Kurt Busch headlines NASCAR Hall of Fame’s 2026 class

The NASCAR Hall of Fame will induct Kurt Busch, Harry Gant and Ray Hendrick in the Class of 2026, the hall announced Tuesday.

Busch and Gant were selected from the Modern Era Ballot, each garnering 61% of the vote. Jeff Burton, Harry Hyde and Randy Dorton were the next-highest finishers who didn’t make the cut.

Hendrick was voted in on the Pioneer Ballot with 31% of the votes. Bob Welborn finished second.

Busch, 46, made the Hall in his first year on the ballot. He was the Cup Series champion in 2004 and won 34 times in the Cup Series, including two crown jewel races: the 2010 Coca-Cola 600 and the 2017 Daytona 500.

Gant, 85, followed 21 victories in what’s now called the Xfinity Series with 18 wins in the Cup Series, including the Southern 500 in 1984 and 1991. Already a member of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, Gant was in his seventh year on the NASCAR Hall’s ballot.

Gant also holds the record for the oldest driver to win a Cup Series race (52 years, eight months) when he prevailed at Michigan International Speedway in 1992.

Hendrick, who died in 1990, enjoyed a 36-year motorsports career and was known throughout the South as ‘Mr. Modified’ for his successes in modified stock car racing. He is credited with more than 700 victories in modified racing and the Late Model Sportsman Series.

Busch, Gant and Hendrick were all named to NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers list for the league’s 75th anniversary in 2023.

NASCAR also recognized H.A. ‘Humpy’ Wheeler, former president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway, with the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.

The Class of 2026 will be inducted on Jan. 23 in Charlotte.