On Monday, the NASCAR Hall of Fame revealed the list of nominees on the ballot for the Class of 2026. New to that list are 2004 Cup Series champion and 2017 Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch and two-time Xfinity Series champion Randy LaJoie. Former Charlotte Motor Speedway promoter H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler was added to the list of nominees for the Landmark Award for outstanding contributions to NASCAR.
The 46-year old Busch won the first championship of the playoff era in 2004. In addition to that accomplishment, Busch was a 34-time winner at NASCAR's highest level in a career that spanned from 2000 to 2022 at Pocono Raceway, where a crash during qualifying left him with a concussion and forced him to retire. Busch was consistent throughout his career, winning at least one race each of his last nine seasons. Of the eight teams he drove for in his career, Busch won for all but two of them.
The 63-year-old LaJoie, father of part-time Cup Series driver Corey LaJoie, joins Busch as one of the newest additions to the Hall of Fame nominees for 2026. In a long Xfinity Series career that lasted 350 races, LaJoie had 15 wins and won the series title in 1996 and 1997. LaJoie also won the 1985 Busch North Series (now known as the ARCA Menards Series East and West) championship. After experiencing first-hand the dangers of racing and crashes that either injured or killed several drivers when he was racing, LaJoie started a racing seat company, The Joie of Seating, to emphasize the importance of safety in racing.
The 86-year-old Wheeler was the mastermind behind some of the fan amenities that have become a staple at most tracks across the country. He was instrumental in installing lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1992, making it the first major speedway of its length to host night racing. That decision helped secure the All-Star race at the track for years to come and paved the way for other tracks to install lights. His innovation and creativity set the stage for what has become commonplace in today's NASCAR.
Who are the rest of the nominees on the NASCAR Hall of Fame 2026 ballot?
Busch and LaJoie - both of whom were named to NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023 - join eight other drivers on the Modern Era Ballot. Those other nominees include Truck and Xfinity Series champion Greg Biffle, two-time Coca-Cola 600 winner Neil Bonnett, longtime championship-winning crew chief Tim Brewer, Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500 winner Jeff Burton, championship engine builder for Hendrick Motorsports Randy Dorton, two-time Southern 500 winner Harry Gant, championship-winning crew chief Harry Hyde and three-time Truck Series champion Jack Sprague.
Along with Wheeler, the nominees for the Landmark Award include NASCAR's first flagman Alvin Hawkins, the Executive Vice Chair of NASCAR Lesa France Kennedy, Pocono Raceway founder Dr. Joseph Mattioli and Les Richter, who served as president of Riverside International Raceway and NASCAR's head of operations.
Championship-winning crew chief Jake Elder returns to the Pioneer Ballot for the first time since 2021. The Pioneer Ballot recognizes those whose careers began 60 or more years ago. Elder's mechanical expertise and old-school approach carried him throughout his successful career that included three Cup championships and 44 wins. He joins Ray Hendrick, who won more than 700 races in modified and late model sportsman series from 1950 to 1988. Also on the Pioneer Ballot are car builder and winning owner and crew chief Edwin Keith "Banjo Matthews, NASCAR''s only five-time weekly series national champion Larry Phillips and three-time NASCAR Convertible Division champion Bob Welborn.
The 2026 Class follows the 2025 induction of Carl Edwards, Ricky Rudd, Ralph Moody and Landmark Award winner Dr. Dean Sicking. Regardless of who gets their named called to the illustrious list of Hall of Famers, each have proven they belong and achieved success on multiple levels in their careers.
Fans have until May 18 at noon ET to cast their vote for the Hall of Fame. Whoever receives the most votes collectively from the fans and from each member of the voting panel, which will convene on Tuesday, May 20 for Voting Day, will be the newest inductees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.