NASCAR revealed the 2027 Hall of Fame class on Tuesday.
Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, and Larry Phillips will all join Dale Earnhardt Jr. and other racing legends in Charlotte next year. NASCAR executive vice chair Lesa France Kennedy will also receive the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.
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Earnhardt welcomed his peers to the Hall of Fame as the news broke. The class of 2021 inductee celebrated the newest members on social media.
Kevin Harvick
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 18: FOX Sports NASCAR Raceday broadcaster and former NASCAR Cup Series drivers Kevin Harvick on set after the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 was postponed due to weather at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)Adam Glanzman/Getty Images
Harvick fittingly received a first-ballot selection after a decorated career with 60 Cup Series wins, 11th on the all-time leaderboard, and a 2020 regular-season championship. The 2007 Daytona 500 winner also captured the Sprint Cup Series crown in 2014.
Harvick began his career by replacing Earnhardt’s iconic father following Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s tragic death in 2001. The NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year won his third race, and the highly popular driver remains a seminal part of the sport as an analyst for Fox.
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According to NASCAR, Harvick received an overwhelming 92 percent of the Modern Era ballot votes. Earnhardt Jr. agreed with awarding a Hall of Fame spot to “The Closer.”
“Well deserved,” Earnhardt Jr. wrote.
Jeff Burton
Although he never won a Cup Series crown, Burton enjoyed a lengthy career with 21 Cup victories and 27 O’Reilly Series wins. He notched six wins during a dominant 1999 that included one of his two Coca-Cola 600 triumphs.
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Selected alongside Harvick among NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023, Burton made the Hall of Fame on his sixth year of eligibility. Earnhardt Jr. celebrated the 58-year-old’s induction by invoking a nickname honoring his advocacy for driver safety.
“The Mayor!!” Dale Jr. declared.
Larry Phillips
Phillips was inducted through the Pioneer ballot. While there’s no official win count, crew chief James Ince once estimated that the legend racked up over 1,000 victories.
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Phillips became the first driver to win five NASCAR Weekly Series national championships, and he won 220 NASCAR-sanctioned races and 13 track championships from 1989 through 1996.
Earnhardt Jr. was happy to see Phillips, who passed away in 2024, get his long-awaited recognition.
“He finally got it.”
This story was originally published by The Spun on May 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the NASCAR section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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