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Nate Ryan’s ballot for the 2018 NASCAR Hall of Fame class

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Nate Ryan cast a ballot Wednesday for the NASCAR Hall of Fame as NBC Sports’ digital representative.

It’s the ninth consecutive year of voting for Ryan, who is one of 57 members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame voting panel (including one online vote determined by fans).

His ballot for the ninth class (followed by his ballot for each of the preceding eight years, which included six at USA TODAY Sports):


  1. Ray Evernham: Voted the greatest crew chief of all time in a 2006 media poll, the impact of Evernham, 57, transcends his sterling statistics. He won three championships with Jeff Gordon during a virtually unbeatable stretch of 1995-98 while introducing innovations in car building, pit crews and strategies that still are used today. His legacy remains visible through the many careers he shaped as a team leader and car owner: Two of the last three championships have been won by crew chiefs (Chad Knaus and Rodney Childers) who spent time in Evernham’s tutelage.
  2. Red Byron: The first NASCAR premier series champion, capturing the Modified Division in 1948. The Anniston, Alabama, native competed from 1949-51, winning twice and starting from two poles in 15 starts. Byron was named one of NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers.
  3. Robert Yates: A championship car owner and engine builder, Yates already had an influence on several members of the Hall of Fame in his multiple roles as a NASCAR fixture. He won the Daytona 500 three times as a car owner (twice with Dale Jarrett), and his engines have 77 victories.
  4. Alan Kulwicki: The 1992 champion’s life was cut short at 38 by a plane crash the year after he won the title in a watershed season for NASCAR. A true driver-owner, the Wisconsin native also was among the first college-educated engineers to have a major impact in stock-car racing.
  5. Buddy Baker: The winner of the 1980 Daytona 500 and 1970 Southern 500 was one of NASCAR’s home run hitters, counting several major wins among his 19 career victories on the premier circuit. One of NASCAR’s greatest ambassadors Baker also became a beloved broadcaster on TV and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Ryan’s previous NASCAR Hall of Fame ballots:

2010: Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, David Pearson, Bill France Jr.

2011: Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Lee Petty

2012: Waltrip, Yarborough, Dale Inman, Raymond Parks, Curtis Turner

2013: Fireball Roberts, Turner, Fred Lorenzen, Herb Thomas, Tim Flock

2014: Roberts, Turner, Lorenzen, Flock, Joe Weatherly

2015: Lorenzen, Turner, Weatherly, O. Bruton Smith, Rick Hendrick

2016: Turner, Smith, Hendrick, Ray Evernham, Bobby Isaac

2017: Hendrick, Evernham, Benny Parsons, Parks, Red Byron