DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Dale Earnhardt Jr., Red Farmer and Mike Stefanik have been selected as the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2021.
In addition, Ralph Seagraves was named as the recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.
As a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel met virtually to debate and vote upon the 15 nominees for the induction class of 2021 and the five nominees for the Landmark Award. The group also became the first to vote on two different Hall of Fame ballots.
Ten nominees appeared on the Modern Era ballot, which was selected by the traditional Nominating Committee. The same committee selected the five Landmark Award nominees. The Pioneer ballot, which included five nominees whose careers began in 1961 or earlier, was selected by a new Honors Committee. Beginning with the Class of 2021, each Hall of Fame class will feature two inductees from the Modern Era ballot and one from the Pioneer ballot.
Earnhardt received 76 percent of the Modern Era ballot votes, Stefanik received 49 percent. Ricky Rudd finished third, followed by Neil Bonnett. Red Farmer received 71 percent of the Pioneer ballot votes. Hershel McGriff finished second.
Each class is selected by the Voting Panel, which expanded to 65 members this year. They include representatives from NASCAR, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, track owners from major facilities and historic short tracks, media members, manufacturer representatives, competitors (drivers, owners, crew chiefs), recognized industry leaders, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion (Kyle Busch) and a nationwide fan vote conducted through NASCAR.com. Seven new voters from the Honors Committee – Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Ron Hornaday Jr., Dale Jarrett, Roger Penske, Darrell Waltrip and Rusty Wallace – participated for the first time.
In all, 63 votes were cast. The accounting firm of EY presided over the tabulation of the votes.
Results for the NASCAR.com Fan Vote were Neil Bonnett, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Red Farmer.
In addition to Earnhardt and Stefanik, the other Modern Era ballot nominees included Neil Bonnett, Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Harry Gant, Harry Hyde, Larry Phillips, Ricky Rudd and Kirk Shelmerdine. The other Pioneer ballot nominees were Jake Elder, Banjo Matthews, Hershel McGriff and Ralph Moody.
Nominees for the Landmark Award included Janet Guthrie, Alvin Hawkins, Mike Helton and Dr. Joe Mattiolli.