Kevin Ray (born December 11, 1977) is an American
stock car racing driver. Son of
Johnny Ray, he is a former competitor in the
NASCAR Busch Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to ...
and
ARCA Racing Series
The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three nation ...
, and was director of business operations for
Turner Scott Motorsports
Turner Scott Motorsports (TSM), formerly Turner Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series, the Camping World Truck Series, the NASCAR K&N Pro Serie ...
.
Early career
Ray began his racing career in
midget cars
Midget (from ''midge'', a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative due to its etymology. While not a medical term like "dwarfism", a medical condition with a number of c ...
at age 7, scoring his first win at age 11.
[Schmitz, Brian. (February 11, 1995)]
Kevin Ray Is Following His Father's Career Track
. Orlando, FL: ''Orlando Sentinel
The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company.
The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...
''. Accessed 2013-02-26. Mentored by
Donnie Allison
Donnie Allison (born September 7, 1939) is an American former driver on the NASCAR Grand National/ Winston Cup circuit, who won ten times during his racing career, which spanned from 1966 to 1988. He is part of the "Alabama Gang", and is the br ...
,
he entered competition in the
ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Supercar Series in 1994 at the age of 16, making his debut at
Atlanta International Raceway
Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly known Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a 1.54-mile entertainment facility in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Cup Series s ...
, finishing 38th. He went on to run 20 races in the series between 1994 and 2004, posting a best finish of fourth at
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...
in 1995.
In 1995, Ray made his debut in NASCAR competition, competing in the Busch Series – now the
Xfinity Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to ...
– at
Indianapolis Raceway Park
Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (formerly Indianapolis Raceway Park, O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, and Lucas Oil Raceway) is an auto racing facility in Brownsburg, Indiana, United States, about northwest of downtown Indianapolis. It ...
in a car owned by his father, starting 35th and finishing 21st in what would prove to be his only race in the series. He attempted four additional races in the series between 1995 and 2003, driving for his family team and for
Sadler Brothers Racing Sadler may refer to:
* Sadler (surname), people with the surname ''Sadler''
* James Sadler and Sons Ltd English pottery manufacturer
* Sadler, Kentucky, United States; an unincorporated community
* Sadler, Texas, United States; a city
* Sadler ...
, but failed to qualify for any of them.
Cup attempt
In 2004, Ray signed with
Donlavey Racing
Donlavey Racing was a stock car racing team that competed from 1950 until 2002 in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. It was owned by Junie Donlavey and ran a total of 863 races in NASCAR. Donlavey Racing used a number of makes and numbers, but for yea ...
to drive the team's No. 90 Ford in the
Nextel Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971 ...
for six races, sponsored by
Boudreaux's Butt Paste
Boudreaux's Butt Paste is an American brand of skin cream that started out as a remedy for diaper rash. It has also been used for the treatment of various skin ailments including psoriasis, jock itch, shingles, chafing, cold sores and acn ...
. Attempting his first race at
Dover International Speedway
Dover Motor Speedway (formerly Dover Downs International Speedway and later Dover International Speedway) is a race track in Dover, Delaware. The track has hosted at least one NASCAR Cup Series race each year since 1969, including two per year ...
, the team failed to pass inspection; the team stepped back to ARCA, racing at
Pocono Raceway
Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as ''The Tricky Triangle'', is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA M ...
in Ray's final start in the series, before the deal fell apart. Ray's No. 90 Ford was named the fifth scariest NASCAR paint scheme of all time by ''
ESPN The Magazine
''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998. Initially published every other week, it scaled back to 24 issues a year ...
'' in 2008.
Personal life and post-career
Ray is a graduate of
Walter Wellborn High School
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...
. He is now retired from racing competition but remains active in the sport, serving as team manager for
Red Horse Racing
Red Horse Racing was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team was based in Mooresville, North Carolina. It was co-owned by former Mobil 1 marketing executive Tom DeLoach ...
from 2007 to 2013.
In January 2014, Ray moved to
Turner Scott Motorsports
Turner Scott Motorsports (TSM), formerly Turner Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series, the Camping World Truck Series, the NASCAR K&N Pro Serie ...
, becoming the team's director of business operations.
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (ma ...
) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Nextel Cup Series
Busch Series
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Kevin
Living people
1977 births
People from Eastaboga, Alabama
Racing drivers from Alabama
NASCAR drivers
ARCA Menards Series drivers