Harvick, Burton, Phillips are newest members of NASCAR Hall of Fame

Three elite drivers are the latest additions to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Two of those drivers – Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton – made their respective marks in NASCAR’s top division, the NASCAR Cup Series, before continuing their contributions to the sport as television analysts.

The third driver, Larry Phillips, was a formidable presence on American short tracks and the only five-time national champion of NASCAR’s Weekly Racing Series.

In addition, the Hall of Fame Voting Panel that met Tuesday at the Charlotte Convention Center chose Lesa France Kennedy of the sport’s founding family as the 2027 recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.

On the ballot for the first time since his retirement from Cup Series racing in 2023, Harvick received 92 percent of the Modern Era vote from the panel, which chose the three members of the Class of 2027 from 10 Modern Era nominees and five Pioneer nominees.

In a NASCAR Cup Series career that spanned 24 years, Harvick won 60 times, 11th all-time. His high-water mark arguably came in his 2014 debut year with Stewart-Haas Racing, when he won five times and secured the series title with back-to-back mic-drop victories at Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix Raceway.

That was the first season of NASCAR’s elimination Playoff format, and Harvick certainly exemplified the motto “survive and advance” in his championship campaign.

In 2001, Harvick was pressed into service as the full-time driver of the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet after the death of seven-time series champion Dale Earnhardt in the Daytona 500.

Showing the grit and tenacity necessary to take on that emotionally charged role, Harvick won in his third Cup start for RCR, beating Jeff Gordon to the finish line by 0.006s – a matter of inches – at Atlanta's EchoPark Speedway.

In his watershed debut season in the Cup Series, Harvick also won the first of his two championships in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. He claimed his second title in 2006, again while running a full Cup Series schedule.

Harvick finished his career with 47 O’Reilly Series victories, third all-time behind Kyle Busch (102) and Mark Martin (49).

In 2007, Harvick replicated the drama of his first Cup win in NASCAR’s most prestigious race, the DAYTONA 500. Charging around the track in the outside lane after an overtime restart, Harvick beat Mark Martin to the stripe by 0.020s, as RCR teammate Clint Bowyer’s car slid across the finish line on its roof, sparks flying from sheet metal grating on asphalt.

Harvick’s career marked a steady climb from humble origins in his native Bakersfield, California, to the pinnacle of the sport.

“When you start this journey as a kid to go to start racing go-karts and go to your local short track… I was fortunate to be able to go through all the NASCAR ranks,” Harvick said after learning of his election to the Hall of Fame. “I went through weekly racing series, regional tours, Winston West, all the way up through the trucks (NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series), O’Reilly Series and Cup.”

“So, to be able to do that and take that whole journey and have the success that we did, is something that—I was pretty lucky, to be honest with you, to be able to experience that journey and be able to make my living driving a race car, something that we used to do as a hobby.”

“To be able to have that all lead to the Hall of Fame and everything that we are fortunate enough to experience today and get voted in is something that’s pretty special.”

Burton’s 21-year career as a full-time Cup driver included 21 victories, 134 top-fives and 254 top 10s in 695 starts. Three of his wins came in Crown Jewel races, the 1999 Coca-Cola 600, the 1999 Southern 500 and the 2001 Coca-Cola 600.

Burton won four races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the last time in remarkable fashion—leading all 300 laps from the second starting position.

The 1994 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year, Burton also won 27 times in the O’Reilly Series, 10th-most all-time.

His contributions, however, extended far beyond the driver’s seat. Burton has long been known as the “Mayor of the Garage” for his outspoken support of safety issues and other concerns of his fellow competitors.

Burton continued that advocacy as director of the Drivers Advisory Council from 2022 through 2025 and remains in an advisory capacity today.

In his role as an analyst in the NBC Sports booth, Burton brings an insightful perspective to televised races.

In highly competitive voting, Burton was named on 32 percent of Modern Era ballots, earning the Hall of Fame election over Neil Bonnett, Randy Dorton and Greg Biffle, who finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

Burton said he was on the golf course when he got the call that he had been elected to the Hall of Fame.

A Springfield, Mo., native who passed away in 2004, Phillips, named on 38 percent of Pioneer ballots, won more races in more places on both dirt and asphalt than anyone could possibly track.

However, the indisputable statistic that separates him from other weekly racers is the number of NASCAR Weekly Racing Series championships he won – five, in 1989, 1991, 1992, 1995 and 1996.

In 2001, Phillips was inducted into the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame. He was also named one of the 25 Greatest Whelen All-American Series Drivers of All-Time in 2006 and tabbed as one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2013.

“His accomplishments are incredible,” said NASCAR Vice Chairman Mike Helton. “I can’t even begin to imagine all the drivers that aspired to race with him and then wanted to be like him. That’s what NASCAR’s all about. It’s somebody that helps other drivers with their own successes and somebody who accomplishes extraordinary things, like Larry did.

“It’s the connection to our core industry that I think Larry is a tremendous representative of. There’s a lot of Hall of Fame members that are beneficiaries of Larry’s help early on in their careers.

Kennedy, Executive Vice Chair of NASCAR, has been a driving force in the expansion and modernization of NASCAR facilities. She took the lead in the revitalization of Phoenix Raceway and spearheaded the Daytona Rising project that transformed Daytona International Speedway into a showplace unique in the racing world.

Kennedy also was at the forefront in the development of Kansas Speedway, the centerpiece of NASCAR’s expansion into the Midwest.

“I’m so proud of Lesa being recognized by our industry, because she has done so many things behind the scenes that we all benefit from today,” said Helton, himself a Landmark Award winner. “And she’s not done yet.”

Harvick, Burton, Phillips and Kennedy will be honored during Class of 2027 induction ceremonies on Jan. 22 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Charlotte Convention Center.