MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Jan. 21, 2022) — On Friday night, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will enter the NASCAR Hall of Fame in the company of two drivers who, for different reasons, represent the history of the sport in a different way than past inductees. In and of itself, that fact is reason enough to give Earnhardt Jr. pause and admire the company he’s in.
Red Farmer, a member of the “Alabama Gang” that included the Allison brothers, Bobby and Donnie, Bobby’s son Davey and Neil Bonnett, is one of them, and the other is Mike Stefanik, a nine-time series champion in the NASCAR Modified and Busch Grand National North Series.
Farmer and Stefanik represent the sport’s history, and Earnhardt Jr. is well-known for his appreciation of his legacy. Coming from a family which gave the sport multiple championships—his father Dale won seven NASCAR Cup Series titles, grandfather Ralph added the 1956 NASCAR Sportsman championship and six top-10 finishes in the division point standings, and Earnhardt Jr. added a pair of NASCAR Xfinity Series titles as well as two Daytona 500 victories and 15 Most Popular Driver awards—that interest was almost built in.
To go into the Hall of Fame with a racing legend who still competes on a part-time basis in Late Models at the age of 89 and a driver who epitomized the work-all-night-to-race-all-day ethic of the rough-and-ready NASCAR Modified division is, in a word, perfect.
Stefanik, who was killed in a plane crash in 2019, was one of the greats in NASCAR’s oldest division, winning seven championships. The only other driver to win more, Richie Evans with eight, was the first Modified driver to make it to NASCAR’s hall in 2012. Jerry Cook, enshrined in 2016, won six titles.
Known as a fierce competitor, the Rhode Island-born driver was smooth and tactical in the way he raced. That’s not to say he wasn’t up to the cut-and-thrust racing that was part and parcel of the division in its heyday. He also won five races at Martinsville Speedway, in what came to be known as the Daytona 500 of modified competition. He won his first in 1989 and his last in 2009, which drew the attention of Martinsville track president Clay Campbell.
“I would say if Mike was here, and you asked him when he got started in Modifieds, did he ever have the ambition or the desire or even the inkling that he would ultimately go in the Hall of Fame, and I’m sure he would have said no, and I’m sure he would’ve said, ‘You know, I love doing Modified racing and that’s where I want to stay.'” Campbell said recently.
“Although I know he did dabble in Busch Grand National at the time, things like that, it speaks volumes for all the guys all across this country that are running weekly tracks every Friday night, Saturday night, that it’s doable. You can do it. Look at Mike Stefanik, and to go in the Hall of Fame with the guys he’s going in with, I think that’s great.”
In terms of history, Farmer is a man who has seen NASCAR from very near its beginnings to the present day. The 89-year-old made his first NASCAR Cup Series start in 1953 and is still a regular at Talladega Short Track, the tiny dirt oval across the street off Turn 4 at Talladega Superspeedway.
In his career, Farmer made 36 Cup Series starts over 13 seasons, with a pair of fourth-place finishes his best result. He raced twice in the NXS and also made 33 starts in the ARCA Menards Series. Farmer also raced five times in the Prelude to the Dream event at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway at the behest of good friend Tony Stewart.
When the Allison brothers began racing in Florida prior to taking NASCAR by storm, Hialeah native Farmer went with them to form the fledgling Alabama Gang. That would grow to include Bonnett and Bobby’s sons Davey and Clifford.
In short, Farmer’s career spans that of Earnhardt Jr.’s grandfather and father as well as his own. During that time, Farmer won the NASCAR Modified championship in 1956 and added three straight NASCAR’s Late Model Sportsman titles from 1969-71. The best count of Farmer’s race victories is somewhere in the neighborhood of 700-plus.
In 1998, NASCAR’s 50th Anniversary season, Farmer’s name was on the list of its 50 Greatest Drivers.
From Rhode Island to Florida—with a stop in North Carolina, NASCAR’s 2021 Hall of Fame Class represents the gamut in terms of eras, championships and success.
It’s all about the history, and that’s something everyone can appreciate during this induction weekend.