Hall of Fame 2018 Inductees

Robert Yates, Red Byron, Ray Evernham, Ken Squier and Ron Hornaday Jr. will make up the Class of 2018 for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
The induction ceremony is 8 p.m. ET Jan. 19 at the Hall of Fame, including an Induction Dinner at the Charlotte Convention Center.

Robert Yates was the rare breed, excelling in any field he chose. But two in particular placed him among NASCAR's greats -- engine building (his first love) and team ownership. Yates, who began his career at Holman-Moody Racing in 1968, landed a job with NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson in 1971 -- and the rest is history. He provided the power behind Hall of Famers Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough, later leading Allison to a series championship in 1983 with DiGard Racing. In the late 1980s, Yates launched his own team, Robert Yates Racing. Success came quickly -- driver Davey Allison won the 1992 Daytona 500, and finished third in that season's championship standings. In 1996, Yates expanded to a two-car team with NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett and Ernie Irvan -- and immediately won that year’s Daytona 500 with Jarrett. Jarrett would go on to win another Daytona 500 in 2000, a year after winning the NASCAR premier series championship -- all in Yates-owned Fords.His lineage continues today, as son Doug carries on his legacy as one of the top engine builders in the sport.

Robert Yates, 1974

Robert Yates, 1992

Robert Yates, 2004

Robert Yates, 2007

Robert Yates, 2015

Robert Yates, 2016

Robert 'Red' Byron was there at the outset. Byron won the sanctioning body's first race in 1948, on the Daytona beach road course. He went on in 1948 to win NASCAR’s first season championship -- in the NASCAR Modified Division. The following year, he won NASCAR's first Strictly Stock title -- the precursor to today’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series -- driving for car owner Raymond Parks. The Strictly Stock schedule had eight races; Byron won two of them.

Red Byron, 1948

Red Byron, 1948

Red Byron, 1949

Red Byron, 1949

Red Byron (right), 1949

Red Byron, 1950

In the 1992 season finale, a young driver and crew chief pairing made their NASCAR premier series debut. Less than a decade later, Jeff Gordon and Ray Evernham were in the record books. Evernham guided Gordon and the No. 24 team to three championships in four seasons (1995, ’97, ’98), and a series-leading 49 wins in the 1990s. Among their triumphs were two Daytona 500s (1997, '99) and two Brickyard 400s (1994, '98).Matching Evernham's mechanical prowess was his innovation on pit road. Under his direction, the 'Rainbow Warriors' revolutionized the art of the pit stop. In 2001, Evernham tried his hand at ownership, leading the return of Dodge to NASCAR. His drivers won 13 times, including Bill Elliott's triumph in the 2002 Brickyard 400.

Ray Evernham, 1998

Ray Evernham, 1999

Ray Evernham, 2006

Ray Evernham, 2009

Ray Evernham, 2013

Ray Evernham, 2015

With a smooth voice and knack for weaving a simple note into an epic tale, Ken Squier carved a massive footprint during NASCAR's formative broadcast years. One of NASCAR’s original broadcasters, Squier began his career with the Motor Racing Network (MRN) in 1970. It was his golden voice that took NASCAR to a national audience thirsting for live coverage, giving his insider's view of what he famously described as 'common men doing uncommon things.' He is perhaps best-known for calling the 1979 Daytona 500, a milestone moment for the entire sport, as Squier's voice on CBS welcomed millions to the first live flag-to-flag coverage of 'The Great American Race' -- a moniker he coined. Following that signature moment, Squier proceeded to call races for CBS and TBS until 1997 before shifting to the studio as host for NASCAR broadcasts until 2000. Squier continues to enlighten NASCAR fans to this day, mostly through special appearances. In 2012, NASCAR announced the creation of the Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence, which would be housed in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Squier and Motor Racing Radio's Barney Hall were in inaugural winners of the award.

Ken Squier, 1970

Ken Squier, 1976

Ken Squier, date unknown

Ken Squier, date unknown

Ken Squier, 2012

Ken Squier, 2013

One of the forefathers of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, few drivers can be mentioned in the same breath as Ron Hornaday Jr. when it comes to wheeling a truck around a race track. The second-generation racer from Palmdale, California, boasts a record four Truck Series championships and 51 wins competing on the rough-and-tumble circuit. Hornaday also holds the Truck Series all-time marks for top fives (158) and top 10s (234). In 2009, Hornaday won five straight Truck Series races, a feat matched only three other times in NASCAR national series history. Given his first opportunity in the Truck Series by Dale Earnhardt after 'The Intimidator' discovered him during a NASCAR Winter Heat Series event on ESPN2, Hornaday gave back to the sport by allowing young West Coast upstarts to stay at his home while pursuing their stock car racing dreams, including future premier series champions Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick.

Ron Hornaday, Jr., 1996

Ron Hornaday Jr., 2006

Ron Hornaday Jr., 2008

Ron Hornaday Jr., 2009

Ron Hornaday Jr., 2013

Ron Hornaday Jr., 2015