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A general view of the NASCAR Hall of Fame voting room during Voting Day.
BACK TO GALLERIES

NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2027 nominees

By Staff Report | Published: April 14, 2026 21
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
BACK TO GALLERIES

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A general view of the NASCAR Hall of Fame voting room during Voting Day.

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

The NASCAR Hall of Fame revealed the 15 nominees for its Class of 2027, adding past champions Kevin Harvick and Ray Elder and championship-winning crew chief Ernie Elliott to the ballot for the first time. Scroll through the list to learn more about this year's nominees before voters convene on May 19 in Charlotte for Voting Day. 

RELATED: Fan Vote is open! Cast your ballot now

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greg biffle looking on.

Todd Warshaw | Getty Images

2027 Modern Era Ballot
Greg Biffle
Years on ballot: 3
Credentials: 2000 Craftsman Truck Series and 2002 Xfinity Series champion. Biffle additionally won 19 Cup Series races.

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Mid 1980s:  As teammate to Darrell Waltrip on Junior Johnson’s Budweiser-sponsored race team, Neil Bonnett won three NASCAR Cup races between 1984 and 1986 and scored 44 top ten finishes.  He also won the 1984 Busch Clash All-Star race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL.  (Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images)

NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images

Neil Bonnett
Years on ballot: 7
Credentials: 18 career victories in the Cup Series, including two Coca-Cola 600 triumphs. Bonnett also was an adept broadcaster in his later years.

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Unknown:  While working as a crew chief for Junior Johnson’s NASCAR Cup team, Tim Brewer won the Cup title with drivers Cale Yarborough in1978 and Darrell Waltrip in 1981.  Later, Brewer worked with Morgan-McClure Racing before becoming an analyst for NASCAR on ESPN.  (Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images)

NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images

Tim Brewer
Years on ballot: 5
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 four-year stretch, bookended by two championships.

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LOUDON, NH - SEPTEMBER 15:  Jeff Burton, driver of the #31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet, looks on in the garage, during practice for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Sylvania 300 on September 15, 2006 at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire.  (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Jim McIsaac | Getty Images

Jeff Burton
Years on ballot: 6
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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Hendrick Motorsports

Randy Dorton
Years on ballot: 3
Credentials: Built engines that won nine NASCAR championships across all three national series. Dorton was also part of winning some of NASCAR's marquee races including three Daytona 500s, six Coca-Cola 600s, four Brickyard 400s, seven Southern 500s and five NASCAR All-Star Races.

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Californian Ray Elder came east to race the Daytona 500 in 1970. Driving his 1969 Dodge Daytona, Elder finished in 12th place.

NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images

Ray Elder
Years on ballot: 1
Credentials: He's a six-time ARCA Menards Series West champion.

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Bill Elliott's brother, Ernie Elliott, was a noted NASCAR Cup engine builder.

NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images

Ernie Elliott
Years on ballot: 1
Credentials: He's the 1988 NASCAR Cup Series championship-winning crew chief, including victories in two Daytona 500s and two Southern 500s.

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Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Harvick Ford, looks on after the NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 5, 2023 in Avondale, Arizona.

James Gilbert | Getty Images

Kevin Harvick
Years on ballot: 1
Credentials: The 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion, winner of the 2007 Daytona 500, and two-time NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series champion. Harvick additionally won 60 Cup Series races.

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Randy LaJoie stands next to his car.

NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images

Randy LaJoie 
Years on ballot: 2 
Credentials: 1996-97 Xfinity Series champion. LaJoie tallied 15 total Xfinity Series wins across 350 starts in the circuit. 

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Joe Robbins | Getty Images

Jack Sprague
Years on ballot: 3
Credentials: Winner of three Craftsman Truck Series championships for Hendrick Motorsports, becoming the first three-time champion in series history. Sprague captured 28 victories throughout his career.

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DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- 1961-62: Daytona car owner/builder Ray Fox (L) with his new driver David Pearson, who began driving for Fox in May '61 at Charlotte and gained his first-ever Cup win.

NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images

2027 Pioneer Ballot
Ray Fox
Years on ballot: 1
Credentials: He was the 1956 NASCAR Mechanic of the Year and 14-time NASCAR Cup Series winner as an owner, including the Southern 500.

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UNKNOWN:  Harry Hyde won 56 NASCAR Cup races as a crew chief, along with the 1970 NASCAR Cup title with driver Bobby Isaac. (Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images)

NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images

Harry Hyde
Years on ballot: 11
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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1972:  By this point in his racing career, Banjo Matthews was primarily building NASCAR Cup machines for other teams. He did enter a car in the last two races of the Cup season for Bobby Isaac to drive. (Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images)

NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images

Banjo Matthews
Years on ballot: 6
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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1971: Veteran NASCAR crew chief Herb Nab (C) in the garage area before a NASCAR race.

NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images

Herb Nab
Years on ballot: 1
Credentials: He's a two-time NASCAR Cup Series championship-winning crew chief; ranks third on the all-time crew chief wins list with 92.

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UNKNOWN Ñ 1996:  Larry Phillips of Springfield, MO won his fifth NASCAR Weekly Racing Seriels national championship to go along with titles earned in 1989, 1991, 1992 and 1995.  During his career, Phillips also scored seven NASCAR Weekly Racing Series regional championships and 13 track championships as well.  (Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images)

NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images

Larry Phillips
Years on ballot: 3
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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1950:  NASCAR starter/flagman Alvin Hawkins who, along with Bill France Sr., were co-owners of the 1950 Plymouth Johnny Mantz drove to victory in the first Southern 500 at Darlington, South Carolina that year.  (Photo by ISC Archives/CQ-Roll Call Group via Getty Images)

NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images

2027 Landmark Award
Alvin Hawkins
Years on ballot: 9
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.

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Kennedy Lesa Nhof Headshot

Special to NASCAR

Lesa France Kennedy
Years on ballot: 5
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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FILE - In this June 9, 2007 file photo, Pocono Raceway founder Dr. Joseph Mattioli walks along the garage area during a practice session for the Pocono 500 at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. NASCAR officials say that  Mattioli has died. He was at 86.(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Special to NASCAR

Dr. Joseph Mattioli
Years on ballot: 7
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.

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Les Richter poses at Riverside Speedway

Michael Zagaris | Getty Images

Les Richter
Years on ballot: 4
Credentials: Les Richter, a 2011 inductee to the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a nine-year playing career with the NFL's Los Angeles Rams, served as president of Riverside International Raceway before later serving as NASCAR's head of operations.

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T. Wayne Robertson in 1984

NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images

T. Wayne Robertson
Years on ballot: 1
Credentials: He held dual roles of senior vice president at R.J. Reynolds and president of the company's Sports Marketing Enterprises division, oversaw the creation of The Winston.

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