Ricky Rudd, Carl Edwards and Ralph Moody have been selected as members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2025. In addition, Dr. Dean Sicking was named the recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.
The members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel met on Tuesday in an in-person closed session at the Charlotte Convention Center to debate and vote upon the 15 nominees for the induction class of 2025 and the five nominees for the Landmark Award.
Ten nominees appeared on the Modern Era ballot, which was selected by the traditional Nominating Committee. The same committee selected the five Landmark Award nominees. The Pioneer ballot, which included five nominees whose careers began in 1965 or earlier, was selected by the Honors Committee. Beginning with the Class of 2021, each Hall of Fame class features two inductees from the Modern Era ballot and one from the Pioneer ballot.
The Class of 2025 was determined by votes cast by the Voting Panel, including representatives from NASCAR, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, track owners from major facilities and historic short tracks, media members, manufacturer representatives, competitors (drivers, owners, crew chiefs), recognized industry leaders, a nationwide fan vote conducted through NASCAR.com and the last two NASCAR Cup Series champions (Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson). In all, 62 votes were cast, with two additional Voting Panel members recused from voting as potential nominees for induction (Jeff Burton and Ricky Rudd). The accounting firm of EY presided over the tabulation of the votes.
Rudd received 87% of the Modern Era ballot votes, Edwards received 52%. Harry Gant finished third, followed by Jeff Burton and Harry Hyde. Ralph Moody received 60% of the Pioneer ballot votes. Ray Hendrick finished second.
Results for the NASCAR.com Fan Vote were: Ray Hendrick (Pioneer); Carl Edwards and Harry Gant (Modern Era).
The two inductees came from a group of 10 nominees that included: Greg Biffle, Neil Bonnett, Tim Brewer, Jeff Burton, Randy Dorton, Carl Edwards, Harry Gant, Harry Hyde, Ricky Rudd and Jack Sprague.
Nominees for the Pioneer Ballot included: Ray Hendrick, Banjo Matthews, Ralph Moody, Larry Phillips, Bob Welborn.
Nominees for the Landmark Award included Alvin Hawkins, Lesa France Kennedy, Dr. Joseph Mattioli, Les Richter, Dr. Dean Sicking.
The Class of 2025 Induction Ceremony is set for Friday, Feb. 7, 2025 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Tickets for the Induction Ceremony will be available later this month on NASCARHall.com.
Class of 2025 Inductees:
Ricky Rudd
Tough. As. Nails. There is no other way to describe Ricky Rudd. Known as NASCAR’s Ironman for more than a decade, the Virginia native held the Cup Series record for consecutive starts (788) before Jeff Gordon broke it in 2015. His 906 series starts rank second to Richard Petty’s 1,185.
During his 32-year Cup Series career, Rudd posted 23 wins, 194 top fives, 374 top 10s (seventh all-time) and 29 poles. One of the few successful driver/owners in the modern era, Rudd won six races for his Rudd Performance Motorsports team he operated from 1994-99, including the 1997 Brickyard 400. Rudd, the 1977 Cup Series Rookie of the Year, earned a best points finish of second in 1991. He scored at least one win in 16 consecutive seasons (198398), which is tied for the third-longest streak in Cup Series history. Rudd was named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers.
Carl Edwards
“If you’re looking for a driver, you’re looking for me.” Working as a substitute teacher while chasing his racing career, Edwards would hand out business cards with that phrase. His persistent efforts led him to Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing and ultimately a NASCAR national series career that featured 72 victories – each usually capped by a celebratory backflip.
Edwards’ quick Truck Series success earned him full-time rides in both the Cup and Xfinity Series in 2005. He won his first races in each series during an early season weekend sweep at Atlanta Motor Speedway and never looked back. Edwards finished in the top two in the Xfinity Series standings five straight years, including his 2007 championship, and amassed 38 wins over seven full seasons. Over 13 years in the Cup Series, he won 28 races, including the Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500, both in 2015. He was the championship runner-up twice, including the closest finish in NASCAR history, losing by tiebreaker in 2011. Edwards was named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers.