CHARLOTTE — Former Cup champion Kurt Busch headlines the 2026 NASCAR Hall of Fame class that was selected Tuesday.
Busch and Harry Gant were selected on the Modern Era ballot. Modified racer Ray Hendrick was selected on the Pioneer Era ballot. Track promoter Humpy Wheeler was selected as the Landmark Award winner.
Busch and Gant each received 61% of the votes on the Moderan Era ballot. Jeff Burton finished third, followed by Harry Hyde and Randy Dorton.
“Everyone that’s on the ballot is someone that can go into the Hall because of the impact that they made on the sport,” said Busch, who attended Tuesday’s announcement with family members. “And for me, just a blue-collar kid out of Vegas, I never would have imagined this. We were a family where it was just a hobby, It was like a hobby to race, it was just fun to go to the track as father-son. Dad had his car and he helped me build mine.”
Hendrick received 31% of the votes on the Pioneer Era Ballot. Bob Welborn finished second.
There were 49 ballots. Forty-eight voters and the NASCAR.com fan vote. Reigning Cup champion Joey Logano was among the voters.
The NASCAR.com fan vote had Ray Hendrick from the Pioneer Era and Kurt Busch and Harry Gant from the Modern Era.
Busch, Gant and Hendrick — who will be inducted Jan. 23, 2026 — will join 67 others in the NASCAR Hall of Fame and represent the Hall’s 16th class.
The mercurial Busch was known as much for his success as his temper. He competed in Cup from 2000-22. Busch won at least one race 10 consecutive years. He had a streak of nine consecutive seasons with at least a victory when he was forced out of the car due to a concussion he suffered in a crash at Pocono in July 2022.
Busch scored 34 career victories, including the 2010 Coca-Cola 600 and 2017 Daytona 500. He was selected as one of NASCAR’s 75 greatest drivers.
He had memorable run-ins with Jimmy Spencer, NASCAR officials and media during his career, adding to his reputation as a fiery competitor.
“I think (NASCAR executive) Jim Hunter, the late Jim Hunter, said it best to me once when I was in some trouble and he said, ‘Son, you can get as much trouble as you want because you have that much talent to dig yourself out of these holes you keep putting yourself in, but wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t dig those holes and you could just stay on top riding with your talent?’”
This was the first year on the ballot for the 46-year-old Busch.
This was the sixth year on the ballot for the 85-year old Gant. He won 18 races, including two Southern 500s and was known as “Mr. September” for winning four consecutive Cup races in 1991. He was named as one of NASCAR’s 75 greatest drivers.
Gant finished third in balloting for the Class of 2025, a class that had Ricky Rudd and Carl Edwards.
Hendrick, who died in 1990 at the age of 71, won more than 700 races in the modified and Late Model Sportsman divisions. He was named on of NASCAR’s 75 greatest drivers and has a record 20 Martinsville wins. This was his second year on the ballot.
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