USA TODAY International Edition
Dale Jr. elected to 2021 NASCAR Hall
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be joining his late father as a first- ballot NASCAR Hall of Famer.
Earnhardt Jr. was among three drivers selected Tuesday for induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2021. He is joined by Mike Stefanik and Red Farmer.
Earnhardt and Stefanik were chosen from the Modern Era ballot while Farmer was voted in from the Pioneer ballot. In addition, Ralph Seagraves was named the recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.
Earnhardt received 76% of the Modern Era ballot votes, Stefanik received 49%. Ricky Rudd finished third, followed by Neil Bonnett. Red Farmer received 71% of the Pioneer ballot votes. Hershel McGriff finished second.
Earnhardt, who retired from fulltime racing in 2017, was voted NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver 15 times. He earned 26 wins, 149 top- five and 260 top- 10 finishes in 631 Cup Series races. He also won two Xfinity Series championships ( 1998, ’ 99) during a NASCAR career that began in 1996. Earnhardt competed in Saturday’s Xfinity race at Homestead- Miami Speedway, finishing fifth, but he hinted that the race could be his last as a driver.
“I wasn’t really nervous. I had a root canal earlier today, so maybe I was more nervous about that,” Earnhardt told NBCSN during the live announcement. “And I was also understanding the fact that I’m young, considering most of the people that are inducted into the Hall of Fame, and I had a lot of years that I could be patiently waiting to hopefully see my name called.
“But once the show started, the nerves set in, and I got really shook up. And it was extremely emotional to be nominated. ... This is such a great pat on the back for a lot of years in this sport, trying to do the right thing for yourself, for your sponsors, but most importantly, for the health of the sport. And so I’m feeling great about this experience and looking forward to what lies ahead – and the evening itself, the ceremony.”
He becomes the second Earnhardt voted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame after his father, seven- time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt Sr., was inducted in 2010 in the Hall’s first class.
Earnhardt Jr. now works as one of NBC’s lead analysts on its NASCAR Cup Series broadcasts, along with fellow nominee Jeff Burton, who missed the cut this year.
Stefanik, on the ballot since 2015, made a name for himself with immense success in the Whelen Modified tour, where he made his first start in 1985. In 453 starts on the tour, Stefanik earned 74 wins and 301 top- 10 finishes and was crowned the series champion for the first time in 1989. His other titles came in ’ 91, ’ 97, ’ 98, ’ 01, ’ 02, and his last in ’ 06.
He made NASCAR history in 1997 and ’ 98 when he won duel titles by topping both the Modified and K& N Pro Series East divisions. Stefanik died in a plane crash last year at the age of 61.
Farmer was a three- time NASCAR Late Model Sportsman champion and the 1956 Modified champion. Farmer gained fame along with Bobby and Donnie Allison as a member of the “Alabama Gang” in the 1960s.
Seagraves, the Landmark Award winner, helped form the groundbreaking partnership between NASCAR and Winston as an executive with R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.
Due to the current COVID- 19 pandemic, the NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel met virtually to debate and vote upon the nominees.