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Former NASCAR Ford Driver Ricky Rudd Up For Hall Of Fame

Stock car racing legend Ricky Rudd drove for just about every manufacturer under the sun, but he spent quite a few seasons behind the wheel of a NASCAR Ford race car, including a Thunderbird that he owned and fielded for himself. Now, Rudd is currently on the ballot for the 2025 Hall of Fame.

After a successful stint with Hendrick Motorsports, a Chevy team, from 1990 through 1993, Rudd split from the organization and formed his own racing team, Rudd Performance. Rudd drove the No. 10 NASCAR Ford Thunderbird for his team’s first season, winning at New Hampshire and finishing fifth in overall points. He went on to win six races as an owner/driver in the Cup Series.

Rudd went on to drive for his own team through the 1999 season, and then joined forces with Yates Racing in 2000 to drive the No. 28 Ford Taurus. He didn’t win any races that season, and finally won in 2001, breaking a three-year winless streak at Pocono. He parted ways with Yates Racing at the end of the 2002 season. Rudd then joined Wood Brothers Racing – NASCAR’s oldest team to this day – although he did not win a race while driving for this NASCAR Ford team.

Eventually, Rudd announced that he would take a break from racing upon conclusion of the 2005 Cup Series season. He briefly drove a Chevy race car for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2006 before returning to the Cup Series fulltime in 2007, driving the No. 88 NASCAR Ford for Yates Racing before hanging up his helmet for good.

Rudd was known as NASCAR’s “ironman,” and boasted the most consecutive starts in the Cup Series, starting 788 races in a row, a record that was only broken by Jeff Gordon in 2015. Overall, he has 906 starts in the division, second only to Richard Petty’s 1,185 starts. In addition to Rudd, former Nascar Ford drivers Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards also received nominations.

Voting day for the Class of 2025 is scheduled for May 21st, 2024. Two honorees will be selected from the 10 names on the Modern Era ballot and one will be elected from the five Pioneer nominees. Fan voting, which will count as one vote among those cast by the voting panel, is currently open.

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Alexandra is a Colorado-based journalist with a passion for all things involving horsepower, be it automotive or equestrian.

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