Legendary race car owner Bud Moore passed away at age 92 on November 28, 2017. He owned cars driven by some of the most famous race car drivers in history, including names like Earnhardt, Pearson and Allison in the NASCAR world as well Parnelli Jones and Dan Gurney in the SCCA Trans Am Series — all in Ford and Mercury race cars. Collecting 62 wins at the top level in NASCAR and 13 SCCA Trans Am series wins, Bud was a member of the Stock Car Racing Hall Of Fame, The International Motorsports Hall Of Fame, and The NASCAR Hall Of Fame.

Beyond racing, Bud Moore was also a World War II veteran, fighting on the beaches of Normandy and in France under General George S. Patton. He was the recipient of five Purple Hearts for being wounded in battle — four times for shrapnel and once for taking machine gun fire to his hip. Simply put, he was an American hero.

On the racetrack, Moore was a leader in innovation including introducing the over-the-shoulder belts that we know today as racing harnesses into NASCAR in 1965 after the traditional lap belt contributed to the death of Bud’s driver, Billy Wade after an accident at Daytona. Bud was also the first to run a small-block engine in NASCAR and the first to introduce the use of the two-way radio. He also played a huge part in the testing of the modern Goodyear race tire.

At Bud’s 2011 NASCAR Hall Of Fame induction, he said he wanted to be remembered as “One whose firm handshake was as good as any contract, who always gave a straight answer, and most of all a man who loves his family, his country and the sport of racing.”

Bud definitely polished the oval for many years and he will be missed by the Ford racing community and remembered for his many contributions to racing and this country.