Dale Earnhardt Jr., a two-time Daytona 500 winner and two-time champion in what is now the Xfinity Series, Mike Stefanik, who has nine NASCAR championships and 74 wins in the Modified Series, and Red Farmer were announced as the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2021 on Tuesday.
Voting was conducted virtually last week due to the coronavirus pandemic and the induction ceremony will be held in 2021.
Farmer was elected from the Pioneer Ballot, with Earnhardt and Stefanik chosen from the Modern Era Ballott. Farmer was an original member of the Alabama Gang, which included fellow Hall of Famer Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, Davey Allison and Neil Bonnett.
R.J. Reynolds executive Ralph Seagraves, who helped spearhead Winston’s decision to sponsor NASCAR’s premier series beginning in 1971, won the Landmark Award for outstanding contributions to the sport.
Earnhardt received 76% of the Modern Era ballot votes, Stefanik received 49%. Ricky Rudd finished third, followed by Bonnett. Red Farmer received 71% of the Pioneer ballot votes. Hershel McGriff finished second.
Earnhardt won 26 times in the Cup Series, including 10 wins at Daytona and Talladega. An analyst on NBC’s NASCAR coverage, he’s also an owner of JR Motorsports, which has three Xfinity Series championships.
Farmer, who made just 36 Cup Series starts, won the Modified title in 1956 and won three straight Late Model Sportsman titles from 1969 to ’71.
Stefanik won seven Modified Tour titles and two NASCAR East Series titles. Stefanik holds the all-time series record in championships, wins, poles, top fives and top 10s. Stefanik won two championships consecutively in the NASCAR East Series, in 1997-98. Stefanik was the Truck Series’ top rookie in 1999.
