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.
RELATED: Scenes from Voting Day
Rudd received 87% of the Modern Era ballot votes, and Edwards got 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.
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Landmark Award: Dr. Dean Sicking made sport SAFER for all
Results for the NASCAR.com Fan Vote were: Ray Hendrick (Pioneer); Carl Edwards and Harry Gant (Modern Era).
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 all-time 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. Rudd was also named the 1977 Rookie of the Year.
Known for his hard-nosed style, Rudd 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.
Rudd got word of his election while he was raking leaves at his home in Cornelius, North Carolina, north of Charlotte.
“Today I got an anonymous text (saying) ‘You might want to be in Charlotte downtown,’ ” Rudd, 67, told the NASCAR Wire Service. “I was thinking, ‘Downtown Charlotte — that’s Hall of Fame day. Are you serious?’
“It didn’t take long. I hopped in the shower, jumped into some clothes, and here we are.”
VIDEO: Ricky Rudd profile | Rudd’s reaction
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 through 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. This was Edwards’ fourth year on the ballot.
VIDEO: Carl Edwards profile
Moody, who was from Taunton, Massachusetts, started out as a driver in 1956 and had five Cup Series wins. But known as a mechanical whiz, Moody paired with John Holman in 1957 to create Holman-Moody, a dominant team that claimed two championships with David Pearson and scored Daytona 500 wins with Fred Lorenzen (1965) and Mario Andretti (1967).
Moody was also an adept strategist and driver coach, and Holman-Moody racked up 96 Cup wins and 83 poles. This was Moody’s sixth year on the ballot.