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NASCAR announces 2021 Hall of Fame class and Landmark Award winner

Date: June 17, 2020

By: Jorie Mickens

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Jessica Milligan

On Tuesday, NASCAR announced its three inductees for the Hall of Fame Class of 2021, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mike Stefanik and Red Farmer, and the recipient of the Landmark Award, Ralph Seagraves.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel met virtually and voted on ten nominees from the “Modern Era” ballot, and five nominees from the “Pioneer” ballot, which was comprised of drivers whose racing careers began before 1962.

Earnhardt Jr. was the leading vote-getter on the Modern Era ballot, followed by Stefanik, with Ricky Rudd and Neil Bonnett finishing third and fourth, respectively. Earnhardt Jr., who is perhaps the most popular driver in NASCAR’s history, had one of the most storied and successful careers in the sports’ history.

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John David Mercer/USA TODAY Sports

In 2000, Earnhardt Jr. was the runner-up to Matt Kenseth for the NASCAR Rookie of the Year, but Earnhardt Jr. broke his father’s record for fewest starts by a driver to earn their first victory in NASCAR’s Modern Era (12 starts).

The following year, Earnhardt Jr. lost his father due to a final-lap collision during the 2001 Daytona 500. Earnhardt Jr. was visibly and rightfully out of sorts during his first race following the tragic incident, but Earnhardt Jr. returned to Daytona just five months later and won the 2001 Pepsi 400. Earnhardt Jr. is also the current co-owner of JR Motorsports, a NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series team. JR Motorsports won their first national championship in 2014 when Chase Elliott drove the No. 9 car to the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship that year.

Earnhardt Jr. had 26 career wins in the Cup Series, was a two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion (1998, 1999), and one of 11 drivers in NASCAR history to win the Daytona 500 multiple times.

Stefanik, the other Modern Era Hall of Fame selection, is also one of the most decorated drivers in NASCAR’s history.

Stefanik’s nine total championships are tied with Richie Evans for the second-most in the sports’ history. Stefanik won seven championships in NASCAR’s Whelen Modified Tour and consecutive championships in the NASCAR East Series (1997, 1998). Stefanik was also successful in the NASCAR Gander Outdoor & RV Truck Series for one season, where he won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1999. Stefanik was named one of NASCAR’s Whelen Modified Tour’s 10 Greatest Drivers in 2003.

No one knows exactly how many wins Farmer has, but many believe it is north of 700. Farmer’s first NASCAR Cup Series race was in 1953 at Daytona Beach, and he raced 36 times in that series over 13 years.

Farmer won three consecutive championships in NASCAR’s Late Model Sportsman division from 1969-1971 and won the Modified title in 1956. Farmer is a member of five Halls of Fame already and was named one of the 50 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR history in 1998.

Seagraves is this year’s winner of NASCAR’s Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions.

In 1971, Seagraves played a vital role in getting NASCAR’s premier series a major corporate backing, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. After the 1970 Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act prohibited television and radio advertisements of cigarettes, Seagraves had the bright idea of the company sponsoring the entire league.

NASCAR’s partnership with Seagraves helped the sport become what it is today, and Seagraves helped refurbish many of NASCAR’s facilities over the course of three decades. Earnhardt Jr. and Farmer were also winners of the Fan Vote on NASCAR.com, but Neil Bonnett edged out Stefanik. The induction ceremony for this year’s class is scheduled for the winter of 2021.

Jorie Mickens is an Assistant Sports Director for WSOU Sports and can be reached at jorie.mickens@student.shu.edu.

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