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NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2023 nominees
By Staff Report | Published: May 4, 2022 20
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2023 Modern Era Ballot
Neil Bonnett
Years on ballot: 3
Credentials: 18 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, including two Coca-Cola 600 triumphs. Bonnett also was an adept broadcaster in his later years.
Neil Bonnett
Years on ballot: 3
Credentials: 18 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, including two Coca-Cola 600 triumphs. Bonnett also was an adept broadcaster in his later years.
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Tim Brewer
Years on ballot: 1
Credentials: Over his 30-year career as a crew chief, Brewer racked up 53 victories – including two Southern 500s – and 55 poles. Brewer led Hall of Famers Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip to 32 wins during a magical four-year stretch, bookended by two championships.
Years on ballot: 1
Credentials: Over his 30-year career as a crew chief, Brewer racked up 53 victories – including two Southern 500s – and 55 poles. Brewer led Hall of Famers Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip to 32 wins during a magical four-year stretch, bookended by two championships.
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Jeff Burton
Years on ballot: 2
Credentials: Skilled as both a NASCAR statesman, a driver and broadcaster, Burton scored 21 Cup Series wins, including two Coca-Cola 600 victories and one Southern 500 crown.
Years on ballot: 2
Credentials: Skilled as both a NASCAR statesman, a driver and broadcaster, Burton scored 21 Cup Series wins, including two Coca-Cola 600 victories and one Southern 500 crown.
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Carl Edwards
Years on ballot: 2
Credentials: Edwards boasts 72 NASCAR national series wins, including 28 in the Cup Series before his departure from the sport in 2017. He was crowned champion in the Xfinity Series in 2007.
Years on ballot: 2
Credentials: Edwards boasts 72 NASCAR national series wins, including 28 in the Cup Series before his departure from the sport in 2017. He was crowned champion in the Xfinity Series in 2007.
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Matt Kenseth (ELECTED)
Years on ballot: 1
Credentials: Over 18 full-time seasons Kenseth conquered every major milestone on the Cup Series schedule including two Daytona 500s, the Southern 500, Coca-Cola 600 and the All-Star Race. His 39 Cup wins tie for 21st on the all-time list. His crowning achievement was his 2003 Cup Series championship.
Years on ballot: 1
Credentials: Over 18 full-time seasons Kenseth conquered every major milestone on the Cup Series schedule including two Daytona 500s, the Southern 500, Coca-Cola 600 and the All-Star Race. His 39 Cup wins tie for 21st on the all-time list. His crowning achievement was his 2003 Cup Series championship.
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Harry Gant
Years on ballot: 4
Credentials: Winner of 18 NASCAR premier series races, including two Southern 500 victories. His run of four consecutive victories at age 51 captivated fans in 1991.
Years on ballot: 4
Credentials: Winner of 18 NASCAR premier series races, including two Southern 500 victories. His run of four consecutive victories at age 51 captivated fans in 1991.
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Harry Hyde
Years on ballot: 7
Credentials: Crew chief for Bobby Isaac during the Nord Krauskopf team's run to the 1970 NASCAR premier series championship. Notched 55 Cup Series wins in a 26-year career.
Years on ballot: 7
Credentials: Crew chief for Bobby Isaac during the Nord Krauskopf team's run to the 1970 NASCAR premier series championship. Notched 55 Cup Series wins in a 26-year career.
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Larry Phillips
Years on ballot: 9
Credentials: The sport's only five-time NASCAR weekly series national champion, the Missouri native collected wins by the hundreds and claimed 13 track titles across three states.
Years on ballot: 9
Credentials: The sport's only five-time NASCAR weekly series national champion, the Missouri native collected wins by the hundreds and claimed 13 track titles across three states.
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Ricky Rudd
Years on ballot: 6
Credentials: Hard-nosed Virginia native won 23 times on NASCAR's top circuit and ranks second in all-time starts (906). Rudd posted at least one win for 16 straight seasons from 1983-98.
Years on ballot: 6
Credentials: Hard-nosed Virginia native won 23 times on NASCAR's top circuit and ranks second in all-time starts (906). Rudd posted at least one win for 16 straight seasons from 1983-98.
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Kirk Shelmerdine (ELECTED)
Years on ballot: 3, nonconsecutive (2019, '21, '23)
Credentials: Called the shots as a master crew chief for Dale Earnhardt, claiming four Cup Series championships and 46 race wins. Made 41 NASCAR national series starts as a driver.
Years on ballot: 3, nonconsecutive (2019, '21, '23)
Credentials: Called the shots as a master crew chief for Dale Earnhardt, claiming four Cup Series championships and 46 race wins. Made 41 NASCAR national series starts as a driver.
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2023 Pioneer Ballot
Sam Ard
Years on ballot: 2, nonconsecutive (2020, '23)
Credentials: Ard was a master of short tracks across the Southeast and shined in the NASCAR Late Model Sportsman Series in the 1970s. But his true brilliance came with the creation of what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where he won 22 times and was the series champion in 1983 and 1984.
Sam Ard
Years on ballot: 2, nonconsecutive (2020, '23)
Credentials: Ard was a master of short tracks across the Southeast and shined in the NASCAR Late Model Sportsman Series in the 1970s. But his true brilliance came with the creation of what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where he won 22 times and was the series champion in 1983 and 1984.
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AJ Foyt
Years on ballot: 1
Credentials: NASCAR might not have been Foyt's primary endeavor, but when he entered a Cup Series race, he elevated the profile of the sport … and the competition on the track. Foyt made 128 NASCAR Cup Series starts over 30 years, including at least three races every season from 1963-77. His crowning NASCAR achievement came in February 1972 when Foyt won the Daytona 500 for the Wood Brothers.
Years on ballot: 1
Credentials: NASCAR might not have been Foyt's primary endeavor, but when he entered a Cup Series race, he elevated the profile of the sport … and the competition on the track. Foyt made 128 NASCAR Cup Series starts over 30 years, including at least three races every season from 1963-77. His crowning NASCAR achievement came in February 1972 when Foyt won the Daytona 500 for the Wood Brothers.
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Banjo Matthews
Years on ballot: 2
Credentials: Edwin Keith "Banjo" Matthews spent his early career as a driver, then a winning owner and crew chief. His later years in racing were spent as a prolific car builder who dominated the 1970s and '80s.
Years on ballot: 2
Credentials: Edwin Keith "Banjo" Matthews spent his early career as a driver, then a winning owner and crew chief. His later years in racing were spent as a prolific car builder who dominated the 1970s and '80s.
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Hershel McGriff (ELECTED)
Years on ballot: 7
Credentials: The 1986 champion of the former NASCAR Winston West Series also won four times in NASCAR's top division. His career spanned the first Southern 500 in 1950 to his final ARCA West start in 2018 at age 90.
Years on ballot: 7
Credentials: The 1986 champion of the former NASCAR Winston West Series also won four times in NASCAR's top division. His career spanned the first Southern 500 in 1950 to his final ARCA West start in 2018 at age 90.
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Ralph Moody
Years on ballot: 4
Credentials: Mechanical whiz paired with businessman John Holman to create Holman-Moody, a dominant racing team that claimed two championships with David Pearson and also landed Daytona 500 wins with Fred Lorenzen (1965) and Mario Andretti (1967).
Years on ballot: 4
Credentials: Mechanical whiz paired with businessman John Holman to create Holman-Moody, a dominant racing team that claimed two championships with David Pearson and also landed Daytona 500 wins with Fred Lorenzen (1965) and Mario Andretti (1967).
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2023 Landmark Award
Janet Guthrie
Years on ballot: 1
Credentials: Janet Guthrie moved on from a successful career as an aerospace engineer in the early 1960s, trading equations for a wheel to become a full-time racer in 1972. A true pioneer in motorsports, Guthrie became the first woman to compete in a NASCAR Cup Series superspeedway race when she drove to a 15th-place finish in the 1976 World 600. The next year, she piloted cars in the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500, becoming the first female to participate in both events.
Janet Guthrie
Years on ballot: 1
Credentials: Janet Guthrie moved on from a successful career as an aerospace engineer in the early 1960s, trading equations for a wheel to become a full-time racer in 1972. A true pioneer in motorsports, Guthrie became the first woman to compete in a NASCAR Cup Series superspeedway race when she drove to a 15th-place finish in the 1976 World 600. The next year, she piloted cars in the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500, becoming the first female to participate in both events.
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Alvin Hawkins
Years on ballot: 5
Credentials: Alvin Hawkins was NASCAR's first flagman, and he attended the momentous 1947 meeting at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida, that signaled the start of what would become the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. Later, Bill France Sr. and Hawkins established NASCAR racing at Bowman Gray Stadium. The Hawkins family continues to operate the quarter-mile track, one that is an institution in the sport and a crown jewel for short track racers throughout the country.
Years on ballot: 5
Credentials: Alvin Hawkins was NASCAR's first flagman, and he attended the momentous 1947 meeting at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida, that signaled the start of what would become the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. Later, Bill France Sr. and Hawkins established NASCAR racing at Bowman Gray Stadium. The Hawkins family continues to operate the quarter-mile track, one that is an institution in the sport and a crown jewel for short track racers throughout the country.
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Mike Helton (ELECTED)
Years on ballot: 3
Credentials: Mike Helton is easily one of the most familiar faces and names in the NASCAR community. The first person outside the France family to be named NASCAR President (in 2000), he started his leadership career with the sport back in 1980 and now serves as Vice Chairman of NASCAR. His nearly five-decade long career in the sport has been spent in a variety of jobs. He was a track operator at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, and even raced a little himself, before joining NASCAR. During his time as President, Helton cemented NASCAR’s presence in major markets both within the United States, as well as Mexico, Canada and Europe.
Years on ballot: 3
Credentials: Mike Helton is easily one of the most familiar faces and names in the NASCAR community. The first person outside the France family to be named NASCAR President (in 2000), he started his leadership career with the sport back in 1980 and now serves as Vice Chairman of NASCAR. His nearly five-decade long career in the sport has been spent in a variety of jobs. He was a track operator at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, and even raced a little himself, before joining NASCAR. During his time as President, Helton cemented NASCAR’s presence in major markets both within the United States, as well as Mexico, Canada and Europe.
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Special to NASCAR
Lesa France Kennedy
Years on ballot: 1
Credentials: Lesa France Kennedy is the Executive Vice Chair of NASCAR and one of the most influential women in sports. Kennedy spearheaded the revitalization of Phoenix Raceway, and the state-of-the-art Daytona Rising project at Daytona International Speedway. She also helped cement NASCAR’s presence in the Midwest with the building of Kansas Speedway.
Years on ballot: 1
Credentials: Lesa France Kennedy is the Executive Vice Chair of NASCAR and one of the most influential women in sports. Kennedy spearheaded the revitalization of Phoenix Raceway, and the state-of-the-art Daytona Rising project at Daytona International Speedway. She also helped cement NASCAR’s presence in the Midwest with the building of Kansas Speedway.
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Special to NASCAR
Dr. Joseph Mattioli
Years on ballot: 3
Credentials: One of the most universally revered members of the sport of auto racing, Dr. Joseph (Doc) Mattioli founded Pocono Raceway in 1968 in the lush and scenic Pocono Mountains. The 2.5-mile triangular-shaped track has hosted all of America’s top racing series but has been a particularly prime stop on the NASCAR schedule. It was designed by two-time Indy 500 winner Rodger Ward and each of the three turns is completely different – each modeled off another track.
Years on ballot: 3
Credentials: One of the most universally revered members of the sport of auto racing, Dr. Joseph (Doc) Mattioli founded Pocono Raceway in 1968 in the lush and scenic Pocono Mountains. The 2.5-mile triangular-shaped track has hosted all of America’s top racing series but has been a particularly prime stop on the NASCAR schedule. It was designed by two-time Indy 500 winner Rodger Ward and each of the three turns is completely different – each modeled off another track.