Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s NASCAR Hall of Fame induction will have to wait a year

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (The Charlotte Observer) - The NASCAR Hall of Fame announced Thursday it has postponed its Class of 2021 induction ceremony due to the pandemic. The annual ceremony and banquet was scheduled to take place this February, but will instead be held in early 2022.

“While there were many scenarios we evaluated and the ultimate decision to postpone was heartbreaking, we are quite resolute that this was without question the right decision given all the circumstances and unknowns we’re facing,” said NASCAR Hall of Fame executive director Winston Kelley.

The Class of 2021 includes Dale Earnhardt Jr., Red Farmer and Mike Stefanik, as well as Landmark Award recipient Ralph Seagraves.

Farmer recently spent five days in the hospital after contracting COVID-19 and said he was glad he made it through battling the virus to be able to attend the ceremony, but Farmer will have to wait a little longer for a full celebration.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame in uptown Charlotte reopened to the public last month at a limited capacity. The induction ceremony is traditionally a large gathering of former inductees, their guests, industry executives and members of the media.

“Without question, the safety of our inductees, our guests and our staff is the highest priority for us,” Kelley said. “The ongoing public health crisis prohibits our ability to plan for and celebrate these honorees' landmark achievements as originally scheduled to the fullest extent – with their families, friends and fans present – and in a manner that’s representative of their incredible accomplishments in NASCAR and their contributions to the sport.”

The dates for the ceremony and induction week events will be announced next summer.