Kevin Harvick was elected in his first year of eligibility and is joined by fellow former drivers Jeff Burton and Larry Phillips in the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2027, the organization announced Tuesday.
Harvick and Burton were chosen from a list of 10 candidates from the Modern Era and Phillips from five nominees in the Pioneer Era in voting Tuesday at the Charlotte Convention Center.
Lesa France Kennedy also was announced as the recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.
The Class of 2027 will be inducted on Jan. 22 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte.
Harvick, 50, retired from full-time driving after the 2023 season and is 11th all-time with 60 Cup Series victories in a 23-year career. He won the Cup Series championship in 2014 and what is now called the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2001 and 2006.
After replacing the legendary Dale Earnhardt following the seven-time champion’s death in a wreck at the Daytona 500 in 2001, Harvick quickly found success with team owner Richard Childress. He won his third race and went on to be selected the 2001 NASCAR Rookie of the Year.
Four times he won at least five races in a season — with a career-high nine in 2020. Harvick, called “The Closer,” now is an analyst for Fox Sports’ NASCAR coverage.
Burton, like Harvick, was named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023. Burton has 21 Cup Series wins and 27 O’Reilly Series wins to his credit. “The Mayor” of NASCAR won a career-high six races in 1999. The 58-year-old was elected in his sixth year on the ballot.
He is a broadcaster for NBC Sports and an adviser for NASCAR’s drivers’ council.
Phillips was once estimated to have won 1,000 or perhaps 2,000 races by his crew chief James Ince, according to NASCAR. The number is unclear because Phillips raced on many different surfaces in many different places and results were not confirmed. Phillips died in September 2004 at age 62.
NASCAR said Phillips was the first of two drivers who captured five NASCAR Weekly Series titles, and that from 1989 through 1996, he won 220 of 289 NASCAR-sanctioned starts.
Kennedy is the Executive Vice Chair of NASCAR with more than 30 years with International Speedway Corporation. Regarded as one of the most influential women in all of sports, Kennedy held executive leadership roles ranging from secretary to treasurer to executive vice president and CEO.
Kennedy was inducted into the Cynopsis Sports Business Hall of Fame in 2016.
The voting panel included representatives from NASCAR, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, track owners, media members, competitors (drivers, owners, crew chiefs), a nationwide fan vote and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson. A total of 50 votes were cast.
Harvick received 92% of the Modern Era ballot votes and Burton received 32%. Neil Bonnett came in third, followed by Randy Dorton and Greg Biffle. Larry Phillips received 38% of the Pioneer ballot votes.
Results for the NASCAR.com fan vote were Harry Hyde (Pioneer), Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick (Modern Era).
