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Johnson, Knaus, Allison Voted Into Hall’s 14th Class
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 2, 2023) – NASCAR announced today the inductees who will comprise the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2024. The three-person group – the 14th since the inception of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010 – consists of Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus and Donnie Allison. In addition, Janet Guthrie was named the recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.
Members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel met today in an in-person closed session at the Charlotte Convention Center to debate and vote upon the 15 nominees for the induction class of 2024 and the five nominees for the Landmark Award.
Ten nominees appeared on the Modern Era ballot, which was selected by the traditional Nominating Committee. The same committee selected the five Landmark Award nominees. The Pioneer ballot, which included five nominees whose careers began in 1964 or earlier, was selected by the Honors Committee. Beginning with the Class of 2021, each Hall of Fame class features two inductees from the Modern Era ballot and one from the Pioneer ballot.
The Class of 2024 was determined by votes cast by the Voting Panel, including representatives from NASCAR, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, track owners from major facilities and historic short tracks, media members, manufacturer representatives, competitors (drivers, owners, crew chiefs), recognized industry leaders, a nationwide fan vote conducted through NASCAR.com and the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion (Joey Logano). In all, 57 votes were cast, with two additional Voting Panel members recused from voting as potential nominees for induction (Jeff Burton and Ricky Rudd). The accounting firm of EY presided over the tabulation of the votes.
Johnson received 93% of the Modern Era ballot votes; Knaus received 81%. Harry Gant finished third, followed by Ricky Rudd and Carl Edwards. Donnie Allison received 53% of the Pioneer ballot votes. Banjo Matthews finished second.
Results for the NASCAR.com Fan Vote were: Donnie Allison (Pioneer); Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus (Modern Era).
The two Modern Era inductees came from a group of 10 nominees that included: Neil Bonnett, Tim Brewer, Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Harry Gant, Harry Hyde, Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus, Larry Phillips and Ricky Rudd.
Nominees for the Pioneer Ballot included: Donnie Allison, Sam Ard, A.J. Foyt, Banjo Matthews and Ralph Moody.
Nominees for the Landmark Award included Janet Guthrie, Alvin Hawkins, Lesa France Kennedy, Dr. Joseph Mattioli and Les Richter.
The Class of 2024 Induction Ceremony is set for Friday, Jan. 19, 2024 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Tickets for the Induction Ceremony will be on sale at 10 a.m. ET on NASCARHall.com.
Class of 2024 Inductees:
Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Johnson’s seven career NASCAR Cup Series championships famously tie him with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for most in series history; his five consecutive titles are a NASCAR record. Johnson’s on-track accomplishments behind the wheel of a stock car put him on the short list in the “Greatest of All Time” discussion. He has 83 wins at 20 different race tracks, including multiple wins in every NASCAR crown jewel event: two Daytona 500s (2006, ’13), four Brickyard 400s (2006, ’08-09, ’12), four Coca-Cola 600s (2003-05, ’14), two Southern 500’s (2004, ’12) and four All-Star Race wins (2003, ’06, ’12-13). Currently the co-owner of NASCAR team LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, Johnson was named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023.
Chad Knaus
Leading his father to multiple track championships as a teenager, Chad Knaus was destined to be a successful crew chief at stock car racing’s highest level. His NASCAR start came at Hendrick Motorsports as an assistant in the body shop, learning under Hall of Famer Ray Evernham as part of the “Rainbow Warriors.” His breakthrough came in 2002 when he was paired with rookie driver Jimmie Johnson on a fourth Hendrick team – the start of one of the most productive partnerships in sports history. The pair combined for seven NASCAR Cup Series championships, including a NASCAR-record five in a row. They won 81 races over 19 seasons, including the 2013 Daytona 500, two Southern 500s, four Coca-Cola 600s and four Brickyard 400s. Knaus won his 82nd – and final – race with William Byron in 2020. He trails only Dale Inman and Leonard Wood for all-time wins by a crew chief. Knaus currently serves as Vice President of Competition for Hendrick Motorsports.
Donnie Allison
A member of NASCAR’s famed “Alabama Gang” and an ambassador for the sport for more than 50 years, Donnie Allison had never planned to be a race car driver. But like his brother (and NASCAR Hall of Famer) Bobby, Donnie got his start racing modifieds and worked his way to the top level of stock car racing. After winning the 1967 Cup Series Rookie of the Year, Allison partnered with famed mechanic Banjo Matthews where he experienced his most success. In 1970, Allison won three races for Matthews, including the Coca-Cola 600. But Allison might be best-known for his role in NASCAR’s most famous moment – his 1979 Daytona 500 fight with Cale Yarborough. An intense battle for the win ended with both drivers wrecked, scuffling in the infield. It all happened on the first nationally-televised NASCAR race and made headlines across America. The publicity was instrumental to the growth of NASCAR and remains one of the defining moments in the sport’s history.
Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR:
Janet Guthrie
Janet Guthrie moved on from a successful career as an aerospace engineer in the early 1960s, trading equations for a wheel to become a full-time racer in 1972. A true pioneer in motorsports, Guthrie became the first woman to compete in a NASCAR premier series superspeedway race when she drove to a 15th-place finish in the 1976 World 600. The next year, she piloted cars in the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500, becoming the first female to participate in both events. Guthrie steered her car to a sixth-place finish at Bristol in 1977, one of five career top-10 finishes. Overall, the University of Michigan graduate made 33 premier series starts. Guthrie was a member of the first class inducted into the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame. Her helmet and firesuit are on display at the Smithsonian Institution.
About NASCAR
Celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2023, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR sanctions races in three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series™), four international series (NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race, NASCAR Mexico Series, NASCAR Pinty’s Series (Canada), NASCAR Whelen Euro Series), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and a local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races annually in 12 countries and more than 30 U.S. states. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).
About the NASCAR Hall of Fame
Conveniently located in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, the 150,000-square-foot NASCAR Hall of Fame is an interactive entertainment attraction honoring the history and heritage of NASCAR. The high-tech venue, designed to educate and entertain race fans and non-fans alike, opened May 11, 2010, and includes artifacts, hands-on exhibits, a 278-person state-of-the-art theater, Hall of Honor, Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, NASCAR Hall of Fame Gear Shop and NASCAR Productions-operated broadcast studio. The venue is open 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. seven days a week and has an attached parking garage on Brevard Street. The five-acre site also includes a privately developed 19-story office tower and 102,000-square-foot expansion to the Charlotte Convention Center, highlighted by a 40,000-square-foot ballroom. The NASCAR Hall of Fame is owned by the City of Charlotte, licensed by NASCAR and operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. Learn more at nascarhall.com.
