- It’s almost a given that Jimmie Johnson and his crew chief Chad Knaus will have no trouble taking the two Modern Era spots.
- Retired driver Donnie Allison is the newest nominee into the Pioneer Era ballot.
- The 61-person Voting Panel will meet in the HOF in uptown Charlotte on Wednesday, Aug. 3 to evaluate and select the Class of 2024.
Don’t expect many surprises when the Voting Panel for NASCAR’s Hall of Fame meets early next month in Charlotte. Unless there’s a Shane Van Gisbergen-like upset, seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus, his “evil genius” crew chief for those seven championships, will be easy first-ballot choices to lead the Class of 2024.
They are the latest nominees on the Modern Era ballot that includes anyone within the NASCAR community—drivers, crewmen, officials, executives, owners—whose career began within the past 60 years. Another honoree will come from the Pioneer Era ballot, which is for anyone whose racing career began more than 60 years ago.
Retired driver Donnie Allison is the newest nominee into that latter group, which already includes A.J. Foyt, the late short-track star Sam Ard, and the late driver/team owner/car-builder Banjo Matthews and the late driver/team-owner/car-builder Ralph Moody.
It’s almost a given that Johnson and Knaus will have no trouble taking the two Modern Era spots. Johnson won 83 races, and five of his seven championships came consecutively, between 2006 and 2010. (He also won championships in 2013 and 2016, and was second in 2003 and 2005). Knaus was beside him the whole time, and together they formed the sport’s second-most formidable driver/crew chief pairing behind only Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Dale Inman.
The eight holdover nominees on the Modern Era ballot are the late drivers Larry Phillips and Neil Bonnett, late crew chief Harry Hyde, plus retired crew chief Tim Brewer and retired drivers Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Harry Gant, and Ricky Rudd.
Some have questioned why Johnson is being considered for the Class of 2023. He officially retired as a full-time NASCAR driver after the 2020 season, making him eligible for the current Modern Era ballot. But he’s run three Cup Series races this year—without distinction, it should be said—for his Legacy Motor Club team and likely will run more later this season.
Carl Edwards returns to the ballot this year.
NASCAR has held that “retired” drivers will not forfeit their Hall of Fame eligibility if they make occasional one-off appearances. (Each driver’s status is reviewed on a case-by-case basis). Dale Earnhardt Jr., for example, was part of the Class of 2023 after retiring from Cup after the 2017 season. But he’s run an Xfinity Series race during each of the past five seasons and plans to continue that limited schedule.
Others have questioned Allison’s credentials. To be sure, he has the proper name recognition: his brother, Bobby Allison, is in the Hall of Fame, as is his late nephew, Davey Allison. But compared to them, Donnie’s credentials are mediocre at best: he never ran the full schedule in 21 seasons, was never better than 16th in points, won only 10 times in 242 starts and never won more than three races in any season. To his credit, he was 1967 Rookie of the Year, then won three times at Charlotte, twice each at Talladega and Rockingham, and at Bristol, Daytona Beach, and Atlanta.
In addition to three new Hall of Famers, the Voting Panel will select a winner of NASCAR’s Landmark Award. It’s given annually to someone who has made “a significant contribution to the growth and esteem” of the sport. Long-time NASCAR executive Les Richter is on that ballot for the first time, joining holdover nominees Janet Guthrie, Alvin Hawkins, Dr. Joe Mattioli, and Lesa France Kennedy.
The 61-person Voting Panel will meet in the HOF in uptown Charlotte on Wednesday, Aug. 3 to evaluate and select the Class of 2024 and the Landmark Award winner. The only major change to the Panel is the addition of reigning Cup Series champion Joey Logano, who replaces former champions Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson.
And Finally
Finally… it should be noted that nobody has ever gone into the NASCAR Hall of Fame as a unanimous choice of the Voting Panel. Not first-timers Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt. Neither Big Bill France nor his son, Bill. Not even Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart or David Pearson.
This year? Maybe… but doubtful.
Editor’s note: Autoweek’s Al Pearce is a member of the Hall of Fame Voting Panel.
Contributing Editor
Unemployed after three years as an Army officer and Vietnam vet, Al Pearce shamelessly lied his way onto a small newspaper’s sports staff in Virginia in 1969. He inherited motorsports, a strange and unfamiliar beat which quickly became an obsession.
In 53 years – 48 ongoing with Autoweek – there have been thousands of NASCAR, NHRA, IMSA, and APBA assignments on weekend tracks and major venues like Daytona Beach, Indianapolis, LeMans, and Watkins Glen. The job – and accompanying benefits – has taken him to all 50 states and more than a dozen countries.
He’s been fortunate enough to attract interest from several publishers, thus his 13 motorsports-related books. He can change a tire on his Hyundai, but that’s about it.
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