Jody Ridley

Murphy Jody Ridley^[1] (born May 19, 1942) is a former NASCAR driver. He won the 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award and one race at Dover International Speedway the next year, the only Cup victory for Donlavey Racing.

Jody Ridley
Born	(1942-05-19) May 19, 1942 (age 82) Chatsworth, Georgia, United States
Achievements	1991, 1992, 1993 Slim Jim All Pro Series Champion 1987, 1988, 1990 All Pro Super Series Champion 1985 Snowball Derby Winner 1993 Myrtle Beach 400 Winner
Awards	1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year 1991, 1992, 1993 Slim Jim All Pro Series Most Popular Driver Georgia Racing Hall of Fame Inductee (2007)
NASCAR Cup Series career
140 races run over 11 years
Best finish	5th (1981)
First race	1973 Dixie 500 (Atlanta)
Last race	1989 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
First win	1981 Mason-Dixon 500 (Dover)
Wins Top tens Poles 1 56 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
3 races run over 2 years
Best finish	75th (1982)
First race	1982 Goody's 300 (Daytona)
Last race	1985 Winn-Dixie 300 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 2 0
Statistics current as of March 25, 2013.

His career statistics include 140 career starts, one win, seven top fives, 56 top tens, and two top ten points finishes (fifth in 1981, and seventh in 1980).

He now resides in Chatsworth, Georgia. He was inducted in the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in 2007.^[2]

Early life

Born in Chatsworth, Georgia, and raised in Dalton, Ridley was a fan of cars from a young age. In 1967, he purchased Joe Lee Johnson's 1963 Ford Mustang at the age of 25. At that time, he had only been racing and affiliated with NASCAR for a year, joining the professional leagues in 1966.^[3] 1967 would be the beginning of Ridley's career, participating in many NASCAR races throughout Georgia, such as in Lakewood, Trenton, and Byron.^[4][5]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	NWCC	Pts	Ref
1973	Donlavey Racing	90	Mercury	RSD	DAY	RCH	CAR	BRI	ATL	NWS	DAR	MAR	TAL	NSV	CLT	DOV	TWS	RSD	MCH	DAY	BRI	ATL 5	TAL 37	NSV	DAR	RCH	DOV	NWS	MAR	CLT					59th	-	[6]
	Elliott Racing	09	Ford																												CAR 31
1974	Donlavey Racing	90	Ford	RSD	DAY	RCH	CAR	BRI	ATL 33	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT	RSD	MCH	DAY	BRI	NSV	ATL	POC	TAL	MCH	DAR	RCH	DOV	NWS	MAR	CLT	CAR 30	ONT		88th	3.17	[7]
1975		93		RSD	DAY	RCH	CAR	BRI	ATL 29	NWS	DAR	MAR	TAL																			ATL 11	ONT		NA	0	[8]
	Arrington Racing	6	Dodge											NSV 27	DOV	CLT	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	DAR	DOV	NWS	MAR	CLT	RCH	CAR	BRI
1977	Makar Enterprises	84	Mercury	RSD	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL 14	NWS	DAR	BRI	MAR	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	ATL	ONT		87th	121	[9]
1979	Donlavey Racing	77	Mercury	RSD	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	NWS	BRI	DAR	MAR	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT	TWS	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL 5	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	CLT 26	NWS	CAR	ATL 10	ONT	47th	374	[10]
1980		90	Ford	RSD 16		RCH 18	CAR 29		BRI 11	DAR 10	NWS 7	MAR 7		NSV 8	DOV 6		TWS 26	RSD 11	MCH 6		NSV 8	POC 18				DAR 30	RCH 5	DOV 9	NWS 9	MAR 9		CAR 5	ATL 6	ONT 18	7th	3972	[11]
			Mercury		DAY 10			ATL 6					TAL 10			CLT 12				DAY 7			TAL 30	MCH 18	BRI 12						CLT 8
1981			Ford	RSD 7	DAY 7	RCH 8		ATL 6	BRI 6	NWS 28	DAR 7	MAR 6	TAL 31	NSV 25	DOV 1	CLT 20	TWS 6	RSD 7	MCH 4	DAY 38	NSV 10	POC 15	TAL 8	MCH 12	BRI 20	DAR 12	RCH 9	DOV 11	MAR 21	NWS 7	CLT 15	CAR 10	ATL 5	RSD 9	5th	4002	[12]
	Miller Racing	79	Olds				CAR 17
1982	Donlavey Racing	90	Ford	DAY 9	RCH 13	BRI 20	ATL 17	CAR 33	DAR 22	NWS 17	MAR 12	TAL 38	NSV 13	DOV 17	CLT 6	POC 9	RSD 7	MCH 27	DAY 15	NSV 8	POC 36	TAL 14	MCH 26	BRI 8	DAR 28	RCH 25	DOV 25	NWS 9	CLT 7	MAR 7	CAR 31	ATL 28	RSD 9		13th	3333	[13]
1983	Robert McEntyre Racing	84	Buick	DAY 10	RCH	CAR	ATL 17	DAR 27	NWS	MAR	TAL 32	NSV	DOV	BRI	CLT DNQ	RSD	POC	MCH	DAY 8	NSV	POC														32nd	1050	[14]
			Chevy																			TAL 31	MCH 15	BRI	DAR 33	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT 12	CAR	ATL 10	RSD
1984				DAY 10	RCH	CAR	ATL 27	BRI	NWS	DAR 36	MAR	TAL 16	NSV	DOV	CLT 8	RSD	POC	MCH 35	DAY 19	NSV 28	POC	TAL 34	MCH 14	BRI	DAR 16	RCH	DOV 29	MAR	CLT 7	NWS	CAR	ATL 32	RSD		14th	1288	[15]
1985	Helen Rae Motorsports	00	Chevy	DAY DNQ	RCH	CAR	ATL	BRI	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	DOV	CLT	RSD	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	ATL	RSD				NA	-	[16]
1986	RahMoc Enterprises	57	Ford	DAY 12	RCH	CAR	ATL 29																												33rd	1213	[17]
		75	Pontiac					BRI 23	DAR 20	NWS 15	MAR 10	TAL 42	DOV 18	CLT 21	RSD	POC 11	MCH 34	DAY 13	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	ATL	RSD
1989	Melling Racing	9	Ford	DAY RL†	CAR	ATL	RCH	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	SON	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	CLT	NWS	CAR	PHO	ATL			NA	NA
† – Relieved Bill Elliott during race

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
1980	Donlavey Racing	Mercury	27	10
1981		Ford	27	7
1982			23	9
1983	Robert McEntyre Racing	Buick	18	10
1984		Chevrolet	33	10
1985	Helen Rae Motorsports	Chevrolet	DNQ
1986	RahMoc Enterprises	Ford	33	12
1989	Melling Racing	Ford	RL†

Busch Series

NASCAR Busch Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	NBSC	Pts	Ref
1982		98	Pontiac	DAY 2	RCH	BRI	MAR	DAR 2	HCY	SBO	CRW	RCH	LGY	DOV	HCY	CLT	ASH	HCY	SBO	CAR	CRW	SBO	HCY	LGY	IRP	BRI	HCY	RCH	MAR	CLT	HCY	MAR	75th	340	[18]
1985	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	8	Pontiac	DAY	CAR	HCY	BRI	MAR	DAR	SBO	LGY	DOV	CLT 29	SBO	HCY	ROU	IRP	SBO	LGY	HCY	MLW	BRI	DAR	RCH	NWS	ROU	CLT	HCY	CAR	MAR			86th	76	[19]

References

1. "Murphy J Ridley from Chatsworth, GA". Radaris.com. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
2. "Inductees". Georgia Racing Hall of Fame. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-07-03. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
3. Krueger, John; King, J.D. (26 Jun 1967). "Ridley is Victorious in Perry 200 Race". The Macon Telegraph. p. 6. Retrieved 8 Jun 2023.
4. Zier, Pat (28 Jun 1967). "Big Curtis Heads Field at Lakewood". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 34. Retrieved 8 Jun 2023.
5. Krueger, John (4 Jul 1967). "Johnson, Ridley to Duel in '200'". The Macon Telegraph. p. 18. Retrieved 8 Jun 2023.
6. "Jody Ridley – 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
7. "Jody Ridley – 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
8. "Jody Ridley – 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
9. "Jody Ridley – 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
10. "Jody Ridley – 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
11. "Jody Ridley – 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
12. "Jody Ridley – 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
13. "Jody Ridley – 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
14. "Jody Ridley – 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
15. "Jody Ridley – 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
16. "Jody Ridley – 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
17. "Jody Ridley – 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
18. "Jody Ridley – 1982 NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
19. "Jody Ridley – 1985 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 30, 2017.

External links

• Jody Ridley driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Biography at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame (PDF)

Achievements
Preceded by Butch Lindley	Snowball Derby Winner 1985	Succeeded by Gary Balough
Awards
Preceded by Dale Earnhardt	NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year 1980	Succeeded by Ron Bouchard