Kurt Busch, Harry Gant and Ray Hendrick were voted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Tuesday with longtime event promoter Humpy Wheeler inducted via the Landmark Award.
Their induction ceremony is scheduled for January 23, 2026 at the Hall’s location in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina.
Busch is the 2004 Cup Series champion who won at least a single race in 19 of his 21 seasons at the highest levels. The 46-year-old won 34 races overall before his career was cut short due to a concussion suffered in a crash at Pocono in 2023.
He broke into national touring in 2000 in the Truck Series and quickly advanced into the Cup Series for Jack Roush the next season. He famously got flipped off by Dale Earnhardt Sr. in the Daytona 500 in 2001. Busch finished top-10 in the Cup Series championship 10 times for the likes of Roush, Team Penske and Stewart-Haas Racing.
His final season came with 23XI Racing.
Gant was an everyman who won 18 times at the highest level, including the prestigious Southern 500 at Darlington in 1984 and 1991. In five seasons from 1981 to 1985, he finished top-five in the standings four times and was runner-up in the championship to Terry Labonte in 1984.
He also won 21 times in the second-tier Busch Grand National Division, now called the Xfinity Series. He raced competitively in the Cup Series into his 50s and holds the record for oldest winner at 52 and oldest pole earner at 54. He was known as ‘The Bandit’ due to a longtime sponsorship alliance with Skoal.
Hendrick was a short track legend, who is believed to have won 700 times across Late Model Sportsman and Modified competition from 1950-to-1988. A vast majority of that success came in Virginia where his ‘Flying 11’ number was well-known and continues to be run by fans to this day.
Hendrick won five track championships at legendary South Boston Speedway.
But he was also a traveling national touring star who also made appearances at the bug tracks with wins at Talladega, Charlotte and Dover.
Wheeler is the most famous event promoter in NASCAR. He served 33 years as the president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway and spearheaded its development into a world class facility. His tenure produced big crowds thanks to innovations like the first big track night race and no shortage of pre-race stunts and entertainment.
