TMW: Rudd, Edwards Lead 2025 Hall Class
NASCAR's latest crop of Hall of Fame inductees has been announced.
The Morning Warmup
May 22, 2024
Hey all!
Sorry this is a bit late - I wiped out last night. Had to finish this up this morning. - Aaron
Today’s Top Stories
1) Rudd, Edwards lead 2025 NASCAR Hall inductees (NASCAR)
The 2025 NASCAR Hall of Fame class has been selected.
NASCAR unveiled its 2025 inductees Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET, hours after voting for the recipients was held. The group will be inducted on Feb. 7, 2025 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Charlotte.
Leading the Modern Era ballot was Ricky Rudd, who secured 87% of all possible votes. Rudd was NASCAR’s first Iron Man, making 788-consecutive Cup stats at one stage and 906 total appearances in the series. That’s second only to Richard Petty. Along the way he earned 23 wins, 194 top-fives and 29 poles, including at least one win in each season from 1983 through 1998.
The second selection from the Modern Era was Carl Edwards, who secured 52% of all possible votes to beat out Harry Gant, Jeff Burton and Harry Hyde for the spot. Edwards was a fan-favorite through the 200s and early 2010s, memorable for his post-win backflips and clever sponsor quips. The Missourian scored 28 Cup wins, 72 total NASCAR national series victories and the 2007 Xfinity Series title. He never earned an elusive Cup title, but came as close as anyone in 2011 (tied with champ Tony Stewart in points) and 2016 (crashed out of the title spot in the final laps).
The final inductee of the 2025 class is Ralph Moody, who secured 60$ of the Pioneer ballot votes to beat out Ray Hendrick. Moody was a driver in his early days, securing five Cup wins. But his true talents came as a co-owner of Holman-Moody - a dominant organization that notched 96 Cup wins, 83 poles and two titles with David Pearson. The company also won the Daytona 500 twice, with Fred Lorenzen (1965) and Mario Andretti (1967).
Also included in Tuesday’s announcement was the winner of the Landmark Award - Dr. Dean Sicking. While not a name familiar to many racing fans, Sicking is among the most important figures in racing history due to his invention of the SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barrier, a change to the wall of race tracks that has surely saved countless lives and injuries over the past two decades.
(Source(s): NASCAR.com (x2))
Race Recaps
Dirt
High Limit Racing: Rico Abreu struck for his first win of the year Sunday at Utica-Rome Speedway. (HighLimitRacing.com)
USAC: A busy week of racing in Indiana kicked off with a Logan Seavey USAC Sprint win at the Terre Haute Action Track.
Sim Racing
eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series: A thrilling showdown at Charlotte went the way of Garrett Lowe after an intense finish with Jimmy Mullis. (iRacing / X)
News and Notes
NASCAR
What penalties could come from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch’s garage area brawl in North Wilkesboro? (Jordan Bianchi / New York Times)
It’s an uncertain time for drivers and team members at Stewart-Haas Racing. (Bob Pockrass / FOX Sports)
Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern reported Monday that announcements of charter sales tied to the organization could come within weeks - possibly dropping their price for a moment.
Goodyear’s soft tire trial didn’t go fully to plan, but the effort was deemed a solid attempt afterward. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)
So… What went wrong? (Matt Weaver / Sportsnaut)
A rebranded The Money Team Racing, now called Team AmeriVet, is heading to the Coca-Cola 600 with Ty Dillon. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)
Kyle Busch is returning to the Xfinity Series with Richard Childress Racing this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. (Nick DeGroot / Motorsport)
After his recent close calls with victory lane, Chris Buescher is pumped to head to the Coca-Cola 600. (Jim Utter / Motorsport)
It’s been a rough couple months for early winner Christopher Bell. But the two-time Championship 4 qualifier claims he’s still focused on improving his playoff seeding. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)
Check out Denny Hamlin’s renovated Lake Norman mansion. (Alexis Clinton / Axios)
IndyCar
Here’s a look at the full starting grid for the Indy 500. (The Race)
…And here are some of the facts and stats from last weekend’s qualifying. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)
Pato O’Ward has been a contender at Indy in recent years. But the Mexican star isn’t feeling optimistic entering this weekend. (Charles Bradley / Motorsport)
Amid an ultra-promising Month of May debut for Kyle Larson, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown is welcome to the idea of future collaboration with Larson and Hendrick Motorsports. (Joey Barnes / Motorsport)
As the top Honda qualifier for the Indy 500, Meyer Shank Racing feels its recent rise back up the IndyCar ladder has been validated. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)
The Indy 500 is a race of blinding speed these days. But the original race was won at everyday speeds by modern standards. (Bradley Brownell / Jalopnik)
With his Indy 500 success, Larson is placing himself alongside Max Verstappen as the best drivers of the current era. (Jenna Fryer / Associated Press)
F1
Six U.S. Senators have called for the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission to investigate Formula One Management’s rejection of Andretti Global’s planned F1 entry. (Madeline Coleman & Luke Smith / The Athletic)
McLaren will run special Ayrton Senna-inspired liveries this weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix. (F1.com)
Ferrari appears poised to keep its bonus payment in Formula 1’s next Concorde Agreement, but the extra money will now be capped. (Jonathan Noble / Motorsport)
Veteran technical expert Pat Symonds is joining prospective F1 entrant Andretti Cadillac as an executive engineering consultant. (Mark Glendenning / RACER)
What does the signing mean for Andretti, exactly? It’s hard to say. But the team’s coup highlights a glaring contradiction in F1. (Scott Mitchell-Malm / The Race)
After a spring lull, the F1 driver market is about to get busy again. (Chris Medland / RACER)
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu claims Kevin Magnussen is fighting for his future at the organization. (Chris Medland / RACER)
Make no mistake - Logan Sargeant is on the hot seat. But Williams team principal James Vowles claims his future is “within his hands.” (Chris Medland / RACER)
After struggling in Imola, does Red Bull Racing no longer have F1’s fastest car? (Filip Cleeren / Motorsport)
Mercedes admits at this stage that its overhyped young phenom Andrea Kimi Antonelli and added undo pressure to his year. (Josh Suttill / The Race)
McLaren’s been on a strong run of form later, but Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says he isn’t envious of the Mercedes-powered team despite his own organization’s struggles. (Chris Medland / RACER)
Supercars
A pair of recent winners from Perth have voiced support for longer races in Supercars. (Daniel Herrero / Speedcafe)
An upcoming set of local elections has given a small sign of life for the Newcastle 500. (Daniel Herrero / Speedcafe)
Triple Eight co-owner Tony Quinn is releasing a new book about his life. (Daniel Herrero / Speedcafe)
Sports Cars
The FIA World Endurance Championship won’t be growing beyond the current eight-race slate in 2025. (Gary Watkins / Motorsport)
BMW has many rookies on its Hypercar driver roster, but the company claims it’s unconcerned by it. (James Newbold / Motorsport)
Dirt
Nick Hoffman has surged into the World of Outlaws Late Models points lead leaving its recent trio of races. (Matt Skipper / WorldofOutlaws.com)
On the Sprint Cars side, Carson Macedo’s strong weekend has seen him creep with 68 points of leader David Gravel. (Alex Nieten / WorldofOutlaws.com)
Short Tracks
Modified racing legend Bugsy Stevens passed away Monday. He was 90 years old. (Rob Blount / FloRacing)
The ASA STARS National Tour is back with a new Winner’s Circle program this year. (Matt Weaver / Short Track Scene)
Next up for the series? A Thursday trip to Hickory Motor Speedway with Chase Elliott and Josh Berry in the field. (Matt Weaver / Short Track Scene)
Moto
Maverick Vinales feels Aprilia must be smart and avoid overdoing its expectations entering the Catalan Grand Prix after going 1-2 there in 2023. (Lewis Duncan & German Garcia Casanova / Motorsport)
Rally
Hyundai is working out plans to help Ott Tanak unlock the potential of its latest World Rally Championship contender. (Tom Howard / Motorsport)
Electric Racing
The injured Sam Bird is set to return to NEOM McLaren for this weekend’s Shanghai E-Prix. (Dominik Wilde / RACER)
Formula E will have a handful of dilemmas to sort through while crafting its 2025 schedule. (Sam Smith / The Race)
Other
Racing legend Michele Mouton is stepping back from her role with the FIA at age 72. (Emmet White / Road and Track)
On Track This Week
All Times ET
Wednesday, May 22
Dirt
Xtreme Outlaw Midgets (Millbridge Speedway): 5:45 p.m., DirtVision
USAC Sprints (Circle City Raceway): 7:00 p.m., FloRacing
Thursday, May 23
Dirt
USAC Sprints (Circle City Raceway): 7:00 p.m., FloRacing
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (Lucas Oil Speedway): 7:30 p.m., FloRacing
Illinois Dirt Shootout (Fairbury American Legion Speedway): 6:30 p.m., FloRacing
Short Tracks
Little 500 Practice (Anderson Speedway): 11:15 a.m., DirtVision
Drag Racing
PDRA American Doorslammer Challenge (Summit Motorsports Park): 10:00 a.m., FloRacing
Fast Fact
Josef Newgarden is the Indy 500’s most recent winner. But he hasn’t traditionally been a top contender. Newgarden had three prior top-fives in the 11 starts before his win, leading just 38 laps along the way. But all it takes is one magical day to turn things around at the Brickyard.
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