Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus headline 2024 NASCAR Hall of Fame nominees
The 2024 NASCAR Hall of Fame nominees have been announced, and it will leave voters to decide whether to vote for virtually one "team" or split their vote.
Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and his seven-time Cup champion crew chief Chad Knaus are the two new nominees on the Modern Era ballot. Voters (of which I am one) select two of the 10 nominees from the Modern Era ballot and one from the five nominees on the Pioneer Ballot.
The voting panel will meet and vote in three weeks, Aug. 2, to determine who is inducted in January.
All eight Modern Era nominees who weren’t selected for the 2023 class are on the ballot. Legendary crew chief Harry Hyde and famed drivers Neil Bonnett and Harry Gant were third through fifth in last year’s voting. Popular drivers Carl Edwards, Ricky Rudd and Jeff Burton are back as nominees, as are former crew chief and television analyst Tim Brewer and short-track star Larry Phillips.
Johnson is a no-brainer, considering he’s tied with inaugural Hall of Fame inductees Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt with seven Cup titles. His 83 Cup victories rank him tied for sixth overall behind Hall of Famers Petty, David Pearson, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Allisson and Darrell Waltrip.
A driver is eligible in his third year of retirement to be put on the ballot. Johnson retired from full-time Cup racing after the 2020 season but has competed in a couple of races this year as part of a driver and co-owner role at Legacy Motor Club. The nominating committee determined he would remain eligible despite his running select races, a decision that is relatively consistent with others it has made when determining the eligibility of drivers such as Jeff Gordon.
Anyone other than drivers is eligible after 10 years of service in the sport. Knaus is on the ballot for the first time.
There also is no doubt that Knaus will be inducted into the Hall of Fame, the only question is whether voters will put Johnson and Knaus in together as part of the same class.
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A look at Jimmie Johnson's top-5 moments of his NASCAR Cup Series career.
The argument to put them in together is that their careers elevate them into the discussion of best driver and best crew chief in the last 30 years and in the argument for the best all-time. Plus their careers are so intertwined — neither had much success after Knaus and Johnson were split after the 2018 season — that it would be appropriate to put them in together.
The argument to split them up is that it would make the Modern Era class coming from one team, Hendrick Motorsports, and shuts out everyone else who already has been on the ballot.
Donnie Allison is the new nominee on the Pioneer Era ballot (for those whose career started at least 60 years ago or have been on the Modern Era ballot for 10 years without getting in), joining Sam Ard, A.J. Foyt, Banjo Matthews and Ralph Moody.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass, and sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass.
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