Kevin Ray (born December 11, 1977) is an American former stock car racing driver. Son of Johnny Ray, he is a former competitor in the NASCAR Busch Series and ARCA Racing Series, and was director of business operations for Turner Scott Motorsports.
Early career
Ray began his racing career in midget cars at the age of seven,
[McCollister, Tom. (February 12, 1995) " Rays hope teen Kevin's debut will be better than his father's". Atlanta: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, page C5.] scoring his first win at age 11.
[Schmitz, Brian. (February 11, 1995) " Kevin Ray Is Following His Father's Career Track". Orlando, FL: Orlando Sentinel. Accessed 2013-02-26.] Mentored by
Donnie Allison,
he entered competition in the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Supercar Series in 1994 at the age of sixteen, making his debut at Atlanta International Raceway, finishing 38th. He went on to run twenty races in the series between 1994 and 2004, posting a best finish of fourth at Talladega Superspeedway in 1995.
[ Kevin Ray - ARCA Racing Series Results. Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Accessed 2013-02-26.]
In 1995, Ray made his debut in NASCAR competition, competing in the Busch Series – now the Xfinity Series – at Indianapolis Raceway Park in a car owned by his father, starting 35th and finishing 21st in what would prove to be his only race in the series.[ Kevin Ray - NASCAR Nationwide Series Results. Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Accessed 2013-02-26.] He attempted four additional races in the series between 1995 and 2003, driving for his family team and for Sadler Brothers Racing, but failed to qualify for any of them.[ Kevin Ray - NASCAR Busch Series / Nationwide Series DNQs. Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Accessed 2013-02-26.]
Cup attempt
In 2004, Ray signed with
Donlavey Racing to drive the team's No. 90 Ford in the Nextel Cup Series for six races, sponsored by Boudreaux's Butt Paste.
[Jenkins, Chris. (May 26, 2004) " Edgy sponsor name OK'd by NASCAR". USA Today. Accessed 2013-02-26.] Attempting his first race at Dover International Speedway,
[Strickland, Bran. (June 4, 2004) " Eastaboga's Ray to make Cup debut". Talladega, AL: The Daily Home. Accessed 2013-02-26.] the team failed to pass inspection;
[Strickland, Bran. (June 5, 2004) " Ray's debut postponed". Talladega, AL: The Daily Home. Accessed 2013-02-26.] the team stepped back to ARCA, racing at
Pocono Raceway in Ray's final start in the series, before the deal fell apart.
["Where is the #90 car?" in #90 Team News and Links Page. Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. ESPN. June 12, 2004. Accessed 2013-02-26. Archived from the original .] Ray's No. 90 Ford was named the fifth scariest NASCAR paint scheme of all time by
ESPN The Magazine in 2008.
[McGee, Ryan. (November 1, 2008) " Halloween got you spooked? Get a load of these monsters". ESPN The Magazine. Accessed 2013-02-26.]
Personal life and post-career
Ray is a graduate of Walter Wellborn High School.
[Adamson, Scott. (October 16, 1999) " Kevin Ray Earns His Spot in Racing". Talladega, AL: The Daily Home. Accessed 2013-02-26.] He is now retired from racing competition but remains active in the sport, serving as team manager for Red Horse Racing from 2007 to 2013.
[Strickland, Bran and Joe Medley. (October 31, 2009). " NASCAR notebook ". Anniston, AL: The Anniston Star. Accessed 2013-02-26.]
In January 2014, Ray moved to Turner Scott Motorsports, becoming the team's director of business operations.
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
() (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Nextel Cup Series
Busch Series
External links
