NMPA Announces 2016 Hall of Fame Class: Inductees, Comments and Reaction

Legendary NASCAR owners Joe Gibbs and Rick Hendrick are slated to join famed IndyCar driver Al Unser as the 2016 National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame inductees, according to NASCAR.com. 

Gibbs, Hendrick and Unser will be enshrined on Jan. 16 in Concord, North Carolina, and will comprise the 96th, 97th and 98th members to be inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame. 

According to NASCAR.com, 88 percent of NMPA members submitted votes for Hendrick, while Gibbs and Unser received 76 and 66 percent of votes, respectively. 

The lone driver among the trio, Unser solidified his place as a motorsport great by stacking up hardware. Over the course of his illustrious career, he tallied four Indianapolis 500 wins and three IndyCar championships. 

Hendrick, meanwhile, established his dominance as one of the sport's premier team owners. A staple of NASCAR for decades, Hendrick was at the forefront of 14 driver championships.    

"The NMPA has done so much to give back to the NASCAR community and highlight people’s contributions through programs like The Myers Brothers Award and Driver of the Year," Hendrick said, per NASCAR.com "It takes a lot of commitment and sacrifice to do what our media members do every week. To be recognized by that group of people is very humbling."

Gibbs—who is widely renowned as the three-time Super Bowl-winning head coach of the Washington Redskins—will enter the hallowed halls of Darlington Raceway's NMPA Hall of Fame as a four-time Sprint Cup champion and two-time NHRA champion from the owner's chair. 

Most recently, Gibbs oversaw Kyle Busch's 2015 Sprint Cup title. And considering the 75-year-old finished the 2015 NASCAR season with three drivers—Busch, Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin—ranked in the top 10, the soon-to-be Hall of Famer should have no trouble adding more trophies to his mantle in the years to come.