What do the names, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Sr, and Richard Petty have in common? Well, none of these legends have been inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame with a unanimous selection. While all of them did have the majority of the votes, it was never that everyone voted for them. Now with Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus up for the ballot for the 2024 HoF induction, there’s a very high chance that the tradition of not having a unanimous selection continuing.
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Mind you, Johnson has had seven NASCAR Cup Series championships along with Knaus as his crew chief. But just as always, there’ll always be someone who might think otherwise of their achievements.
Has NASCAR ever had a Unanimous HoF selection?
Want the short answer? It’s a big no. There has never been an instance where everyone could mutually agree upon one single person to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Humorously not even the very founder of NASCAR, Bill France Sr, nor his son.
In fact, if we take a look at people across sports being inducted into the Hall of Fame, there was only one occasion back in 2019, when the Yankee reliever, Mariano Rivera, was unanimously voted by each of the 425 Hall of Fame casted ballots by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Meanwhile, back in NASCAR, it is hard to even fathom that there were a few people in the 55-person members panel, that looked at someone like Dale Earnhardt Sr or Richard Petty and thought, ‘Nope! They don’t deserve it.’
Can Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus get the HoF Induction?
Well if NASCAR has never been able to decide on one person unanimously since the start of the Hall of Fame back in 2010, it’s hard to believe that they would do it this time. But considering the number of achievements the pair of Johnson and Knaus have together in the sport, it wouldn’t be hard to guess that they would be getting a huge chunk of the votes.
The Hendrick Motorsports duo throughout this career in the Cup Series have amassed seven championships in the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, and 2016 seasons.
Furthermore, throughout the duration of 19 seasons, Knaus raked up 81 race wins and 42 poles while being paired with Johnson. Plus looking at the popularity of these two over the others on the ballot, the chances to get inducted lean heavily towards the HMS duo above anyone else.
