During NASCAR’s history 193 drivers have won races in the NASCAR Cup Series, the top level of NASCAR competition. Of those drivers, 61 have only won one race.
We’re diving into the National Speed Sport News archives to take a look back at some of these one hit wonders and the races they won.
The date was May 17, 1981 and it was a day Jody Ridley and Junie Donlavey would never forget.
On that day, Ridley drove Donlavey’s No. 90 Ford to victory lane during the Mason-Dixon 500 at Dover Int’l Speedway in what was considered a massive upset against the likes of David Pearson, Neil Bonnett and Cale Yarborough.
However, Ridley did one thing Yarborough, Bonnett and Pearson failed to do on that warm summer day — finish the race.
The first paragraph of the story that appeared in the May 20, 1981 issue of National Speed Sport News summed things up pretty well: “To finish first, one must first finish” is an old racing axiom and It just may become Jody Ridley’s new credo after Sunday’s Mason-Dixon 500 on Dover Downs Int’l Speedway’s ‘Monster Mile.’”
Ridley started the 500-lap race 11th, but spent most of the race playing catchup after contact with Ron Bouchard early in the race. Meanwhile, Pearson started from the pole and led the first 41 laps before giving way to Bonnett.
Pearson would soon fall out of the race, victim of an engine failure after completing 57 laps. Bonnett, however, would prove to have the car to beat. Driving the No. 21 for the Wood Brothers, Bonnett stomped the field by leading a race-high 404 laps.
According to the archived issue of National Speed Sport News, Bonnett’s race pace was so fast fans began leaving at the 300-mile mark because there appeared to be no way Bonnett and the Wood Brothers wouldn’t end the day in victory lane.
But as most experienced observers know by now, a race isn’t over until it’s over.
After completing 459 laps, Bonnett’s Wood Brothers Ford suddenly slowed, the victim of engine issues. That moved Yarborough into the lead despite the fact he was scored a full two laps behind the dominant Bonnett.
Yet again it appeared things were over for the rest of the field as Yarborough held a five-lap lead over Ridley in second place.
Yarborough’s victory march ended on lap 479 when the power plant in his Buick went sour, sending him to the garage early. That handed the lead to Ridley in Donlavey’s No. 90 Ford. The crew on the car, made up of volunteers, watched in jubilation as Ridley led the final 20 laps to record the victory — the lone victory for Ridley and Donlavey at NASCAR’s top level.
Despite never reaching victory lane again in the NASCAR Cup Series, Ridley made a name for himself as one of the most dominant short-track racers of the late 1980s and early ’90s. He won multiple All Pro Series championships as well as the 1985 Snowball Derby, establishing himself as one of the short-track racing’s top stars of the era.