(Photo credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- From blue collar to blue jacket.

That's a turn of phrase coined by Kurt Busch, but it could apply equally to the three newest inductees to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Drivers Busch, Harry Gant and the late Ray Hendrick, all of whom emerged from relative obscurity to reach the pinnacle of their profession, entered the Hall as the Class of 2026 during the Friday night induction ceremonies at the Charlotte Convention Center.

Busch and Gant were elected via the Modern Era Ballot by the NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel. Hendrick was chosen from five Pioneer Ballot nominees.

Also honored on Friday were legendary promoter H.A. 'Humpy' Wheeler with the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR and veteran reporter Deb Williams with the Squier-Hall Award for Media Excellence.

'From blue collar to blue jacket' -- the blazer awarded to each inductee into the Hall of Fame -- was Busch's description at a pre-induction party of his meteoric journey from a hobby racer who worked on his father's cars in his native Las Vegas to a championship in the NASCAR Cup Series, stock car racing's foremost division.

After winning the Southwest Tour championship in 1999, Busch graduated to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series through team owner Jack Roush's 'Gong Show' audition for prospective drivers.

In 2000, his only full season in trucks, Busch won four times, claimed Rookie of the Year honors and finished second in the series standings behind teammate Greg Biffle. By midseason, Roush already had earmarked him for a full-time Cup Series ride.

Busch struggled during his first season and finished 27th in the standings, but a year later he rocketed to third in the final rankings after winning at Bristol, Martinsville, Atlanta and Homestead-Miami.

Two years later, Busch won the first Cup championship contested under the 10-race Chase format, despite a freak occurrence in the decisive season finale at Homestead, when his right front tire broke loose from his No. 97 Ford as the car approached pit road.

Busch rallied to finish fifth and wrapped the title by eight points over NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson.

Busch, 47, went on win 34 Cup Series events, tied with Martin Truex Jr. for 26th all-time. His resume includes a victory in the 2017 Daytona 500 and a rare sweep of the NASCAR All-Star Race and Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2010.

The final inductee of the evening, Busch received his Hall of Fame ring from brother Kyle Busch. With 97 victories between them, Kurt and Kyle boast more Cup victories than any other pair of brothers in NASCAR history.

'To be here with the alumni of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, NASCAR executives, the voting panel, team owners, sponsors, my family and friends, and the thousands of fans who are watching tonight, this is something I never could have imagined,' Kurt Busch said.

Like Busch, Gant got his start racing hobby cars, in his case on the old dirt track at Hickory Motor Speedway.

Unlike Busch, Gant got a late start in NASCAR's premier division, running his first Cup race for owner Junie Donlavey in 1973 at age 33. It wasn't until 1979 that Gant decided to sell his construction business and commit to NASCAR racing full-time.

Gant holds two 'age' records in NASCAR's top division. He is the oldest driver ever to win a Cup race, a feat he accomplished at age 52 years, 219 days on Aug. 16, 1992, at Michigan. Gant also is the oldest driver to win his first Cup race. He was 42 years, 105 days old when he took his first checkered flag on April 25, 1982, at Martinsville.

Gant is most famous, however, for the streak that earned him the nickname 'Mr. September.' Driving the No. 33 Skoal Bandit, which carried him to all 18 of his Cup victories, Gant won consecutive races at Darlington, Richmond, Dover and Martinsville in September 1991.

In addition to his success in NASCAR's premier division, Gant also won 21 events in what is now the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series.

For his accomplishments, Gant was named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023.

'Thank you to NASCAR, and the France family, for giving us a Hall of Fame like this and giving us a place to make a living,' Gant said after receiving his Hall of Fame ring from Kyle Petty.

'And thank you to the fans. I owe this to them. I hear from a lot of fans that they voted for me for the Hall of Fame. I thought I'd get in eventually, but I'm proud of everybody that voted for me.'

A prolific racer and prolific winner, Ray Hendrick was a driver who would compete 'anywhere and everywhere' -- everywhere, that is, where there was prize money at stake.

In a career that spanned nearly 40 years, Hendrick won 44.4% of his starts and finished in the top-five in four of every five races he entered. At the conclusion of his career in the late 1980s, Hendrick had more than 700 wins to his credit in modified and late model sportsman divisions, having earned the moniker 'Mr. Modified.'

Winner of 20 races at Martinsville alone -- including a sweep of a modified and late model sportsman event on the same day -- the Richmond, Va., native, named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers, succumbed to cancer in 1990 at age 61.

Though Ray Hendrick and NASCAR Hall of Fame car owner Rick Hendrick are not related by blood, Rick Hendrick was inspired as a teenager in the 1960s while watching Ray Hendrick's 'Flying 11' modified car dominate races in Virginia.

'On behalf of the Hendrick family, we are proud to be here tonight to honor our father, 'Mr. Modified' Ray Hendrick,' said Ronnie Hendrick, Ray Hendrick's son, after receiving the Hall of Fame ring from the inductee's grandsons, Chuck Hendrick and Ray Hendrick III.

'I'm not so sure Ray realized just how many fans he had throughout the years. If our dad was here tonight, he would be so honored and thankful to be recognized among so many other great drivers.'

Wheeler, who passed away last year at age 86, was NASCAR's first great impresario, a reputation he earned during his 33-year tenure as president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Wheeler's bold, innovative and often outlandish stunts highlighted the races he promoted, notably the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend, which often featured armed forces maneuvers rife with explosions in the Charlotte infield.

Williams, a pioneering journalist in a field that had been dominated by men, is the 14th winner of the Squier-Hall Award, named for broadcasters Ken Squier and Barney Hall.

Williams began her career at United Press International (UPI) as one of the first female NASCAR reporters and spent 18 years with Winston Cup Scene -- 10 of those as editor of the definitive racing magazine.

During the ceremony, NASCAR Hall of Fame executive director Winston Kelley also recognized 1960 NASCAR Cup champion Rex White and veteran driver Greg Biffle, who died in 2025.

Biffle, who was killed in a private plane crash along with his wife and two children, was the recipient of the NMPA Myers Brothers Award and the inaugural North Carolina Motorsports Association's philanthropy award.

--By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media.