Over the life of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, there have been individuals who have been considered “locks” to gain hall membership in their first time on the ballot.
Among them: Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Bill France Sr., Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson.
It’s likely Kevin Harvick will be added to the list this year.
Harvick was the most prominent name among the 15 nominated by the Hall of Fame Nomination Committee and announced Sunday.
Harvick and nine other nominees are listed on the Modern Era Ballot. Two will be elected from that group. Five individuals were nominated for the Pioneer Ballot, which is designed to honor those whose racing careers began more than 60 years ago. One Pioneer Ballot nominee will be elected.
Harvick, now a prominent television racing analyst, won the 2014 Cup Series championship and the 2007 Daytona 500 and totaled 60 Cup victories across his career. He entered Cup competition a year earlier than scheduled as he replaced Dale Earnhardt in Richard Childress Racing’s top car after Earnhardt’s death in the 2001 Daytona 500. Harvick won twice that season and steadily built one of the sport’s most consistently successful careers.
It is expected that Harvick will be the leading vote-getter among the Modern Era nominees when the hall voting panel chooses the next class May 19.
Kevin Harvick celebrates his 2014 NASCAR championship win with his son.
After Harvick, the race for the other Modern Era winner should be very competitive. Jeff Burton finished third behind Kurt Busch and Harry Gant, last year’s winners, and likely will be a serious contender this time. Greg Biffle, an O’Reilly Auto Parts and Craftsman Truck series champion and a 19-time winner in Cup, might receive additional votes this year after his tragic death in an airplane crash in December. Two-time Cup Series championship crew chief Tim Brewer also could attract enough votes to contend.
Newcomers on the Modern Era ballot are Ray Elder, six-time ARCA Menards Series West champion, and Ernie Elliott, who won the 1988 Cup Series championship as crew chief for his brother, Hall of Fame member Bill Elliott.
The Pioneer Ballot is expected to be competitive. Legendary car builder Banjo Matthews is expected to contend along with 14-time Cup Series race-winning team owner Ray Fox. New on the Pioneer Ballot is crew chief Herb Nab, who was the mechanical genius behind much of driver Cale Yarborough’s success with Junior Johnson’s team in the 1970s.
The Landmark Award, designed to honor those who have made significant contributions to the growth and success of NASCAR, has a potential winning candidate in ballot newcomer T. Wayne Robertson, who was a key figure in R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company’s long-time sponsorship of NASCAR. Others on the ballot are Pocono Raceway founder Joseph Mattioli, NASCAR executives Les Richter and Lesa France Kennedy and NASCAR’s first flagman Alvin Hawkins.
Mike Hembree has covered auto racing for numerous media outlets, including USA Today, NASCAR Scene, NBC Sports, The Greenville News and the SPEED Channel. He has been roaming garage areas and pit roads for decades (although the persistent rumor that he covered the first Indianapolis 500 is not true). Winner of numerous motorsports and other media awards, he also has covered virtually every other major sport. He lives near Gaffney, South Carolina and can be convinced to attend Bruce Springsteen concerts if you have tickets.
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