Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus headline NASCAR class of 2024 Hall of Fame inductees
NASCAR announced its Hall of Fame class of 2024 on Wednesday, headlined by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson.
Chad Knaus and Donnie Allison rounded out the group of three Hall of Fame inductees. Janet Guthrie earned the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.
Members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame voting panel met on Wednesday to finalize the inductees from a list of 15 drivers and five drivers for the landmark award. The class of 2024 was determined through votes cast between the voting panel, recognized industry leaders, a nationwide fan vote and the NASCAR Cup Series champion, Joey Logano.
Johnson received 93% of the Modern Era ballot votes while Knaus received 81%. Allison had 53% of the Pioneer Ballot votes.
"It is an incredible honor to be voted into the @NASCARHall with the Class of 2024. What makes this moment even more special is being inducted with @chadknaus," Johnson wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "We re-wrote the record books together, so it’s only fitting we are inducted together. Congratulations also to Donnie Allison for joining the Hall of Fame and Janet Guthrie on the Landmark Award. Joining the elite company of so many who have contributed to our sport is truly overwhelming and I am forever grateful."
Knaus and Johnson were paired together in 2002 on a fourth Hendrick team and are considered one of the most productive pairings in NASCAR history. The two won 81 races over 19 seasons.
Knaus has 82 race wins, trailing only Dale Inman and Leonard Wood for all-time wins by a crew chief. He is currently Vice President of Competition for Hendrick Motorsports.
For Johnson, his Hall of Fame induction adds to a career where he tied with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most NASCAR Cup Series championships (7) and held the record for consecutive titles (5). He also has 83 wins across 20 different race tracks with multiple wins in every NASCAR crown jewel event. He is currently the co-owner of NASCAR team Legacy Motor Club.
Allison has been an ambassador for the sport for more than 50 years and was part of NASCAR's "Alabama Gang," a trio that included himself, Bobbie Allison and Charles Farmer. He famously threw hands with Cale Yarborough at the 1979 Daytona 500, a fight that is seen as one of the defining moments in the sport's history. The fight happened on the first nationally televised NASCAR race and created publicity instrumental to NASCAR's growth.
Earning the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR, Guthrie became the first woman to compete in a NASCAR race after a 15th place finish at the 1976 World 600. She piloted cars at the Daytona and Indianapolis 500 the next year to become the first female to participate in both ends.
The class of 2024 will be inducted at a ceremony in Charlotte, N.C. on Jan. 19, 2024.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NASCAR Hall of Fame 2024 inductees: Jimmie Johnson headlines class
