Two drivers – both from Modern Era Ballot – and one team owner – from the Pioneer Ballot – were elected Tuesday to become the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s class of inductees in 2025.
Modern Era Ballot
Ricky Rudd: The Virginia native held the Cup record for consecutive starts (788) before Jeff Gordon broke it in 2015. His 906 series starts rank second only to seven-time champion Richard Petty (1,185). During his 32-year Cup career, Rudd earned 23 wins, 194 top-five and 374 top-10 finishes and won 29 poles. He provided Richard Childress Racing’s first win in 1983 and he won six races with his own team, including the 1997 Brickyard 400. Rudd finished a career-best second in the series standings in 1991 and won at least one race in 16 consecutive seasons (tied for third-longest in series history).
Carl Edwards: Edwards started off as a substitute teacher but eventually joined Roush Fenway Racing to compete in the Truck series, which kicked off a career that would include 29 Cup wins, 38 Xfinity wins, including the 2007 championship, and six Truck victories. Over this 13-year Cup career, Edwards took victories in the Coca Cola 600 and Southern 500. In finished second in the series standings twice, including the closest finish in NASCAR history when he lost the 2011 title to Tony Stewart in a tiebreaker. Edwads retired from full-time Cup competition following the 2016 season.
Pioneer Ballot
Ralph Moody: Moody won five NASCAR Cup races between 1956-57 but is biggest contribution to NASCAR came when he paired with John Holman to form Holman-Moody Racing in 1957. The organization competed in NASCAR until 1973 and won consecutive Cup titles with David Pearson (1968-69) and captured the 1967 Daytona 500 with driver Mario Andretti. Overall, Holman-Moody earned 96 wins and 83 poles in 525 series starts.
The 2025 Hall of Fame class will be formally inducted in January 2025. This was the fourth class determined under the redesigned format for Hall inductions.
There were 10 nominees on the Modern Era ballot and five on the Pioneer ballot – designed to honor those whose careers began more than 60 years ago. Two Modern Era candidates and one Pioneer candidate now compose each Hall class.
Landmark Award
Dr. Dean Sicking: He is best known as a co-inventor of the SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barrier, an advancement that has saved countless lives of drivers over the last 20 years.
Note: Motorsport.com NASCAR Editor Jim Utter is a member of the Hall of Fame Voting Panel. He voted for Ricky Rudd and Harry Gant on the Modern Era ballot; Banjo Matthews on the Pioneer ballot; and Dr. Dean Sicking for the Landmark Award.
