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Kyle Busch and his brother Kurt Busch will be inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame together as part of its 2027 class, the NMPA announced Friday.
Former NASCAR president Mike Helton and four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears complete the four-person class, which was chosen by a vote of the NMPA’s members. The induction ceremony is January 23, 2027, in Concord, North Carolina.
Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch died in May at age 41. He won Cup Series championships in 2015 and 2019 and 234 races across NASCAR’s three national series, the all-time record: 63 in Cup, 102 in what is now the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and 69 in the Truck Series. His O’Reilly and Truck win totals are both series records.
He won the 2009 O’Reilly Series title, won races in 19 straight seasons and is the only driver to win in all three national series on the same weekend, which he did twice at Bristol, in 2010 and 2017.
Kurt Busch
Kurt Busch, 48, won the 2004 Cup Series championship, the first under the original Chase format, and 34 Cup races, including the 2017 Daytona 500. He was named Indianapolis 500 rookie of the year in 2014 after finishing sixth and is one of six drivers to run the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame earlier this year as part of its 2026 class.
Mike Helton and Rick Mears
Helton, 73, started in racing in public relations at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1980 and joined NASCAR’s executive ranks in 1985. He was NASCAR’s president from 1999 to 2015, a period that included new tracks in California, the Midwest and South Florida, the sport’s first billion-dollar TV deals and major safety changes. He is now vice chairman.
Mears, 74, won the Indianapolis 500 in 1979, 1984, 1988 and 1991, a record four wins he shares with A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Helio Castroneves. He won six Indy 500 poles and three CART championships.
The NMPA said it is “proud to announce and celebrate these four accomplished honorees.”
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