The NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2024 has been named after a voting panel debated and cast their ballots in Charlotte on Thursday.
Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champions — driver Jimmie Johnson and his crew chief Chad Knaus from Hendrick Motorsports — made it in on their first ballot. Johnson said the duo never expected so much success.
“We just wanted to go racing and from a very young age, racing was in our life," he said. "Our parents raced, our families raced, and we just wanted to be racers and sure we would. I know I'd try to dream big, but I couldn't have dreamed this big.”
Johnson and Knaus won 81 races together over 19 seasons and a record five championships in a row.
Donnie Allison joined his brother, Bobby, and nephew, Davey, in becoming an inductee on the Pioneer ballot. He credited his wife, Pat, with at least part of his success.
“I watched my brother be inducted," he said. "I watched my nephew be inducted, and I felt like maybe one day, down the road, I might get inducted. It's probably a combination of a lot of hard work, a lot of luck and a lot of patience by that lady sitting right back there with that white hair,” he said.
Janet Guthrie, the first woman to compete in a Cup Series Superspeedway race in 1976, was the Landmark Award recipient.
An induction ceremony is scheduled for Jan. 19, 2024, at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte.
