Three NASCAR legends who are now Hall of Famers.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame unveiled their 2026 class this afternoon, with former NASCAR champion Kurt Busch and Harry Gant being selected from the Modern Era and Ray Hendrick receiving the nod from the Pioneer class.
Busch is the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion and won 34 races in the sport’s top series during his 24 year career. The Las Vegas native got his start in the Cup Series driving for Roush Racing back in 2000, and won four races during his second full-time season. But as much as he was known for his talent behind the wheel, he also had a reputation for his fiery temper and altercations both on and off the track.
Back in 2003, the rivalry between Busch and Jimmy Spencer ended with Spencer punching Busch in the face after a race. And in 2011, Busch left Team Penske after several heated exchanges with the media that left many speculating that the team chose to part ways with their driver.
At the time, Busch acknowledged that he had anger issues and was working with a sports psychologist, but in 2012 he was suspended from the NASCAR Cup Series after an outburst at reporter Bob Pockrass while already on probation.
In 2013, Busch and Tony Stewart had an altercation in the garage area after a race at Richmond, but the next year Busch signed to drive for Stewart-Haas Motorsports, where he would remain for the next five seasons and win his first race in over 3 years. But his tenure at SHR wasn’t exactly without controversy either, with Busch getting into an altercation with Kevin Harvick on pit road after a race at Talladega in 2016.
But by the time he left SHR for Chip Ganassi Racing and eventually 23XI Racing, Busch had seemingly gone from being viewed as a villain in the Cup Series to a fan favorite veteran. He was able to win his final race at Kansas in 2022, securing his spot in the playoffs, but just a few weeks later he would suffer what turned out to be a career-ending concussion which forced Busch to step into an advisor role for 23XI.
Fans have long been upset that Kurt Busch was never given a proper retirement tour to end his career, but now he’s going to be recognized in an even bigger way as a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Along with Busch, the 2026 Hall of Fame class will also include Harry Gant, an 18-time Cup Series winner who holds the record for the oldest driver to ever win a Cup Series race with his win at Michigan in 1992. Gant competed in the Cup Series for 24 years, with most of his wins coming while driving the iconic green and white Skoal #33 car.
And rounding out the class is NASCAR pioneer Ray Hendrick (who is no relation to current Cup Series owner Rick Hendrick).
Hendrick was known as “Mr. Modified” and collected more than 700 wins between 1950 and 1988 in the NASCAR Late Model Sportsman Series, which would later become the Busch (and now Xfinity) Series. He was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers, despite running only 17 races in the Cup Series during his historic career.
The induction ceremony for the 2026 Hall of Fame class will take place on January 23, 2026.
