Driver

The Chatsworth, GA-native was one of the most dominant short-track drivers of the 1980s and early ‘90s. In all, he captured more than 580 feature wins across 16 states. His six ALL PRO Super Series/NASCAR Southeast titles (1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993) are the most of any driver. Ridley also won the 1985 Snowball Derby, the prestigious super late model race whose other winners include Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Donnie Allison and Darrell Waltrip. The soft-spoken Ridley was a fan favorite, named NASCAR Southeast Series Most Popular Driver three straight years (1991-93) and Hooters Cup Series Most Popular Driver in 1995. His foray into NASCAR Cup Series competition was more star-crossed. He won NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors in 1980 and collected his first Cup victory in the 1981 Mason-Dixon 500 for Junie Donlavey. It would be Ridley’s and perennial underdog Donlavey’s only Cup victory. Never getting in a top car, Ridley’s best finish in the series was 5^th in 1981. He was inducted into the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in 2007.