Ralph Alphonso Moody, Jr. (September 10, 1917 – June 9, 2004) was an American

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

and team owner. After a brief career racing, including in

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...

and USAC sanctioned

stock car Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

competition, he retired to become a team co-owner of

Holman-Moody Holman-Moody is an American racecar manufacturer, marine engine manufacturer and former auto racing team. The company currently operates out of Charlotte, North Carolina, but is no longer a race team. Holman-Moody continues to manufacture racing ...

Background

Moody built his first

Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

race car in 1935, and ran it on nights and weekends. He served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and drove a tank under the command of General

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

. He married his wife Mitzi in 1949, and they moved to Florida so that he could race all year. After the Second World War while still living in Massachusetts, Moody was an active

midget 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 ...

chauffeur in the now-defunct Bay State Midget Racing Association.

Stock car career

Moody won four NASCAR races in 1956 for owner

Pete DePaolo Pete DePaolo (April 6, 1898 – November 26, 1980) was an American race car driver who won the 1925 Indianapolis 500. Biography Peter DePaolo was born on April 6, 1898, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pete saw his first race in 1919, where he w ...

, winner of the

1925 Indianapolis 500 The 13th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1925. Race winner Peter DePaolo became the first driver to complete the 500 miles in under five hours, and have an average over 100 ...

. Moody finished eighth in points, with 21 Top-10 finishes in 35 races. Moody raced the first third of 1957 until

and the other American automobile manufacturers pulled out of racing.

Partnership with John Holman

Moody immediately took out a loan against an airplane he owned, and along with John Holman, paid $12,000 to buy the shop and equipment that had been Ford's Charlotte-based racing operation

. Holman-Moody began as a racecar owner operation but became more famous for their racecar building operation. Holman-Moody chassis featured improvements such as tube shocks, square tubing frames, and rear ends with floater housings

. They built around 50 race cars a year until Moody sold his portion of the company after the 1971 season. They had won 92 NASCAR Grand National races.

Ralph Moody, Inc.

Moody then opened Ralph Moody Inc. in Charlotte. He built race engines and race cars and did research and development of high mileage automobiles at that site for several years.

List of Halls of Fame inductions

NASCAR Hall of Fame The NASCAR Hall of Fame, located in Charlotte, North Carolina, honors drivers who have shown expert skill at NASCAR driving, all-time great crew chiefs and owners, broadcasters and other major contributors to competition within the sanctioning ...

in 2025 *

North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame Mooresville is a large town located in the southwestern section of Iredell County, North Carolina, Iredell County, North Carolina, United States, and is a part of the fast-growing Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 50,193 at the 2020 ...

in 2003 * National Motorsports Press Association Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame in 1990 *

International Motorsports Hall of Fame The International Motorsports Hall of Fame (IMHOF) is a hall of fame located adjacent to the Talladega Superspeedway (formerly Alabama International Motor Speedway) located in Talladega County, east central Alabama. It enshrines those who have c ...

in 1994 *

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, ...

Ralph Moody
at the

in 2005 *

New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame The New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for racing-related people in the New England region of the United States. NEAR was established in 1981. The New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame was established in 1998 by the New England ...

in 2000 *

Drag Racing Hall of Fame Drag or The Drag may refer to: Places * Drag, Norway, a village in Tysfjord municipality, Nordland, Norway * ''Drág'', the Hungarian name for Dragu Commune in Sălaj County, Romania * Drag (Austin, Texas), the portion of Guadalupe Street ad ...

Old Timers Hall of Fame Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

References

External links

Article on Ralph Moody at ThatsRacin.com
link dead on March 8, 2007

Holman Moody Website
* *

link dead March 8, 2007 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moody, Ralph 1917 births 2004 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II NASCAR drivers NASCAR team owners Sportspeople from Taunton, Massachusetts Racing drivers from Massachusetts USAC Stock Car drivers People from Dighton, Massachusetts NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees