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Busch, Gant, Hendrick inducted into 2026 NASCAR Hall of Fame
Kurt Busch. Stephanie Amador / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

Kurt Busch, Harry Gant, Ray Hendrick inducted into 2026 NASCAR Hall of Fame

On Tuesday, the three newest members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame were officially announced. 

Kurt Busch, Harry Gant and Ray Hendrick are the three individuals who will make up the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2026, the 17th Hall of Fame class in NASCAR history. 

Over the course of a 23-year NASCAR career, Busch won 34 NASCAR Cup Series races, including the 2017 Daytona 500, along with five NASCAR Xfinity Series races and four NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races. In 2004, he won the NASCAR Cup Series championship in the first year of the 'Chase for the Nextel Cup' format. 

Busch's career was ultimately cut short in 2022 by a concussion suffered at Pocono, but his list of accomplishments already read like that of a Hall of Fame worthy driver. 

Unlike Busch, Gant's path to the Cup Series started when Gant was in his 30s. Even for his era, Gant was a late bloomer in terms of success. His first Cup Series win at Martinsville in 1982 didn't come until he was 42. What followed, however, was an 11-year stretch where Gant won 18 races and finished top-10 in the points standings seven times. In 1991, Gant earned the nickname "Mr. September" after he won four consecutive races at 51. 

Ray Hendrick (no relation to Rick Hendrick of Hendrick Motorsports) is perhaps the best modified racer of all-time. Hendrick won over 700 races and won more races (20) at Martinsville Speedway than any other driver. In his famed "Flying 11," Hendrick became a staple of racing in the southeast, and his inclusion in the Hall of Fame is a credit to how much modified racing means to the greater NASCAR world. 

Busch, Gant and Hendrick will be officially enshrined in the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Jan. 23. 

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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