Meet the Newest Members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame

Compared with other major North American sports leagues, NASCAR’s Hall of Fame is by far the hardest to get into. Entering this year, just 70 individuals had the honor of calling themselves NASCAR Hall of Famers, but Tuesday’s announcement bumps that number to 73. Three of the greatest auto racing drivers in history will add to the list as Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, and Larry Phillips will be enshrined in the Class of 2027.

Each made an indelible impact on the sport, and an honorable mention should also go to Lesa France Kennedy. The granddaughter of NASCAR founder Bill France Jr. is the executive vice chair of the company her grandfather founded, and France Kennedy was announced as the Hall of Fame’s recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR. As for the three members who are getting the official Hall of Fame badge, here is why each will be memorialized.

Kevin Harvick

Harvick is a first-ballot HOFer thanks, in part, to a career that had a crowning achievement of being the 2014 Cup Series champion. He won on several other series as well, claiming a pair of Busch Series championships and winning the Winston West Series title. Harvick is also one of four Grand Slam members in NASCAR history, which means he won all four of the Crown Jewel races, and he totaled eight Crown Jewel checkered flags during his career, which ended in 2023.

Those eight are a part of 60 Cup Series victories, which currently ranks 11th all-time. Harvick won the 2007 Daytona 500 while driving for Richard Childress Racing, while his total victory count, including the lower-tier series, numbers 107 NASCAR wins. With all of his contributions to the sport over his 29-year career, Harvick was named as one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023.

Harvick, the headliner of the Class of 2027, was voted in on 92 percent of the ballots.

“When you talk about your reputation and the respect factor, I think that speaks volumes about the things you were able to accomplish,” stated Harvick. “I can say it now, I’m proud of that.”

Jeff Burton

Burton was also named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers and has 21 Cup Series victories to his name. He was the series Rookie of the Year in 1994, twice won the Coca-Cola 600 and also prevailed at the Southern 500, giving him three Crown Jewel race victories. Though he never won a Cup Series championship, Burton often found himself in contention for one over a 12-year stretch from 1997 through 2008.

Burton finished in the top 10 in the Cup Series standings eight times during this span, including four straight top five finishes from 1997-2000 while a part of Roush Racing. He would conclude his full-time driving career as a teammate of Harvick’s on RCR, and the two would later go into business together as co-owners of the CARS Racing Tour.

Burton sat on the NASCAR Hall of Fame ballot for five years before getting the nod this year. He received 32 percent of the vote, which edged out Neil Bonnett for the second and final spot on the modern ballot.

Larry Phillips

Phillips is getting enshrined on the pioneers ballot, where he received 38 percent of the vote. He’s also one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers and was nicknamed Master of the Short Track. Phillips’ career spanned more than 50 years, but most of it came outside the Cup Series, which makes him going in on the pioneer ballot very fitting.

Phillips was the first person to win five NASCAR Weekly Series national championships, which all came between ages 47 and 54. During that seven-year span, he won a mindboggling 220 of 289 NASCAR-sanctioned starts. That included seven NASCAR Weekly Series regional titles and 13 track championships across three states. His crew chief, James Ince, estimates that Phillips, in total, collected 2,000 race victories over his now Hall of Fame career. Phillips will be the lone inductee to be enshrined posthumously; he passed away in 2004 at 62.

Among those on the Class of 2027 ballot who did not get voted in are Bonnett, Randy Dorton and Greg Biffle from the Modern Era. Additionally, Harry Hyde won the Fan Vote from the Pioneer’s Era, but the 50-member voting panel selected Phillips instead.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2027 Induction Ceremony will take place on Jan. 22, 2027. The Hall of Fame is in Charlotte, N.C., having opened in 2010. After next year’s class goes in, there will be 73 total members, 57 of which were drivers with the remaining being contributors such as owners, crew chiefs, promoters, or broadcasters.