NASCAR has announced three new members to its Hall of Fame for 2023, as well as a Landmark Award for this 13th class. New inductees are Matt Kenseth, Kirk Shelmerdine and Hershel McGriff. The NASCAR Hall of Fame named former NASCAR president Mike Helton the recipient of its Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.
Finally being able to vote in person after not having that opportunity since 2019, the Voting Panel met on May 4th in closed session at the Charlotte Convention Center. They debated and voted on the 15 nominees for this 13th induction class, together with the five Landmark Award nominees.
It was the Nominating Committee that selected the ten Modern Era nominees for voting, as well as selecting the five Landmark Award nominees. The Pioneer ballot, which had five nominees whose NASCAR careers began in 1963 or before, were selected by the Honors Committee. Starting with the 2021 Hall of Fame class, each has featured two inductees from the Modern Era and one from the Pioneer.
Kenseth earned 69 percent of the Modern Era ballot votes, while Shelmerdine received 52 percent. Harry Hyde finished third, followed by Neil Bonnett and Harry Gant. Hershel McGriff received 31 percent of the Pioneer ballot votes, while A.J. Foyt finished second. In the NASCAR.com fan vote, Foyt was the Pioneer choice, while Kenseth and Gant got the modern era nods.
Kenseth raced in NASCAR’s Cup Series for 18 full-time seasons, earning two Daytona 500 wins, the Southern 500, Coca-Cola 600 and the All-Star Race, among his 39 Cup Series victories. The Wisconsin native is tied for 21st on the all-time list; he’s earned wins at 19 of NASCARs 23 Cup Series tracks where he competed more than once. Kenseth’s 2003 Cup Series championship was a dominating one: he led the points standings for the final 32 weeks of the season. While only winning a single championship, Kenseth made the Playoffs in 13 of 14 seasons, finishing runner-up twice.
Shelmerdine earned his NASCAR Hall of Fame entry as a stellar crew chief in the Cup Series. In 1983, at the tender age of 25, he helped Ricky Rudd achieve victory on the Riverside International Raceway road course, the first of two wins that year. Three years later, he helped Dale Earnhardt to the 1986 Cup Series championship, eventually earning four Cup Series titles with Earnhardt, in 1986, 1987, 1990 and 1991. Shelmerdine’s 16-year crew chief career included stints with Earnhardt, Rudd, James Hylton and Richard Childress, 46 race wins and top-10 results in more than half of his starts. He retired in 1992 to try his hand at driving, making 41 starts across all three NASCAR national touring series.
McGriff ran his final NASCAR race in the Pro Series West at Tucson Speedway, in 2018 at the age of 90, after starting the 1950 Southern 500 – the Cup Series’ sophomore season – when he was just 22 years old. The Oregon native has started 85 races in parts of 28 NASCAR Cup Series seasons, earning four victories – all of them in 1954, when he finished sixth in points. Widely known for his work in the ARCA Menards Series West, McGriff competed for 35 seasons and won 37 races, placing him third on the all-time West Series victory list. In 1986, McGriff won the series title, part of a string of 10 consecutive seasons with finishes in the top 10. McGriff was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.
There were 10 nominees for the Modern Era: Neil Bonnett, Tim Brewer, Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Harry Gant, Harry Hyde, Kenseth, Larry Phillips, Ricky Rudd and Shelmerdine. Pioneer Ballot nominees were Sam Ard, A.J. Foyt, Banjo Matthews, McGriff and Ralph Moody. Landmark Award nominees were Janet Guthrie, Alvin Hawkins, Helton, Lesa France Kennedy and Dr. Joseph Mattioli.
The Class of 2023 Induction Ceremony is set to take place on Friday, January 20, 2023 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Tickets for this ceremony will be available in late May on NASCARHall.com.
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