announces Hall of Fame Class of 2026
Legendary NASCAR drivers Kurt Busch, Harry Gant and Ray Hendrick have been selected as members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
Busch, Gant and Hendrick were selected among 15 nominees by NASCAR’s voting panel on Tuesday in Charlotte, North Carolina, according to a news release. They will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame during the Class of 2026 induction ceremony on Jan. 23, 2026.
Busch, 45, is elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot. He earned 34 Cup Series wins from 2000-2022, including winning the NASCAR Cup Series Championship in 2004. The Las Vegas native finished in the top 10 standings on 10 different occasions, and was named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023.
Gant, 85, is elected to the Hall of Fame in his seventh year on the ballot. He won 18 NASCAR Cup Series races from 1973-1994, including the Southern 500 in 1984 and 1991. He also earned 21 wins in the Xfinity Series, and holds the premier series records for oldest driver to win a race (52 years old) and pole (54). Like Busch, Gant was also named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers.
Hendrick, who died at age 61 in 1990, is selected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in his second year on the Pioneer Ballot, which recognizes the sport’s luminaries. Nicknamed “Mr. Modified,” Hendrick earned more than 700 victories in modified and late model sportsman series from 1950-1988. He finished top 10 in the standings nine times from 1960-69, and was also named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers.
Busch, Gant and Hendrick will comprise the 16th class to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame since the inaugural class was inducted in 2010, bringing the total number of inductees to 70.
