Jody Ridley (born May 19, 1942) is a former

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 hi ...

driver. He won the 1980

NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year The NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award is presented to the first-year driver that has the best season in a NASCAR season. Each of NASCAR's national and regional touring series selects a RotY winner each year. History of the Award The Rookie of the Y ...

award and one 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 yea ...

the next year, the only Cup victory for

Donlavey Racing Donlavey Racing was a stock car racing team that competed from 1950 until 2002 in the NASCAR NASCAR Cup Series, 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 n ...

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

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, and seventh in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

). In the 1989 Daytona 500, Ridley took over for an injured

Bill Elliott William Clyde Elliott (born October 8, 1955), also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Million Dollar Bill, or Wild Bill is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing ...

, but he would have a hard crash later in the race. He now resides in

Chatsworth, Georgia Chatsworth is a city in Murray County, Georgia, United States, specifically in the Dalton, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its population was 4,874 at the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Murray County and the site of the coldes ...

. He was inducted in the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in 2007.

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 (map ...

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

Winston Cup Series

=Daytona 500

Busch Series

References

External links

*
Biography at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame
(PDF) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ridley, Jody Living people 1942 births People from Chatsworth, Georgia Racing drivers from Georgia (U.S. state) NASCAR drivers American Speed Association drivers Dale Earnhardt Inc. drivers