Ricky Bobby
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Ricky Bobby is an American race car driver. Ricky Bobby currently drives the #62 Ford in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
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Early Career
Ricky Bobby started his career in NASCAR in 1987 as a jack man on the #54 Chevrolet driven by Cale Parsons. In 1990, Ricky Bobby moved over to the #84 Chevrolet driven by Terry Miller of RD Motorsports. In 1991 Bobby was switched to Miller's teammate, Mark Johnson and the #74 Chevrolet.
In 1993, Mark Johnson was feeling ill and decided to sit out several races. Bobby was picked to drive in the third race, however, Bobby was not approved for the race. Bobby instead drove the fourth race at Texas. Ricky Bobby qualified 32nd and was able to finish 15th in his first start. Ricky Bobby drove the car for one more race and finished 13th before Johnson returned.
In 1994, Bobby was signed to a part-time deal with RD Motorsports in the #54 Chevrolet. Bobby finished a high of 7th at Texas.
Darrell Vick Racing
For 1994, Bobby was signed with Darrell Vick Racing in the #76 Pontiac. Bobby managed to score two top fives and 8 top tens but failed to win a race. In mid 1994, Darrell Vick Racing was purchased by Fenwick Motorsports.
In 1995, Bobby's team switched from Pontiac to Chevrolet to align with Fenwick Motorsports. From 1995 to 1996, Bobby managed three wins, 12 top fives, and 24 top tens.
For the 1997 season, Wonder Bread came on board as sponsor for Bobby's car and the car's number was changed to #74. Fenwick Motorsports also signed a new teammate, Cal Naughton Jr. to drive the #47 Old Spice Chevrolet. In 1997, Bobby managed to win 4 races, 10 top fives, and managed to win the 1997 Winston Cup Championship.
In 1998, Bobby managed to win 6 races and 21 top tens and won his second championship.
In 1999, Ricky Bobby was on his way to his third championship. Bobby had already won 2 races when he was involved in a horrific crash midway through 1999. Bobby was sent to a local hospital where he was put in critical condition. By the next week he was put in stable condition. Three months after the accident, Bobby was in good enough condition to go home. Bobby spent the majority of the rest of the year away from the track and in rehab.
By 2000, Ricky Bobby was in fair enough condition to race and attended the winter practice for Fenwick Motorsports. However, Bobby only did a few number a laps before quitting practice. By February, Bobby decided to sit out the 2000 season. Ricky Bobby was replaced by Terry Benson. Bobby spent a lot time in 2000 getting used to racing again.
Ricky Bobby was set to race for Fenwick Motorsports in 2001. However, he said he still was not ready and was let go from Fenwick Motorsports. Bobby was determined to race in 2001 however, he could not find a ride. So in mid 2001, Ricky Bobby formed Ricky Bobby Racing. A month later, Ricky Bobby purchased a Ford race car from Robert Yates Racing.
Ricky Bobby made his return at the Fall race at Talladaga. Ricky Bobby managed to qualify 28th in his unsponsored #62 Ford. Bobby was running in the top 20 when he was caught up in an accident and failed to finish the race.
Ricky Bobby stayed out the next race and announced that he was preparing his own race team for the next season and would use cars from Robert Yates Racing. The #62 Ford would be sponsored by Minute Maid and Powerade.
Ricky Bobby Racing
For 2002, Ricky Bobby only managed one top five finish at the Spring race at Talladega.
For 2003, Coca-Cola scaled back their sponsorship to a lower number and Procter & Gamble brought sponsorship to the car. In 2003, Bobby managed 3 top fives and 6 top tens. Bobby also opened a new race shop in North Carolina.
For 2004, Ricky Bobby Racing was also able to get partial sponsorship from Kraft Foods so Ricky Bobby entered a part time second car as the #63 Ford driven by Michael Regan. RBR started building their own cars part way through the year but were still buying used cars from other teams. Bobby managed 4 top fives and 8 top tens and finished second at Martinsville. Michael Regan switched teams for 2004.
After Regan left Ricky Bobby Racing, Ricky Bobby hired Cal Naughton Jr. as the new part time driver. However, Old Spice came over with Cal Naughton Jr. so the #63 car was run full time. Ricky Bobby won his first race as an owner at the Spring race at Fontana, California. The Coca-Cola and Old Spice sponsorship left RBR at the end of 2005 so RBR was looking for sponsorship.
Bobby/RAGE Racing
RBR started 2006 with partial sponsorship on both cars. RBR was doing well despite sponsorship problems. Midway through the year a partnership was formed with RAG Enterprises and the name was changed to Bobby/RAGE Racing. RAG Enterprises brought the missing sponsorship RBR needed. Bobby managed to win two races and 6 top tens.
Ricky Bobby started 2007 with even higher expectations. However, the crew at Bobby/RAGE Racing had a difficult time with the Car of Tomorrow especially the first COT race where they finished 37th and 40th. The overall performance of Bobby/RAGE Racing began to fall around July. Ricky Bobby failed to win a race. Both Minute Maid and Nabisco left Ricky Bobby Racing at the end of 2007.
By the end of 2007, Ricky Bobby Racing decided to look for a new partner to buy cars from and share information on the COT. Ricky Bobby originally wanted to switch manufacturers to Chevrolet and form a deal with Hendrick Motorsports but a deal could not be made. Bobby eventually decided to a partnership with Kyle Andrews Motorsports and switched manufacturers from Ford To Chevrolet.
For 2008, sponsorship for Cal Naughton was RAG Enterprises and Bobby's sponsorship was several different sponsors including Procter & Gamble, Memorex. In 2008, the performance of Ricky Bobby Racing improved slightly. However Ricky Bobby had bad luck in the first half of the season with a best finish of 4th at Atlanta. Bobby earned three top five finishes and six top tens. Ricky Bobby failed to win a race and finished 15th in the standings. At the end of 2008, sponsorship was not confirmed and were still looking for sponsorship.
In early 2009, Bobby/RAGE Racing was purchased by Kyle Andrews Motorsports and the two companies will merge to form Andrews Bobby Motorsports. RAG Enterprises left soon after. ABM will attempt to run a total of three cars. Ricky Bobby will drive the #62 Chevrolet and Cal Naughton will drive the #86 Chevrolet formerly driven by Chase Myers.
Personal Life
Ricky Bobby was born in North Carolina to parents Reese and Lucy Bobby. When Bobby was young his parents split up and began living with his mother. In 1994 Ricky Bobby was married and they have two sons.
Movie
In 2006, a movie about Ricky Bobby was released. The movie was called Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and stars Will Ferrell as Ricky Bobby. Originally, the movie was going to be a documentary about Bobby but the script was changed part way through the making of the movie. There are some differences in the movie and real life.
