Holman Moody
Encyclopedia
style="font-size:larger;"|Holman Moody
Owner(s) Name John Holman
John Holman (NASCAR)
John Holman was a NASCAR owner. He is most famous for his co-ownership of two time NASCAR championship team Holman Moody with Ralph Moody.-Early career:...

, Ralph Moody
Ralph Moody
Ralph Moody was one of early drivers of NASCAR. However, he eventually became the most famous as team co-owner of Holman Moody.-Background:...

Racing Series NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 Grand National / Winston Cup
Number of Championships 2 NASCAR (1968 and 1969)
Number of Wins 96 (NASCAR)
Notable Sponsor(s) Lafayette
Manufacturer Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

Shop Location Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Year Opened 1957
Year Closed 1972

Holman Moody was an auto racing
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...

 team, racecar manufacturer, and marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

 engine
Engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...

 manufacturer. The team built virtually all of the factory Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

 racecars of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. It owned racecars that competed in NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

, drag racing
Drag racing
Drag racing is a competition in which specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles compete two at a time to be the first to cross a set finish line, from a standing start, in a straight line, over a measured distance, most commonly a ¼-mile straight track....

, ocean boat racing
Offshore powerboat racing
Offshore powerboat racing is racing by large, specially designed ocean-going powerboats, typically point-to-point racing.Probably one of the largest, most dangerous, and most powerful racing machines of all, the extreme expense of the boats and the fuel required to participate make it an expensive...

, rally
Rallying
Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...

s, and sports car racing
Sports car racing
Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars....

. The team won NASCAR championships in 1968 and 1969 with driver David Pearson. Their trademark was "Competition Proven."

Holman and Moody form Holman Moody

John Holman
John Holman (NASCAR)
John Holman was a NASCAR owner. He is most famous for his co-ownership of two time NASCAR championship team Holman Moody with Ralph Moody.-Early career:...

 was hired in 1952 by Clay Smith and Bill Stroppe to drive their parts truck to each leg of the 1952 Mexican Road Race and to stay ahead of the racing team. The team won the race, and they hired Holman as a full-time mechanic and parts man after the race to work in their Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...

 shop. Holman worked for the team until 1956, when Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

 hired him to run their factory team shop at Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

. Ralph Moody
Ralph Moody
Ralph Moody was one of early drivers of NASCAR. However, he eventually became the most famous as team co-owner of Holman Moody.-Background:...

 won four NASCAR races in 1956. He raced the first third of 1957, until Ford and the other American automobile manufacturers pulled out of racing.

They formed a partnership after the American Manufacturers' Association banned Ford's factory participation in stockcar racing in June 1957. The move unemployed both men. They decided to pool their resources, and formed Holman-Moody. Moody immediately took out a loan against an airplane that he owned, and with Holman paid $12,000 to buy the shop and equipment that had been Ford's Charlotte-based racing operation Holman Moody was one of the first to sell "purpose-built" stock car chassis for racing. Holman Moody Fords won their first two races in 1957.

Holman Moody entered two cars in the final two races at the Daytona Beach Road Course
Daytona Beach Road Course
Daytona Beach Road Course was a race track that was instrumental in the formation of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, or NASCAR. It originally became famous as the location where fifteen world land speed records were set...

 in 1958. The cars were raced by Curtis Turner
Curtis Turner
Curtis Turner was an early NASCAR driver. In addition to his success in racing, he made a fortune, lost it, and remade it buying and selling timberlands. Throughout his life he developed a reputation for drinking and partying...

 and Joe Weatherly
Joe Weatherly
Joseph "Joe" Weatherly was a two-time NASCAR championship driver. Weatherly was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009 after winning NASCAR's Grand National championships in 1962 and 1963, three A.M.A...

. The cars finished first and third in one race, and second and fourth in the second. The team became more focused on building cars for other teams as the season went on. Ford slowly began increasing support for racing as the season went on. Ford stopped the assembly line to allow Holman Moody to buy bare bodies and parts for construction of 1959 Thunderbirds
Ford Thunderbird
The Thunderbird , is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States over eleven model generations from 1955 through 2005...

. The cars came without needed parts. Turner won races at Champion Speedway, Lakewood Speedway
Lakewood Speedway
Lakewood Speedway was a race track located south of Atlanta, Georgia, in Lakewood, Georgia, just north of the eastern arm of Langford Parkway . The track held many kinds of races between 1919 and 1979, including events sanctioned by AAA/USAC, IMCA, and NASCAR. It was a one-mile dirt track which...

, and the Southern States Fairgrounds.

Holman Moody's car driven by John Beauchamp finished in a dead heat with Lee Petty
Lee Petty
Lee Arnold Petty was an American stock car driver in the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR, and one of its first superstars. He was born near Randleman, North Carolina.-Career:...

 at the first race at the new Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross...

. The 1959 Daytona 500
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a -long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule....

 win was awarded to Petty after three days.

Holman Moody enters the "World's fastest Falcon" in the 12 Hours of Sebring
12 Hours of Sebring
The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, a former Army Air Force base in Sebring, Florida...

 in 1962. The car was driven by Marvin Panch
Marvin Panch
Marvin Panch Marvin Panch Marvin Panch (born May 28, 1926, in Menomonie, Wisconsin, is a former NASCAR driver.-Early career:He started his racing career as a car owner in Oakland, California. One week, his driver did not show up, and he raced the car to a third place finish...

 and Jocko Maggiacomo. Holman Moody also prepared a small-block AC Cobra, driven by Augie Pabst.
Ironically, Holman-Moody bought out Bill Stroppe in 1965 and the Long Beach facility at 2190 Temple Ave. became Holman-Moody-Stroppe. They built around 50 race cars a year until Moody sold his portion of the company after the 1972 season. They had won 96 NASCAR Grand National races. Holman died in 1975 after suffering a heart attack while testing an intercooler
Intercooler
An intercooler , or charge air cooler, is an air-to-air or air-to-liquid heat exchange device used on turbocharged and supercharged internal combustion engines to improve their volumetric efficiency by increasing intake air charge density through nearly isobaric cooling, which removes...

. The team was owned by a trust for several years, until Lee Holman took over the operations in 1978.

Holman-Moody operated for a number of years in a former NC Air National Guard Hangar near the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. This hangar had been constructed during WWII at Charlotte's Morris Field Army Air Field, and in 1964 the Ford Motor Company paid Larry Jenkins to move it from the NC Air Guard base to an off-runway plot of land on the other side of the airport. This is where Holman Moody used the hangar.

The Charlotte airport gave notice that it intended to condemn the Holman Moody building in 1982 so they could construct an additional runway. The company sold off all of its equipment, and Lee Holman bought most of it. Holman Automotive continued the building of racecars, engine building for the #21 Wood Brothers
Wood Brothers Racing
Wood Brothers Racing is an American auto racing team that competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Camping World Truck Series. The team was formed in 1950 by the sons of Walter and Ada Wood, thus the Wood Brothers...

 NASCAR team, and grinding cam
Cam
A cam is a rotating or sliding piece in a mechanical linkage used especially in transforming rotary motion into linear motion or vice-versa. It is often a part of a rotating wheel or shaft that strikes a lever at one or more points on its circular path...

s for several NASCAR teams.

After the airport acquired the former Holman-Moody hangar, Mesa Airlines used it for regional jet maintenance until the end of February 2009. On March 25th, 2009, the hangar was torn down to make way for Charlotte's third parallel runway.

Team highlights

Holman Moody-built Fords won 48 of 55 NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup) Races in 1965, a record that has never been broken. David Pearson won the 1968 and 1969 NASCAR championships. Dan Gurney
Dan Gurney
Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager...

 won five races at Riverside International Raceway
Riverside International Raceway
Riverside International Raceway was a race track or road course in Riverside, California. The track was in operation from September 22, 1957, to July 2, 1989...

. Pearson drove a Wood Brothers
Wood Brothers Racing
Wood Brothers Racing is an American auto racing team that competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Camping World Truck Series. The team was formed in 1950 by the sons of Walter and Ada Wood, thus the Wood Brothers...

 Ford to victory in the 1976 Daytona 500
1976 Daytona 500
In the 1976 Daytona 500, Richard Petty was leading on the last lap when he was passed on the backstretch by David Pearson. Petty tried to turn under Pearson coming off the final corner, but didn't clear Pearson. The contact caused the drivers to spin in to the grass in the infield just short of the...

. In 1966 Holman Moody's Ford GT40 Mark II's finished 1–2–3 at the 24 Hours of Daytona
24 Hours of Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, currently known as the Rolex 24 Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on a combined road course, utilizing portions of the NASCAR tri-oval and an infield...

 and at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Their 1–2–3 finish at 24 Hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...

 is one of the most famous victories of all-time. Fred Lorenzen
Fred Lorenzen
Fred Lorenzen , nicknamed The Golden Boy, Fast Freddie, The Elmhurst Express and Flyin Freddy, is a former NASCAR driver active between 1958 and 1972. He won the 1965 Daytona 500. Lorenzen was born in Elmurst, Illinois.-Early career:Lorenzen first caught the car bug young, and had built his first...

 was one of the nation's highest paid athletes at $122,558 while driving a Holman Moody car in 1963.

Awards

Holman Moody was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America is a Hall of Fame and museum for American motorsports legends. It was originally located in Novi, Michigan and it moved to the Detroit Science Center in 2009.-Museum:...

 in 2005 in the "at-large" category.

Innovations

Holman Moody had a lasting effect on all forms of auto racing. Their innovations include fuel cell
Fuel cell
A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen or another oxidizing agent. Hydrogen is the most common fuel, but hydrocarbons such as natural gas and alcohols like methanol are sometimes used...

s, full-floater rear axle, on-board fire systems, quick change disk brakes, square tube frames, tube shocks
Shock absorber
A shock absorber is a mechanical device designed to smooth out or damp shock impulse, and dissipate kinetic energy. It is a type of dashpot.-Nomenclature:...

. The 1966 Holman Moody Ford Fairlane
Ford Fairlane (North American)
The Ford Fairlane was an automobile model sold between 1955 and 1970 by the Ford Motor Company in North America. The name was taken from Henry Ford's estate, Fair Lane, near Dearborn, Michigan....

 was the basis for NASCAR racecars until NASCAR redesigned their car as the Car of Tomorrow
Car of Tomorrow
The Car of Tomorrow, sometimes called CoT or "Car of Today", is the car style for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Larger and boxier than the design it replaced, the Car of Tomorrow is safer, costs less to maintain, and was intended to make for closer competition.The car was introduced in the 2007 Cup...

.

Notable drivers

Holman Moody had many notable drivers, including:
  • Bobby Allison
    Bobby Allison
    Robert Arthur Allison is a former NASCAR Winston Cup driver and was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers. His two sons, Clifford Allison and Davey Allison followed him into racing, and both died within a year of each other....

  • Donnie Allison
    Donnie Allison
    Dunkiny "Donnie" Allison is a former driver on the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup circuit, who won ten times during his racing career, which spanned the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. He was part of the "Alabama Gang," and is the brother of 1983 champion Bobby Allison and uncle of Davey Allison...

  • Mario Andretti
    Mario Andretti
    Mario Gabriele Andretti is a retired Italian American world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR...

  • John Beauchamp
  • Ronnie Bucknum
    Ronnie Bucknum
    Ronnie Bucknum was an American racecar driver, born in Alhambra, California.Bucknum participated in 11 Formula One World Championship grands prix, debuting on August 2, 1964. He scored a total of 2 championship points...

  • Jim Clark
    Jim Clark
    James "Jim" Clark, Jr OBE was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland, who won two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965....

  • Mark Donohue
    Mark Donohue
    Mark Neary Donohue, Jr. , nicknamed "Captain Nice", was an American racecar driver known for his ability to set up his own race car as well as driving it to victories. Donohue is probably best known as the driver of the 1500+ bhp “Can-Am Killer” Porsche 917-30 and as the winner of the 1972...

  • A. J. Foyt
    A. J. Foyt
    Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr., or as he is universally known as in motorsports circles, A. J. Foyt , is a retired American automobile racing driver. He raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes USAC Champ cars and midget cars. He raced stock cars in NASCAR and USAC. He won...

  • Dan Gurney
    Dan Gurney
    Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager...

  • Walt Hansgen
    Walt Hansgen
    Walt Hansgen was a racecar driver from the United States. His racing career began as a road racing driver...

  • Dick Hutcherson
    Dick Hutcherson
    Dick Hutcherson was an American businessman and a former stock car racer. A native of Keokuk, Iowa, Hutcherson drove in NASCAR competition from 1964 to 1967. In 1965 he finished second in the overall NASCAR Drivers Championship and had nine wins...

  • Ned Jarrett
    Ned Jarrett
    Ned Jarrett is a retired race car driver and two-time NASCAR champion.Jarrett was best known for his calm demeanor, and he became known as "Gentleman Ned Jarrett", yet he was an intense competitor when he put his two hands on the steering wheel of a NASCAR Grand National stock car...

  • Bobby Johns
    Bobby Johns
    Bobby Johns is a retired American racecar driver.Johns raced in the NASCAR series in the 1956-1969 seasons, with 141 career starts. He had 2 wins among his 36 top ten finishes and finished the 1960 season 3rd in the points...

  • Junior Johnson
    Junior Johnson
    Robert Glenn Johnson, Jr. , better known as Junior Johnson, is a retired moonshiner in the rural South who became one of the early superstars of NASCAR in the 1950s and 1960s. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career before retiring in 1966...

  • Parnelli Jones
    Parnelli Jones
    Rufus Parnell "Parnelli" Jones , is a retired American racing driver and racecar owner. He is most remembered for his 1963 Indianapolis 500 win, and almost winning the 1967 Indy 500 in a turbine car...

  • Bo Ljungfeldt
    Bo Ljungfeldt
    Bo Tage Georg Ljungfeldt, born 26 februari 1922 in the municipality of Ekerö, deceased 25 januari 1988 i Ekerö, was a swedish racecar driver and a ford rally factory driver. He won 6,5 Swedish championchips-gold medals in racing; . Bos son Conny Ljungfeldt born 1950 is a 2 time swedish champion in...

  • Fred Lorenzen
    Fred Lorenzen
    Fred Lorenzen , nicknamed The Golden Boy, Fast Freddie, The Elmhurst Express and Flyin Freddy, is a former NASCAR driver active between 1958 and 1972. He won the 1965 Daytona 500. Lorenzen was born in Elmurst, Illinois.-Early career:Lorenzen first caught the car bug young, and had built his first...

  • Tiny Lund
    Tiny Lund
    DeWayne Louis "Tiny" Lund was a NASCAR driver. He was ironically nicknamed "Tiny" due to his rather large and imposing size.-Background:...

  • Augie Pabst
  • Marvin Panch
    Marvin Panch
    Marvin Panch Marvin Panch Marvin Panch (born May 28, 1926, in Menomonie, Wisconsin, is a former NASCAR driver.-Early career:He started his racing career as a car owner in Oakland, California. One week, his driver did not show up, and he raced the car to a third place finish...

  • David Pearson
  • Peter Revson
    Peter Revson
    Peter Jeffrey Revson was an American race car driver who had successes in Formula One and the Indianapolis 500.-Background:Peter Revson was born in New York City, the son of Julie and Martin Revson....

  • Lloyd Ruby
    Lloyd Ruby
    Lloyd Ruby was an American racecar driver.Ruby raced in the USAC Championship Car series in the 1958-1977 seasons, with 177 career starts, including every Indianapolis 500 race during 1960-1977. He finished in the top ten 88 times, with 7 victories. His best Indy finish was 3rd in 1964...

  • Fireball Roberts
    Fireball Roberts
    Edward Glenn Roberts, Jr. , nicknamed "Fireball", was one of the pioneering race car drivers of NASCAR.-Background:...

  • Nelson Stacy
    Nelson Stacy
    Nelson Stacy was an American race car driver from Maysville, Kentucky. He won the 1958, 1959, and 1960 MARC Series Nelson Stacy (December 28, 1921 – May 14, 1986) was an American race car driver from Maysville, Kentucky. He won the 1958, 1959, and 1960 MARC Series Nelson Stacy (December 28, 1921 –...

  • Curtis Turner
    Curtis Turner
    Curtis Turner was an early NASCAR driver. In addition to his success in racing, he made a fortune, lost it, and remade it buying and selling timberlands. Throughout his life he developed a reputation for drinking and partying...

  • Al Unser
    Al Unser
    Alfred "Al" Unser is a former American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser, Jr....

  • Bobby Unser
    Bobby Unser
    Robert William "Bobby" Unser is a retired U.S. automobile racer. He is the brother of Al Unser, Jerry Unser and Louie Unser, the father of Robby Unser, and the uncle of Al Unser, Jr. and Johnny Unser...

  • Joe Weatherly
    Joe Weatherly
    Joseph "Joe" Weatherly was a two-time NASCAR championship driver. Weatherly was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009 after winning NASCAR's Grand National championships in 1962 and 1963, three A.M.A...

  • Cale Yarborough
    Cale Yarborough
    William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough , is a farmer, businessman and former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships...


Notable crew chiefs

Holman Moody had numerous crew members who became notable crew chiefs, including:
  • Keith Dorton
  • Jake Elder
    Jake Elder
    J.C. "Jake" Elder was a retired NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup crew chief. He was the championship crew chief for two years and for part of a third season...

  • Dick Russell
  • Waddell Wilson
    Waddell Wilson
    Waddell Wilson is a former NASCAR Winston Cup crew chief and engine builder. He was the winning crew chief for the Daytona 500 in 1980, 1983, and 1984. He was crew chief or engine builder for Holman Moody, Harry Ranier, and Hendrick Motorsports. Drivers included Bobby Allison, Mario Andretti,...

  • Robert Yates
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