Owner(s) | John Holman, Ralph Moody |
---|---|
Base | Charlotte, North Carolina, United States |
Series | NASCAR Winston Cup Series |
Car numbers | 96 |
Race drivers | See below. |
Sponsors | Lafayette |
Manufacturer | Ford |
Opened | 1957 |
Closed |
1973 (race team) Holman-Moody remains in operation as a manufacturer |
Career | |
Drivers' Championships | 2 (1968, 1969) |
1973 (race team)
Holman-Moody was an American auto racing team, racecar manufacturer, and marine engine manufacturer. The company currently operates out of Charlotte, North Carolina, but is no longer a race team. Holman-Moody continues to manufacture racing vehicles using vintage parts and methods, along with special editions of modern Ford sports cars. The race team built virtually all of the factory Ford racing vehicles of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. It owned race-cars that competed in NASCAR, drag racing, ocean boat racing, rallies, and sports car racing. The team won NASCAR championships in 1968 and 1969 with driver David Pearson and also the 1967 Daytona 500 with Mario Andretti. Their most recognized trademark is "Competition Proven."
John Holman 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 shop. Holman worked for the team until 1956, when Ford Motor Company hired him to run their factory team shop at Charlotte, North Carolina. Ralph Moody 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.