Harvick, Burton, Phillips Elected to NASCAR Hall; Kennedy Named Landmark

The NASCAR Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2027 inductees and named Lesa France Kennedy the recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR. The Hall of Fame Voting Panel met Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. ET at the Charlotte Convention Center and the results were presented by NASCAR CEO Steve O'Donnell at 4 p.m. ET in the Hall of Fame's Great Hall. The announcement formalized the newest class and underscored the Hall's dual role in honoring on-track achievement and longer-term organizational contributions. Cumulative fan voting, which opened April 14 and closed Sunday, counted as a single ballot toward both the Class of 2027 selections and the Landmark Award.

Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Larry Phillips were elected to the Hall of Fame by the voting panel. Harvick headlined the Modern Era ballot in his first year of eligibility, is the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion, and has 60 Cup victories in 826 starts, ranking 11th all time; he earned the 2001 Rookie of the Year after replacing the late Dale Earnhardt at Richard Childress Racing and won the 2007 Daytona 500. Burton won 21 Cup races in 695 starts, was the 1994 Rookie of the Year, won the Coca-Cola 600 twice and the Southern 500, and compiled six wins in the 1999 season. Phillips was elected via the Pioneer ballot, and his crew chief has estimated his career wins between 1,000 and 2,000, though exact totals are uncertain. The three elected individuals comprise the Hall's 17th class and bring the total number of Hall of Fame inductees to 73; the formal induction ceremony is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2027.

Lesa France Kennedy was named the Landmark Award winner in recognition of work that included revitalization projects at Phoenix Raceway and the Daytona Rising redevelopment. Voting for the Landmark Award took place alongside the Class of 2027 balloting, with Landmark nominees including Alvin Hawkins, Dr. Joseph Mattioli, Les Richter and T. Wayne Robertson, who was recently added to the list. The voting panel elected two inductees from a slate of 10 Modern Era nominees and one inductee from five Pioneer nominees, and the new honorees will be formally honored at the induction ceremony next year.