Legends Robert Yates, Red Byron, Ray Evernham, Ken Squier and Ron Hornaday will be enshrined in NASCAR's Hall of Fame.
A nearly 60-member voting panel, which includes members of the media, track operators, NASCAR executives and current Hall of Famers elected the five-member class. For the second time in voting history there was a tie for fifth place.
Hornaday owned the fifth and final spot in the 2018 class after a tiebreaking vote with the late Alan Kulwicki, who won the 1992 Cup Series championship.
The next top vote-getters were the late Buddy Baker and Davey Allison.
Yates (94 percent of vote) will lead the ninth group to be enshrined into the Hall of Fame. The engine builder and longtime team owner, who is battling liver cancer, was credited with 57 career wins. His percentage is the highest since David Pearson was named on 94 percent of ballots in 2011.
Byron (74 percent) was NASCAR's first Cup Series champion in 1949 and was NASCAR's first Modified champion in 1948. The trailblazer was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998. Wounded in World War II, Byron drove with a special brace attached to the clutch pedal, to assist an injured leg – making his accomplishments even more impressive.
Evernham (52 percent) was a dominant crew chief in the 1990s, leading Jeff Gordon to capture three Cup Series championships. He later owned his own NASCAR team, Evernham Motorsports from 2001–2010. His drivers won 13 times, including NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott’s triumph in the 2002 Brickyard 400.
Ken Squier (40 percent) was instrumental as the lead broadcaster for multiple networks, most notably calling the 1979 Daytona 500, which launched NASCAR onto the national scene. Squier co-founded the Motor Racing Network (MRN) in 1970.
Hornaday (38 percent) the first inductee who made his mark in the Truck Series. A four-time champion, Hornaday leads the all-time Truck wins list with 51 career victories.
Jim France was selected to receive the 2018 Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR. France is the chairman of International Speedway Corporation and NASCAR's vice chairman of the board of directors and executive vice president.
