Ready, set, go! NASCAR has just dropped the names of its class of 2025 Hall of Fame picks, including two from the Modern Era Ballot, Rick Rudd and Carl Edwards, and 1 from the Pioneer Ballot, Ralph Moody. This comes just four short months after 7-time cup series champion Jimmie Johnson and his Crew Chief Chad Knaus accepted their nominations into the 2024 Hall of Fame class. But how did NASCAR come to choose their picks for 2025?
It all started when the sport decided to shake things up beyond the norm, electing 10 nominees from the Modern Era Class of Drivers and 6 from the Pioneer Era. The idea was to honor the drivers who made the sport the icon it is today.
Did you know that these nominees started their careers more than 60 Years ago? This is definitely long-awaited and long-deserved. But how did these Nascar legend’s legacies impact the sport as we know it today? Let’s take a look.
Nascar Great Ricky Rudd’s Legacy
Born on September 12, 1956, in Chesapeake, Virginia, Nascar’s “Iron Man”, Ricky Rudd, Began his career debut at the Carolina 500 in Rockingham, North Carolina. Rudd would become a national treasure to the Nascar World and fans alike in 1977, earning the title Winston Cup Rookie of the Year. He would go on to successfully complete the cup series for 25 consecutive seasons with 788 starts, hitting a record no other has been able to surpass, until 2015 when 4-time cup series champion Jeff Gordon broke that record.
Keep in mind that this was during a time when safety standards were what most consider today as subpar. This means there were absolutely no restrictor plates at superspeedways, no safety barriers, and no HANS devices. This also meant that drivers sustained more injuries, Ricky Rudd being one of them. However, even though he sustained injuries, he would power through the pain to come out on top, which ultimately led to Rudd’s success on the racetrack and his successful completion of 788 consecutive starts.
His determination, tenacity, and dedication to the sport are unparalleled. During his career, he completed a total of 905 races, was nominated to the top 5 194 times, the top 1os 394 times, and earned 23 cup series wins. Tying Second to Richard Petty for most starts and Rusty Wallace for most consecutive seasons, including a single win. There is no question that this is why he has joined his colleagues in becoming one of the greats.
Nascar Champion Carl Edward’s Impact
Similar to that of colleague Ricky Rudd and also part of the Modern Class Era, Carl Edwards has achieved an undeniable amount of success leaving a permanent mark on Nascar’s legacy. Carl Edwards born in Columbia, Missouri on August 15, 1979, worked as a substitute teacher while chasing his dream of racing.
He got his start with Roush Fenway Racing, but the height of Edward’s career began shortly after competing in 7 events at the Craftsman Nascar Truck Series for MB Racing and the Busch Series, where he won his 2007 championship title at Prelude to the Dream. During the start of his career in 2004, Rudd became a household name, beating out fan favorites like Jimmie Johnson.
Some of his more notable accomplishments, however, include the 2011 All-Star Race, the 2015 Coca-Cola 600, and the 2015 Bojangles’ Southern 500 winner. He has 72 wins national series win and because of this he was named as one of the tops in 2023 and now he will become a part of the iconic Nascar Hall of Fame when he is formally inducted on February 7th, 2025.
Nascar Legend and Team Owner Ralph Moody’s Mark
In a class all of his own, Pioneer 2025 Nascar Hall of Fame Nominee Ralph Moody was on September 10, 1917, in Dighton, Massachusetts. He is slightly different than fellow nominees Ricky Rudd and Carl Edwards in that he served in the U.S. Army under the command of General George S. Patton.
He discovered his love for racing after building his very first Ford Model-T Racecar and raced it strictly on a night and weekend basis. But this wasn’t enough to fuel Moody’s desire to race more often and in 1949 he and his wife Mitzi moved to Florida so he could race more regularly.
He would go on to win four races in 1956 for Pete Depaolo who was a racer himself winning the 1925 Indianapolis 500 and had 21 top ten finishes in 35 races. Moody would race until 1957 until Ford pulled out of the sponsorship they had with him.
The part of his career that inarguably fueled his 2025 Hall of Fame nomination would be team ownership and racecar building which he achieved this by taking out a $12,000 loan with business partner John Holman to purchase Ford’s Charlotte Racing headquarters and become the Holman-Moody Racing Team winning 92 Nascar Grand National Races.
Once their racing team was established, the pair were set to work right away, trying to figure out ways to improve racecar chassis, tube shocks, square tubing frames, and rear ends with floater housings. Shortly thereafter, Moody sold his portion of the team to establish Ralph Moody Inc., also in Charlotte, North Carolina, now Nascar’s number one hub, and spent his time learning how to build engines and subsequently researching the development of modern high mileage vehicles.
For More Great Content
Total Apex is an all-encompassing content producer. We provide heavily-detailed articles every day on entertainment, gaming, sports, and so much more! Check out all our great sports content Total Apex Sports. Check us out on X @TotalApexEandG and our other sites: Total Apex Entertainment, Total Apex Gaming, Total Apex Sports Bets, and Total Apex Fantasy Sports.
