Ralph Moody (b. September 10, 1917, Taunton, Massachusetts - d. June 9, 2004, Mooresville, North Carolina) was a NASCAR early driver, but became most famous as team co-owner of Holman Moody.
He built his first Model T Ford race car in 1935, and ran it on nights and weekends. He served in the U.S. Army in World War II, and drove a tank under the command of General George S. Patton. He married his wife Mitzi in 1949, and they moved to Florida so that he could race all year.
Moody won four races in 1956 for owner Pete DePaolo. He finished eighth in the final points, with 21 Top-10 finishes in 35 races.
He raced the first third of 1957, until Ford and the other American automobile manufacturers pulled out of racing.
for the main article, see Holman Moody
Mr. Moody immediately took out a loan against an airplane he owned, and he and 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.
He 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.
