ELLIOTT WINS COOK OUT CLASH
NASCAR President Steve Phelps helps NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Carl Edwards with his jacket during the NASCAR Hall of Fame on February 06, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
By Holly Cain - NASCAR Wire Service
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Tenacity, innovation and backflips. Sustained success at NASCAR’s highest levels. Those are some of the defining qualities the 2025 NASCAR Hall of Fame class possess. On Feb. 7, former NASCAR Cup Series competitors Ricky Rudd and Carl Edwards were inducted into the sport’s Hall, joined by Pioneer ballot recipient Ralph Moody.
Dr. Dean Sicking was also be honored as the Landmark Award winner for his Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.
Rudd and Edwards were chosen to the Hall out of the Modern Day Ballot of 10 nominees with Rudd receiving 87 percent of the vote and Edwards receiving 52 percent of the vote – the only two on the ballot to meet the threshold in this round of voting and both among the list of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers.
Rudd, 68, of Chesapeake, Va. was the 1997 Brickyard 400 winner, the 1977 Rookie of the Year and at one time was the youngest Daytona 500 pole-winner in history when he claimed the top starting position as a 24-year-old in 1981. He won the 1992 IROC championship in his first year in that series – a year after finishing a career best runner-up in the NASCAR Cup Series championship.
But the popular competitor, who earned 23 career NASCAR Cup Series victories and last raced in 2007, is best known for an incredible mark of 16 consecutive years (1983-98) with a victory in NASCAR’s highest level of competition. He also had a remarkable 788-race string of consecutive starts – a record that lasted in the sport until 2015.
His 905 total starts in a career that spanned four decades, is second only to fellow Hall of Famer, seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty (1,185 starts).
Edwards, 45, of Columbia, Missouri, gained his entrance onto the NASCAR stage with both uncommon persistence and great drive - literally. He came to Charlotte and worked as a substitute teacher while going to shop after shop handing out business cards as he tried to land a job driving in one of NASCAR’s premier series.
Once given the opportunity, it didn’t take long to see his special talent. Known for performing a backflip off his car to celebrate victories, Edwards got a lot of exercise, ultimately earning 72 wins in the three top-level NASCAR series.
In addition to six NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victories through five seasons, he competed fulltime in both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series in 2005 – turning heads when he won both series races on the same weekend in Atlanta that year. Edwards finished first or second in the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship for five consecutive years capturing the season title in 2007.
In a 13-year career in the NASCAR Cup Series – 11 seasons with owner Jack Roush and two with Joe Gibbs - Edwards celebrated 28 wins, hoisting trophies in major races such as the Southern 500 in Darlington, S.C. and the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte. That victory pace made him an annual championship favorite.
Edwards finished champion runner-up twice (in 2008 and 2011) – losing out on the 2011 title in a tiebreaker to fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer, three-time series champion Tony Stewart.
Moody, a World War II veteran who drove tanks under General George Patton’s command, returned from service to win five NASCAR Cup Series races in 1956-57.
But it was the late Massachusetts-native’s talent working on cars that established him as one of the sport’s greats. His mechanical acumen combined with John Holman’s business-sense led to one of the most celebrated partnerships in racing history – Holman-Moody Racing.
The Holman-Moody team won back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series championships fielding cars for NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson in 1968-69 and won the 1967 Daytona 500 with the legendary driver Mario Andretti.
In all the Holman-Moody team won 96 races and 82 pole positions from 1957-73 with a wide assortment of Hall of Fame drivers from Pearson to Fred Lorenzen, Fireball Roberts and Bobby Allison.
Landmark Award winner Sicking was a college professor whose work developing the SAFER (Steel And Foam Energy Reduction) barrier has been an absolute game-changer in the sport’s safety.
Not only did he design the SAFER barriers, but working with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility he’s continued to study and advise how to improve track safety overall, limiting danger whenever possible.
For his decades of important efforts, Sicking has already been given the 2003 Bill France Award of Excellence and in 2005 awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by then United States President George W. Bush.
NASCAR President Steve Phelps presents the blue jacket to NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Carl Edwards during the NHOF Class of 2025 Blue Jacket Ceremony at NASCAR Hall of Fame on February 06, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. NASCAR photo by David Jensen/Getty Images
VINTAGE SNOWMOBILE CHAMPIONSHIP RACING AT PRIEST LAKE, FEB. 15-16
Racing action at the Priest Lake snowmobile track. Priest Lake Snowmobile photos
NORDMAN, Idaho —Vintage Snowmobile Racing at Priest Lake in North Idaho has evolved to be one of North Idaho’s largest winter family events. The event brings excitement to the Priest Lake community, resorts and businesses.
Since the first races held in 2014, the event has grown immensely, to where it is now the second largest venue for Vintage Snowmobile Racing in the United States.
The second race of the season is scheduled at Priest Lake for the West Coast Ice Oval Championships on February 15th and 16th. The previous race held January 25- 26 had 338 entries and anticipate over 350 entries for the Ice Oval Championships.
Participants come from across the Northwest and Canada to compete in the races. All vintage snowmobiles that are 1985 or older are eligible to race. These are stock and modified classes available from 120 Kitty Cat class for children ages 4-10, junior classes for ages 11-16, women’s classes, amateur and advanced classes and even a Master’s class for those brave souls who are 55 and older.
The event is held on the west side of Priest Lake utilizing the USFS Airstrip on Highway 57 near Nordman, Idaho starting at 10 a.m. each race day. The Championship Finals are held on Sunday. Entry to the races is free, we only ask for a donation to help to offset the cost of the organization of this event.
Visit www.VintageSnowmobileRacingPriestLake.com for further information.
An aerial view of the Priest Lake snowmobile track. Priest Lake Snowmobile photos
