Carl Edwards and Ricky Rudd are two of the newest members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Edwards and Rudd were among the three-man class chosen Wednesday at NASCAR’s Hall. The two former drivers will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2025, along with longtime car owner Ralph Moody. Dean Sicking, creator of the SAFER Barrier for concrete walls, has received the Landmark Award.
Edwards won 28 races in 445 Cup Series starts from 2004 through 2016. He finished second in the points standings twice and was on the brink of a Cup Series title in his final season before being involved in a crash at the end of the race.
The Missouri native won nine races in 2008, but finished 69 points behind Jimmie Johnson for the Cup Series title. In 2011, Edwards was a key player in the biggest postseason in NASCAR history as he and Tony Stewart battled for the title. Stewart won the final race of the season – his fifth win in ten play-off races – and the two drivers finished level in the points standings. Stewart won the title as he finished the season with five wins to Edwards’s.
Edwards failed to win the title that season, despite finishing second in each of the final three races of the season and finishing no worse than 11th in any of the final 10 races of the season. The drama surrounding the championship battle between Edwards and Stewart that season is a major reason why NASCAR switched to a multi-round playoff format with eliminations in 2014.
In 2016, Edwards made it to the final round of the playoffs and was able to win the Cup Series title with less than twenty rounds remaining. But a caution for a car dropping debris caused a late restart of the race and Edwards was eliminated in a crash as he tried to block a move by Joey Logano.
Edwards abruptly retired after that season and has not competed in a NASCAR race since.
Rudd won 23 Cup Series races in 33 years. He set a Cup Series record with 788 consecutive starts before Jeff Gordon broke that record in 2015.
Rudd won races in 18 seasons and never had a season with more than two wins. His best season came in 1991 when he finished second in the standings to Dale Earnhardt. After driving for Rick Hendrick and other car owners, Rudd spent most of the 1990s driving for his own team before joining Yates Racing and the Wood Brothers in the 2000s.
A World War II veteran, Moody won five Cup Series races in the 1950s before co-running Holman-Moody Racing with John Holman. David Pearson won the 1968 and 1969 Cup Series titles driving for the Moody’s team, and Mario Andretti won the Daytona 500 the year before driving a Holman-Moody car. In total, drivers in Holman-Moody equipment won 96 races over 524 starts.
Moody was elected to the Hall of Fame via Pioneer Ballot, while Edwards and Rudd were chosen as the 2025 Modern Era inductees.
Sicking’s honor is well deserved considering the safety improvements racing has made with the SAFER barrier. The barrier is double-walled with energy-absorbing foam blocks in the center to help absorb high-speed impacts. SAFER barriers are required at all tracks hosting NASCAR races.
