A Champion, A Cult Hero, And NASCAR’s P.T. Barnum Join Hall Of Fame

NASCAR revealed its Hall of Fame Class of 2026 on Tuesday, and as Hall of Fame classes go, this one has a little bit of everything—star power, overdue recognition, and a man who won more races than some drivers have had hot meals.

Headlining the class is 2004 Cup Series champion Kurt Busch, joined by fan favorite Harry Gant and legendary short track racer Ray Hendrick. Longtime Charlotte Motor Speedway impresario H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler received the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR—a title that somehow still undersells what he did for the sport.

Kurt Busch enters the Hall on his first ballot, a rare feat, and rightly so. He’s a Daytona 500 winner, a Cup champion, and one of the few drivers to win in a Ford, Chevy, Dodge, and Toyota. Early in his career, he was known for generating headlines—some of them unprintable—and a temper that could have started fights in an empty room. But over time, Kurt evolved into a calm, measured veteran—albeit one who could still rattle off lap times and expletives with equal ease.

His career ended not with a farewell tour but with a crash at Pocono in 2022. Despite the abrupt exit, Busch walked away with 34 Cup wins in 776 starts. These days, he’s a mentor at 23XI Racing, where he helps the next generation succeed—and likely teaches them some of his more inventive vocabulary along the way.

Then there’s Harry Gant. If NASCAR had a late bloomer’s award, he’d have won it by a country mile. Gant finally gets the Hall call after six years on the Modern Era ballot—a delay many fans found baffling. After all, he was winning races at 51, an age when most drivers have long since swapped the race suit for a rocking chair.

“Mr. September” earned the nickname by winning four consecutive Cup races (and two in what’s now the Xfinity Series) in September of 1991. He was also known as “High Groove Harry” for his commitment to the outside line—a move that’s either brave or crazy depending on the track and is carried on today by Kyle Larson. He racked up 18 Cup wins, including a pair of Southern 500s, and 21 Xfinity wins. Between 1981 and 1985, he was a fixture near the top of the standings, including a second-place finish in 1984.

On the Pioneer Ballot, the nod went to Ray Hendrick—no relation to Rick—who was racking up wins when Richard Petty was still in short pants. Known as “Mr. Modified,” Hendrick won more than 700 races between 1950 and 1988 in modifieds and late models. That’s not a typo—seven hundred. He’s one of those names that echoes through the sport’s grassroots, even if he never ran full-time in NASCAR’s top series.

And then there’s Humpy Wheeler—a man who made race promotion feel like a cross between pro wrestling and fireworks night at the county fair and who could have taught P.T. Barnum a thing or two had they shared the same era. As President and GM of Charlotte Motor Speedway for 33 years, Wheeler turned race weekends into must-see theater. There was Robosaurus, the car-eating robot that he had Dale Earnhardt Sr. use to crush six junked cars with to hype a race. And, of course, there was one press conference where Wheeler brought in a professional regurgitator to predict the winner by spitting up billiard balls.

The 2026 inductees were chosen during a closed-door voting session at the Charlotte Convention Center, where a panel of NASCAR executives, track owners, media, team members, and past champions—plus fan input from NASCAR.com—whittled down 15 nominees. EY handled the vote tabulation.

Both Busch and Gant received 61% of the Modern Era ballot. Jeff Burton finished third, followed by Harry Hyde and Randy Dorton. Hendrick led the Pioneer ballot with 31%, ahead of Bob Welborn. The NASCAR.com Fan Vote echoed the panel, favoring Hendrick, Gant, and Busch.

The 2026 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony takes place Friday, January 23, 2026, in Charlotte. Expect speeches, stories, and probably a few mentions of the time Humpy Wheeler had a guy swallow and regurgitate race predictions. Because of course he did.

ForbesNASCAR’s Hall Of Fame Class Of 2026: A Strong Ballot, Still No SmokeyBy Greg Engle