Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, and Larry Phillips achieved a lot in the course of their legendary racing careers. All three will be enshrined for eternity in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, as they were elected to the Class of 2027 in a ceremony at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Tuesday afternoon in uptown Charlotte, NC.
Additionally, Lesa France Kennedy, the Executive Vice Chair of NASCAR, was named the recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.
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Harvick, the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion, without a doubt is the headliner of the Class.
When seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt passed away in a tragic last-lap crash of the 2001 Daytona 500, it was Harvick that was thrust unexpectedly into the spotlight. Richard Childress named the young, relatively unknown West Coast racer as the man that he trusted to keep the race team that built a dynasty with Earnhardt behind the wheel, rolling.
Childress re-numbered the No. 3 Chevrolet to No. 29, and Harvick entered the next weekend’s event at Rockingham Speedway with a white GM Goodwrench Service Plus Chevrolet. Three races into his tenure as a RCR Cup Series driver, Harvick provided relief from the grief of losing a legend in the form of a stirring photo-finish win over Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt’s biggest rival, in the Cracker Barrel 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Harvick would remain with Richard Childress Racing, as the driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet for 13 full-time campaigns, where he remained in the hunt for a championship several times. Unfortunately, he always seemed to lack just a little bit of what he needed to topple Jimmie Johnson, everyone back then did.
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However, in 2014, Harvick moved to Stewart-Haas Racing, and was paired with Crew Chief Rodney Childers on the No. 4 team. Instantly, the pairing was electric. In their first season together, Harvick won five races, including a win in the season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which secured the driver his lone NASCAR Cup Series title.
In 2023, after 10 seasons with Stewart-Haas Racing, Harvick retired from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition. He ended his career with 826 starts, 60 wins, 251 top-five finishes, 444 top-10s, and a championship. Additionally, Harvick captured two championships and 47 race wins in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and 14 victories in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Harvick was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2027 with 92% of the Modern Era Ballot votes, meaning he was just four votes shy of becoming a unanimous first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Jeff Burton, who took home 32% of the Modern Era vote to join Harvick in the Class of 2027, was a 21-time race winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, and a 27-time NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race-winning driver.
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Burton, who hailed from South Boston, VA, spearheaded the need for driver safety following the deaths of Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin Jr., Tony Roper, and Dale Earnhardt between the 2000 and 2001 seasons. Due to this, Burton became known around the garage area as “The Mayor”.
The racer started off humbly in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 car for Stavola Brothers Racing in 1994 and 1995. Despite his best points finish between the two seasons being just 24th, Burton showed enough to capture the attention of NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner Jack Roush, who hired him to drive the No. 99 Ford for Roush Racing in 1996.
Burton would finish 13th in the championship standings in his first season with Roush’s team, a year later, he would capture his first career win in the Interstate Batteries 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, the first-ever Cup Series race at that track, and Burton would finish the season out with three victories.
In eight-and-a-half seasons with Roush’s team, Burton amassed 17 victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, and finished third in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings, a career-best, in 2000.
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Midway through the 2004 season, Burton, who was suffering from sponsorship troubles, left Roush Racing, and joined Richard Childress Racing as the driver of the No. 31 Chevrolet. Burton would drive for RCR until the 2013 season, and would add four more victories to his career totals during that time.
In 2014, Burton would compete in four NASCAR Cup Series events, two with Michael Waltrip Racing’s No. 66 team, and two more filling in for Tony Stewart in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.
Burton concluded his NASCAR Cup Series career with 695 starts, 21 wins, 134 top-five finishes, and 254 top-10s.
Larry Phillips never got much of a chance in the NASCAR Cup Series, as he made just one start in NASCAR’s top division. But that didn’t stop the Missouri native from etching a legacy for himself on local short tracks across the country.
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Phillips was one of the toughest drivers to beat in the history of NASCAR’s Weekly Racing Series, evidenced by the fact that Phillips was a five-time NASCAR Weekly Racing Series National Champion. Additionally, Phillips collected seven NASCAR Weekly Series Regional championships, and he was a 13-time track champion throughout his illustrious career.
Phillips, who passed away in 2004 at the age of 62, was named to the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame in 2001. The legendary driver was also named one of the 25 greatest drivers in the history of the Whelen All-American Series in 2006, and was on NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers list in 2023.
The driver received 38% of the Pioneer Ballot votes, which secured him his spot in the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2027.
Lesa France Kennedy earned the Landmark Award through her work in revitalizing several NASCAR race tracks over the years, including Daytona International Speedway, where she spearheaded the “Daytona Rising” project, which modernized that facility. Kennedy also led the way in the revitalization project at Phoenix Raceway a few years ago.
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Over a career that has spanned more than 30 years, Kennedy has been honored by Forbes, Adweek, Sports Business Journal, the National Women’s History Museum, and she is enshrined in the Cynopsis Sports Hall of Fame.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/onsi/racing-america as Kevin Harvick Among Three Named to NASCAR Hall Of Fame Class Of 2027.
