Joe Gibbs Nominated For NASCAR Hall of Fame

By ESPN

Joe Gibbs could enter his second major sports hall of fame, as the Pro Football Hall of Fame coach is among the 20 nominees for the 2018 NASCAR Hall of Fame class.

Gibbs is one of five new nominees who joined the 15 people who didn't get selected last year. The others are Bobby Labonte, Davey Allison, Red Farmer and Roger Penske. The voting panel will meet May 24, with each panelist voting for five nominees. The five with the most votes earn spots in what will be the ninth NASCAR Hall of Fame class.

The former Washington Redskins coach with three Super Bowl titles has won 140 Cup races as an owner and four NASCAR Cup titles -- two championships with Tony Stewart, one with Kyle Busch and one with Labonte.

Labonte, who competed in four Cup races in 2016 but has competed in 30 seasons in NASCAR and therefore is eligible for nomination, is 27th on the all-time wins list with 26 career victories.

Allison, who won 19 Cup races (including the 1992 Daytona 500), was a member of a group of heralded racers known as "The Alabama Gang," whose roots were laid in part by Farmer, the 1956 modified champion and three-time sportsman champion who has continued to race into his 80s at local short tracks. Allison died at age 32 in a helicopter crash at Talladega in 1993.

Team owner Penske has won one Cup title -- in 2012 with Brad Keselowski -- and his teams have won 104 Cup races.

Those returning to the ballot consist of former Cup drivers (Buddy Baker, Red Byron, Alan Kulwicki and Ricky Rudd), former drivers in other NASCAR series (Ron Hornaday Jr., Hershel McGriff, Larry Phillips and Mike Stefanik), an owner and engine builders (Jack Roush and Robert Yates), former crew chiefs and mechanics (Ray Evernham, Ray Fox, Harry Hyde and Waddell Wilson) and broadcaster Ken Squier.