CHARLOTTE — On Friday night at the Charlotte Convention Center, the NASCAR Hall of Fame welcomed a formidable champion of the stock car racing’s premier division, one of the NASCAR Cup Series’ most successful modern-era crew chiefs and a driver who competed in NASCAR events during seven different decades as the Hall of Fame Class of 2023. Matt Kenseth, the 2003 NASCAR Cup Series champion; Kirk Shelmerdine, who guided Dale Earnhardt Sr. to four Cup titles; and Hershel McGriff, who won four Cup races in 1954 and competed in NASCAR racing in 2018 at age 90 were inducted into the Hall of Fame during a ceremony in the Crown Ballroom. Kenseth scored 25 top 10s in 36 races, ran second three times and led the Cup standings after each of the final 33 races of the season. A driver known for his tenacity, Kenseth also won the Daytona 500 twice — in 2009 and 2012 — and claimed victory 29 times in 288 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts. All told, Shelmerdine won 46 races as a Cup crew chief, two with Rudd and 44 with Earnhardt.

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