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That's Racin'
Ralph Moody, a partner in the legendary Holman-Moody Racing operation that helped put Charlotte on the map as a worldwide center for motorsports, died Wednesday morning at his home in Mooresville after a long illness. He was 86.
Between 1958 and 1971, cars owned by Mr. Moody and partner John Holman won 93 races in what is now know as NASCAR's Nextel Cup Series. He also won five races as a driver in the 1956 and 1957 seasons.
"His place in life was making a car go fast around a race track," said Lee Holman, the son of John Holman who is still president of Holman-Moody, a company that Mr. Moody sold his share of in 1972. "If you were a racer, you and Ralph Moody could get along."
One the many racers who benefited greatly from Mr. Moody's expertise in building fast race cars was David Pearson. Pearson won 30 of his 105 Cup victories in Holman-Moody Fords, winning 16 times in 1968 and 11 more races in 1969 on his way to championships in both of those years.
"Ralph had a lot of good ideas," Pearson said. "He more or less told the people there at the shop what to do to the cars. He was a pretty smart fellow. Whenever I was in one of his cars, I felt pretty good. You felt like you had a chance to win."
Pearson, Curtis Turner, Joe Weatherly, Fred Lorenzen, Nelson Stacy, Fireball Roberts, Dan Gurney, Dick Hutcherson, Mario Andretti and Bobby Allison all did win in Holman-Moody cars.
According to the book "Holman-Moody: The Legendary Race Team," by Tom Cotter and Al Pearce, it was when a young Bobby Allison saw Mr. Moody driving his 1940 Ford coupe in a race Hialeah, Fla., that Allison was inspired to become a racer himself.
Mr. Moody was born Sept. 10, 1917, in Taunton, Mass. As a teen he built a Model T Ford race car and ran it on nights and weekends. He served in the Army in World War II, driving a tank under the command of Gen. George S. Patton. After the war, he resumed racing.
He and his wife, Mitzi, were married in 1949. They moved from New England to Hollywood, Fla., where Mr. Moody could race year-round. He also opened an auto repair shop and drove stock cars owned by Red Vogt and Pete DePaolo, the 1925 Indianapolis 500 champion.
Mr. Moody won four races in 1956 and another the next year. When Ford and the other American automobile manufacturers pulled out of racing in 1957, Mr. Moody took out a loan against an airplane he owned and he and Holman paid $12,000 to buy the shop and equipment that had been Ford's Charlotte-based racing operation.
From those beginnings, Holman-Moody grew into a stock-car operation that turned out winning race cars with staggering regularity. When the manufacturers' ban was officially lifted in 1962, Ford began to pour money back into the operation and Holman-Moody flourished. Not only did its cars win stock-car races, but Holman-Moody also ventured off into sports car racing, boat racing and drag racing with great success.
Mr. Moody and Holman, who died in 1975, were very different men.
"Ralph wanted the fastest race cars in the world," said Howard DeHart, a longtime Holman-Moody employee. "John wanted the biggest business in the world."
When Ford pulled out of racing again after the 1970 season, Holman-Moody had one more great year with Allison winning nine times in 1971 in a car sponsored by Coca-Cola. After that year, Mr. Moody sold his shares of the company and opened Ralph Moody Inc. on Ashley Road in Charlotte. He built race cars and race engines and did research and development of high-mileage automobiles at that site for several years.
Mr. Moody was inducted last year into the N.C. Auto Racing Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame in 1990 and into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1994.
Funeral arrangements for Mr. Moody were to be finalized Wednesday through Cavin-Cooke Funeral Home in Mooresville.
Ralph Moody, a partner in the legendary Holman-Moody Racing operation that helped put Charlotte on the map as a worldwide center for motorsports, died Wednesday morning at his home in Mooresville after a long illness. He was 86.
Between 1958 and 1971, cars owned by Mr. Moody and partner John Holman won 93 races in what is now know as NASCAR's Nextel Cup Series. He also won five races as a driver in the 1956 and 1957 seasons.
"His place in life was making a car go fast around a race track," said Lee Holman, the son of John Holman who is still president of Holman-Moody, a company that Mr. Moody sold his share of in 1972. "If you were a racer, you and Ralph Moody could get along."
One the many racers who benefited greatly from Mr. Moody's expertise in building fast race cars was David Pearson. Pearson won 30 of his 105 Cup victories in Holman-Moody Fords, winning 16 times in 1968 and 11 more races in 1969 on his way to championships in both of those years.
"Ralph had a lot of good ideas," Pearson said. "He more or less told the people there at the shop what to do to the cars. He was a pretty smart fellow. Whenever I was in one of his cars, I felt pretty good. You felt like you had a chance to win."
Pearson, Curtis Turner, Joe Weatherly, Fred Lorenzen, Nelson Stacy, Fireball Roberts, Dan Gurney, Dick Hutcherson, Mario Andretti and Bobby Allison all did win in Holman-Moody cars.
According to the book "Holman-Moody: The Legendary Race Team," by Tom Cotter and Al Pearce, it was when a young Bobby Allison saw Mr. Moody driving his 1940 Ford coupe in a race Hialeah, Fla., that Allison was inspired to become a racer himself.
Mr. Moody was born Sept. 10, 1917, in Taunton, Mass. As a teen he built a Model T Ford race car and ran it on nights and weekends. He served in the Army in World War II, driving a tank under the command of Gen. George S. Patton. After the war, he resumed racing.
He and his wife, Mitzi, were married in 1949. They moved from New England to Hollywood, Fla., where Mr. Moody could race year-round. He also opened an auto repair shop and drove stock cars owned by Red Vogt and Pete DePaolo, the 1925 Indianapolis 500 champion.
Mr. Moody won four races in 1956 and another the next year. When Ford and the other American automobile manufacturers pulled out of racing in 1957, Mr. Moody took out a loan against an airplane he owned and he and Holman paid $12,000 to buy the shop and equipment that had been Ford's Charlotte-based racing operation.
From those beginnings, Holman-Moody grew into a stock-car operation that turned out winning race cars with staggering regularity. When the manufacturers' ban was officially lifted in 1962, Ford began to pour money back into the operation and Holman-Moody flourished. Not only did its cars win stock-car races, but Holman-Moody also ventured off into sports car racing, boat racing and drag racing with great success.
Mr. Moody and Holman, who died in 1975, were very different men.
"Ralph wanted the fastest race cars in the world," said Howard DeHart, a longtime Holman-Moody employee. "John wanted the biggest business in the world."
When Ford pulled out of racing again after the 1970 season, Holman-Moody had one more great year with Allison winning nine times in 1971 in a car sponsored by Coca-Cola. After that year, Mr. Moody sold his shares of the company and opened Ralph Moody Inc. on Ashley Road in Charlotte. He built race cars and race engines and did research and development of high-mileage automobiles at that site for several years.
Mr. Moody was inducted last year into the N.C. Auto Racing Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame in 1990 and into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1994.
Funeral arrangements for Mr. Moody were to be finalized Wednesday through Cavin-Cooke Funeral Home in Mooresville.