NASCAR Hall of Fame Class 2019: Gordon, Roush, Penske, Allison, Kulwicki

Jeff Gordon, Jack Roush, Roger Penske, Davey Allison and Alan Kulwicki are the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class 2019 inductees. They are selected by a Voting Panel and introduced by NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. They will be officially ushered into the Hall of Fame on February 1, 2019.

Every one of them left the significant trail in NASCAR’s history – Jeff Gordon is a four-time Cup Series champion and winner od 93 Cup Series racesJack Roush is a team owner and brilliant inovator‘The Captain’ Roger Penske still leads one of the world’s famous teamsDavey Allison was a winner of 19 Cup races and one of the brightest stars in the sport before he succumbed to injuries suffered in a helicopter crash at Talladega in 1993Alan Kulwicki was the last driver to win Cup Series title as a privateer before losing a life in a plane crash in 1993.

Both a son (Davey Allison, left) and a father (Bobby Allison, right) are in the NASCAR Hall of Fame

Davey Allison (1961-1993) joined his father, Bobby Allison, as a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Davey and Bobby Allison, the only father/son combination to finish 1-2 in the Daytona 500, are the second father/son duo to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, joining Ned and Dale Jarrett.

“It’s was a great feeling of happiness, of weakness and everything. I just had to bend over and get a hold of myself. It was really good news,” Bobby Allison said of the moment when France announced his son’s name.

Another late inductee is Alan Kulwicki (1954-1993). In 1992, he rallied from a 278-point deficit to win the Winston Cup Series title, edging Bill Elliott by 10 points — then the closest margin in Cup history. He did that in a thrilling season finale at Atlanta in which also Davey Allison also had a shot at the championship. Kulwicki has a special place in NASCAR’s history as an inventor of the ‘Polish victory lap’.

Alan Kulwicki – the 1992 Winston Cup champion whose trademark was a Polish victory lap

Jeff Gordon entered the Hall of Fame with 93 Cup Series wins on his account, third all-time behind Richard Petty (200) and David Pearson (105). He drove the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for 797 consecutive races from his debut in 1992 to retirement at the end of the 2015 season, winning four titles, three Daytona 500s, four straight Southern 500s and a record five Brickyard 400s.

He follows his long-time crew chief Ray Evernham and team owner Rick Hendrick into the Hall.

Jack Roush (right) with Mark Martin

Jack Roush spent a career in drag racing and sports cars before switching to NASCAR in 1988. As a team owner, Roush supported the careers of some of the greatest driver, such as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards or Greg Biffle. He won Cup championships in 2003 with Kenseth and 2004 with Busch.

Roger Penske is known for his racing business all over the world. In NASCAR, he reached the peak in 2012 by winning the Cup title with Brad Keselowski. In addition to the 2012 Cup championship, Team Penske has won the 2010 NASCAR Xfinity Series title and four of the last five Xfinity Series owners championships.