Ricky Rudd will be inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame during an April 28 ceremony in Portsmouth, Va.
The hall of fame annually inducts Virginia natives who have made a lasting contribution to Virginia and national sports.
"It's an awful big honor to be able to be inducted and [I'm] really looking forward to it and [it's] something I hold in high regard," Rudd said.
Rudd, a Chesapeake native, has won 23 races in his NASCAR career and ranks among the top 50 NASCAR drivers of all time.
Fellow Virginian Elliott Sadler said that drivers in Virginia grow up looking up to Rudd, so it's a natural fit that he would earn the honor.
"I think it's great," Sadler said. "I think growing up in Virginia as a race car driver we all looked up to people like Ricky Rudd and Ward Burton and Jeff Burton and Curtis Turner and the Wood brothers and people from this area, Junie Donlavey, people like that, that have been a part of this sport a long time and have sunk a lot of their time and money into it, and coming from this state it means a lot to me.
"So congratulations to Ricky. He's still going strong and still a great competitor and a great guy. You know, he's led the way for a lot of us coming through this area, coming from Virginia. We've got a lot of good owners and drivers and crew members and stuff that come from Virginia."
The hall of fame annually inducts Virginia natives who have made a lasting contribution to Virginia and national sports.
"It's an awful big honor to be able to be inducted and [I'm] really looking forward to it and [it's] something I hold in high regard," Rudd said.
Rudd, a Chesapeake native, has won 23 races in his NASCAR career and ranks among the top 50 NASCAR drivers of all time.
Fellow Virginian Elliott Sadler said that drivers in Virginia grow up looking up to Rudd, so it's a natural fit that he would earn the honor.
"I think it's great," Sadler said. "I think growing up in Virginia as a race car driver we all looked up to people like Ricky Rudd and Ward Burton and Jeff Burton and Curtis Turner and the Wood brothers and people from this area, Junie Donlavey, people like that, that have been a part of this sport a long time and have sunk a lot of their time and money into it, and coming from this state it means a lot to me.
"So congratulations to Ricky. He's still going strong and still a great competitor and a great guy. You know, he's led the way for a lot of us coming through this area, coming from Virginia. We've got a lot of good owners and drivers and crew members and stuff that come from Virginia."
