Countdown: Mass.

From the time the Pilgrims set foot at Plymouth, the Bay State has been a driving force in the history of the United States that continues today.

The location of many of the events that sparked the revolution -- the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, battles of Lexington and Concord and battle of Bunker Hill -- Massachusetts has been at the heart of American politics, from John Adams to John Kennedy.

For being only the 44th largest state, in terms of square miles, Massachusetts has amassed an amazing group of famous folks: poets E.E. Cummings, Emily Dickinson and Ralph Waldo Emerson; painters Winslow Homer and James Whistler; statesmen Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock and Buckminster Fuller; inventors Elias Howe, Eli Whitney and Robert Goodard; lawyers F. Lee Bailey and Oliver Wendell Holmes; actress Bette Davis and director Cecil B. DeMille.

Edgar Allen Poe's raven, Dr. Seuss' grinch and Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter are all products of Massachusetts ingenuity.

One of NASCAR's most inventive and successful car builders came from that same stock.

Best behind the wheel

• Ralph Moody, Taunton

Ralph Moody's blossoming racing career was interrupted by a hitch in World War II, when he served with the Army Air Force. When he returned, he moved to Florida and began racing modifieds. He eventually found himself with Pete DePaolo's factory Ford team to start the 1956 season.

Inside the Numbers Ralph Moody's Cup stats Year Starts W T5 T10 1956 35 4 13 21 1957 10 1 5 5 1959 1 0 0 1 1962 1 0 0 0 Totals 47 5 18 27

Moody won four races and five poles that season, finishing eighth in the NASCAR standings. He added a win at Wilson in 1957, but when the manufacturers were banned from participating, Moody joined forces with John Holman and began building cars.

From 1957 to 1971, cars built by Holman-Moody in their Charlotte shop and driven by such stars as Bobby Allison, David Pearson, Fireball Roberts, Fred Lorenzen, Curtis Turner, Joe Weatherly, Marvin Panch, Mario Andretti, Dick Hutcherson, Nelson Stacy and Bill Amick scored 92 victories.

Pearson was the beneficiary of Holman-Moody's efforts. He won 30 times in their cars, including 16 in 1968 and 11 in 1969 en route to NASCAR championships.

The partnership dissolved in 1972, when Moody formed Ralph Moody Inc., an engine and car-building business. He was inducted into the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame, the National Motorsports Press Association Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

He died in June of 2004 at age 86.

Other noteworthy drivers from Massachusetts

• Ken Bouchard, Fitchburg: With his 1988 rookie of the year title, joined Ron as only brothers to share that achievement

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• Ron Bouchard, Fitchburg: Won at Talladega during his rookie of the year season in 1981

• Rene Charland, Agawam: Won four consecutive National Sportsman titles from 1962-65, finished third at Fonda in 1966

• Jeff Fuller, Auburn: No top-10s in 11 Cup starts, but has a Bristol win in the Busch Series

• Johnny Gouveia, New Bedord: Ninth at Morristown in 1955, one of five career appearances

• Pete Hamilton, Dedham: 1968 rookie of the year won the 1970 Daytona 500 and twice at Talladega in Petty Superbirds

• Ken Meisenhelder, Springfield: Three top-10s in 51 starts between 1968 and 1971

• Bugs Stevens, Rehoboth: Only three Cup starts, with a best of sixth at Charlotte in 1970, made his mark in the Modified Division, winning three titles

• Reino Tulonen, Fitchburg: Finished fifth at Thompson in 1951 in a Henry J

• Augie Walackas, Brockton: Third at Pittsburg in 1951, one of his five career starts

• Bill Walker, Springfield: Of his six starts, a third at Syracuse in 1957 was his best

We wish ...

Baseball flake Mark "The Bird" Fidrych had become a NASCAR driver.

Nicknamed because he bore a strange resemblance to the Sesame Street character and with the unusual habit of talking to baseballs, the Northborough native burst onto the baseball scene big-time in the summer of 1976, winning 19 games for the Detroit Tigers. Unfortunately, a shoulder injury derailed his career by 1980. Fidrych could have given Boris Said and Elliott Sadler a run for their money for wildest hairstyle.

Gone but not forgotten

• Norwood Arena, Norwood

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Emanuel Zervakis survived 500 laps around this lightning-fast quarter-mile to beat Rex White to the finish line in 1961, NASCAR's only Grand National visit to Massachusetts.

Norwood Arena Speedway hosted oval track and drag racing from 1949 until it closed after the 1972 season. The first event held there was a 24-hour stock-car race, with the winning two-man team covering 3,572 laps.

Other tracks which have hosted NASCAR races

• Seekonk Speedway, Seekonk: This third-mile paved oval which first hosted racing just after World War II was part of the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series from 2001-2005. Vinny Annarummo won his sixth track championship.

A word from our sponsor

• Gillette, Boston

Gillette, which merged with Procter & Gamble in 2005, is known for the development and introduction of world-class brands and products, including grooming, batteries, personal care and appliances.