CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Ricky Rudd was clearing away leaves by his pool when he got an anonymous text message that he might want to make the 20-minute drive south to Charlotte — quickly.
Rudd knew right away that he was finally getting into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in his eighth year on the ballot.
The tough-as-nails driver from Chesapeake, Virginia was selected as part of the Class of 2025 on Tuesday along with driver Carl Edwards and mechanic and race strategist Ralph Moody, who made it in on the pioneer ballot.
They will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame on Feb. 7 at a ceremony in Charlotte.
“You don’t think about the Hall of Fame when you’re racing,” Rudd said. “But after you retire and drift away from the sport there is a little bit more importance. … I always tried to make sure I was in town on this day just in case got a phone call.”
Dr. Dean Sicking, who is credited with creating the SAFER barrier after being commissioned by NASCAR to make racing safer following the death of Dale Earnhardt at Daytona in 2001, was selected as the Landmark Award winner for his contributions to the sport.
Rudd was one of the few successful driver-owners in the modern era, having won 23 races during his 32-year racing career and 29 poles.
The 67-year-old Rudd held the Cup Series record for consecutive starts with 788 before Jeff Gordon broke the record in 2015.
A permanent fixture on race weekends, Rudd started 906 Cup races, second only to Richard Petty’s 1,185. He finished in the top five 194 times and 374 times in the top 10, and won a Cup race in 16 consecutive seasons from 1983-98.
Rudd said he always looked up to drivers like A.J Foyt, Richard Petty and Bobby and Donnie Allison because of their toughness.
“I did some things that maybe some guys wouldn’t do getting back into the car when some guys might would have sat out a race or two,” Rudd said. “But I didn’t feel like I did it any different than the group in front of me. Those guys were tough.”
The 1977 Cup Series rookie of the year, Rudd went on to win six races for the Rudd Performance Motorsports team he operated from 1994-99, including the 1997 Brickyard 400.
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