Every spring, the NASCAR Hall of Fame announces a new list of nominees. It’s meant to celebrate drivers, crew members, and mechanics who have made the sport we all know and love today. This year’s ballot featured some familiar names. Kurt Busch, who won the Cup Series in 2004, along with two-time Xfinity champion Randy LaJoie, made the cut. The likes of Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton were included as well.
However, two names were missing, and both have shaped NASCAR in a big way. Larry Phillips and Smokey Yunick deserve to be included in the Hall of Fame, and their inclusion raised a big question. Can the sanctioning body keep omitting these legends?
Larry Phillips was a short-track king
He might not have made his career in the Cup Series, but that doesn’t mean Larry Phillips wasn’t one of NASCAR’s very best. He made one start at the sport’s highest level, finishing 13th at the 1976 Los Angeles Times 500 while driving the No. 55 Jerry Lankford Ford. However, he truly built his name was the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series, where he won five national championships between 1989 and 1996, the joint-most in the series.
During that timeframe, he won a staggering 76% of his races, a feat that highlights his dominance on the racetrack. Phillips wasn’t just a driver, but also a car builder, engine tuner, and mentor. His influence was such that Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace gave him credit for playing a mentorship role. He was also included in NASCAR’s list of the 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023 because of his tremendous impact on the sport. But, despite the accolade, he hasn’t been inducted into the Hall of Fame yet.
Larry Phillips has come close on several occasions, though. He was listed as a Hall of Fame nominee in 2015, 2020, and 2025, indicating that an induction may be on the cards in the foreseeable future. The Missouri native is already a part of the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame and was named one of the 25 Greatest Whelen All-American Series Drivers of All-Time in 2006.
Kurt Busch and Randy LaJoie headline NASCAR’s 2026 Hall of Fame ballot, but the continued absence of outlaw genius Smokey Yunick remains the biggest snub…https://t.co/gSX85ZDTbE#NASCAR @ForbesSports pic.twitter.com/UJBAWSCGht
— CupScene.com (@cupscene) April 21, 2025
His love for racing was insatiable, and even after being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2000, Phillips continued living in the fast lane until 2001. Ultimately, he opted to retire rather than see himself struggle on the racetrack, an indication of the standards he set for himself. He leaves behind a legacy that will be remembered for years to come, but it’s about time NASCAR honors his contributions to the sport by including him in the Hall of Fame.
Smokey Yunick changed NASCAR forever
Smokey Yunick was one of the most famous figures in early NASCAR history. He wasn’t just a brilliant mechanic, but a shrewd team owner and an innovator who always seemed ahead of the curve. He built cars for the likes of Fireball Roberts, Herb Thomas, and Marvin Panch, winning races and helping shape the stock car racing series back in its infancy days. It’s wasn’t just his skill that stood out, but also his bold style.
He once built a racecar that passed inspection even though Yunick used an extra-long fuel line that worked as a second gas tank. When NASCAR confronted him and said that the vehicle had too many violations, he simply pulled the fuel tank out, started the engine, and drove off to the garage. He built race-winning Chevys and played a crucial role in pushing NASCAR into the modern era.. Even though Smokey Yunick qualified for the Pioneer Ballot a long time ago, somehow, his name has been missing from the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
That doesn’t mean others don’t appreciate his talent. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2000. He’s also a member of over 30 Halls of Fame across the United States and globally, and has been awarded NASCAR Mechanic of the Year. Marvin Panch once said that Yunick “was about as good as there ever was on engines,” and it’s about time the sports’ hierarchy saw it as well.
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