Carl Edwards, Ricky Rudd, Ralph Moody elected to NASCAR Hall of Fame
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carl Edwards and Ricky Rudd were elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Tuesday as the top vote-getters from the Modern Era Ballot. They will be inducted as part of the Class of 2025 along with Ralph Moody, the top choice from the Pioneer Ballot.
Dr. Dean Sicking was selected as the recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR. Sicking, who was instrumental in advancing motorsports safety through the development of the SAFER (Steel And Foam Energy Reduction) barrier, will be honored along with the other 2025 electees on Feb. 7, 2025 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Edwards had 72 NASCAR national series wins, including 28 in the Cup Series. The Columbia, Missouri, native punctuated many of those victories with his signature “backflip” celebration.
Edwards started in the NASCAR national series in 2002 driving part-time for Mike Mittler in the Craftsman Truck Series, but his first win in the Trucks came in 2003 for Jack Roush.
Edwards also began his Cup career for Roush in 2004 and broke though in his first full-time season in 2005 with four wins and a third-place finish in the standings.
In the Xfinity Series, Edwards had a run from 2005-2010 when he finished no worse than third in the standings. This era also included an Xfinity Series championship in 2007.
However, Edwards never did punch through for a Cup Series title, despite coming close. He finished second in the Cup standings twice, including in a battle with Tony Stewart in 2011 that came down to a tiebreaker.
Edwards was named to NASCAR‘s 75 Greatest Drivers in the sport‘s 75-year anniversary celebration in 2023. He becomes a Hall of Famer in his fourth year on the ballot.
Rudd was NASCAR‘s original “Iron Man” for more than a decade and held the record for consecutive starts in the Cup Series with 788 before Jeff Gordon broke it in 2015. The Chesapeake, Virginia, native‘s 906 starts in the Cup Series rank second to Richard Petty.
During his 33-year Cup Series career, Rudd posted 23 wins, 194 top fives and 29 poles. He recorded victories driving cars for owners such as Richard Childress, Bud Moore and Rick Hendrick.
The driver known for his hard-nosed style won at least one race in 16 straight seasons (1983-98) and is one of NASCAR‘s 75 Greatest Drivers. This was Rudd‘s eighth year on the ballot.
Moody was known as mechanical whiz and he paired with John Holman to create Holman-Moody, a dominant team that claimed two championships with David Pearson and also scored Daytona 500 wins with Fred Lorenzen (1965) and Mario Andrettti (1967).
This story will be updated.
