Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2021 Announced

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is joining his late father as a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, along with Mike Stefanik and Red Farmer in the Class of 2021. 

Farmer was inducted from the Pioneer Ballot, while Earnhardt Jr. and Stefanik were inducted from the Modern Era ballot. Ralph Seagraves was given the 2021 Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.

"It was great to see my face pop up on that screen," Earnhardt Jr. said of learning the news Tuesday, per NBCSN's broadcast. "... I got really shook up, and it was extremely emotional to get nominated."

He continued:

"Not a lot of people are like this, but I really work off affirmation—I succeed off affirmation—and there's no better compliment or affirmation than from your peers and the people that you work with and work around.

"This is such a great pat on the back for a lot of hard work and a lot of years in the sport, trying to do the right thing for the yourself, your sponsors but most importantly for the health of the sport. I'm feeling great about this experience and looking forward to what lies ahead, the evening itself and the ceremony. It'll be a great experience and I’ll be excited." 

Earnhardt Jr. had 26 total wins and two Xfinity Series titles in his career. He won the Daytona 500 twice (2004, 2014) and was voted the most popular Series driver an incredible 15 times. He and his father are now the sixth father-son duo in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. 

He earned 76 percent of the vote.

Stefanik was a seven-time Whelen Modified Tour champion and a two-time Busch North Series champion. He was the 1999 Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year and was voted the most popular driver seven times between the Featherlite Modified Series and Busch North Series.

He died in a plane crash in 2019.

Farmer was a part of the famous Alabama Gang, a group of NASCAR drivers who operated out of Hueytown, Alabama, in the 1950s. He won four championships in four different divisions and was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers in 1998.

Incredibly, even at the age of 87, Farmer is still racing. 

Seagraves most famously brought tobacco manufacturer RJ Reynolds into the fold as NASCAR's title sponsor. Between 1971-2003, the sport's premier division was named the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.