Rick Kelly

Rick Kelly (born 17 January 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver who previously competed in the Supercars Championship. He last drove the No. 15 Ford Mustang GT for Kelly Racing. Previously, he drove for the HSV Dealer Team with whom he won the Bathurst 1000 alongside Greg Murphy in 2003 and 2004. In 2006, Kelly extended his success by winning the V8 Supercar Championship for the HSV Dealer Team. His older brother Todd Kelly was also a racing driver who won the Bathurst 1000 in 2005. His parents John and Margaret Kelly formed Kelly Racing in 2009 with Rick and Todd Kelly as lead drivers, expanding to a 4 car operation.

2006 Supercar Championship In 2006, Kelly won the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series after being one of the most consistent performers throughout the season. The victory, however, was not without its share of controversy. Despite not winning a single round overall (though he did win an individual race), or scoring a pole position in any individual race, Kelly entered the final round of the series at Phillip Island seven points ahead of his nearest competitor, Craig Lowndes, (who had won four rounds) due to consistent high points finishes in all twelve of the previous 2006 rounds.

Coming into the third and final race of the round, Lowndes had managed to pull back the deficit to be even on points with Kelly, meaning that the driver out of the two who finished first would clinch the championship. Two laps into the final race, Kelly collided with Lowndes, who then slid into Todd Kelly. Damage to Lowndes’s car resulted in him finishing 29th, whereas Rick Kelly finished 18th and was awarded the series title despite not having won a single round.

Charitable work Kelly has joined other publicly known figures in support of the "Oscar's Law" campaign, a protest against the factory farming of companion animals. The campaign is named after a neglected dog found in central Victoria, Australia, and was launched in 2010. The list of supporters includes singers Kate Ceberano, Jon Stevens, and Sia. Kelly not only appears on the campaign's website, but he has also promoted the campaign on his Twitter account.

Career results Career summary Season Series Position Car Team 2000 Australian Formula Ford Championship 2nd Stealth Van Diemen RF94 Ford 2001 Australian Drivers' Championship 1st Reynard 94D Holden Birrana Racing Shell Championship Series 47th Holden VX Commodore K-Mart Racing TeamHolden Racing Team 2002 V8 Supercar Championship Series 16th Holden VX Commodore Holden Young Lions 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series 8th Holden VX Commodore K-mart Racing Team 2004 V8 Supercar Championship Series 6th Holden VY Commodore K-mart Racing Team 2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series 8th Holden VZ Commodore HSV Dealer Team 2006 V8 Supercar Championship Series 1st Holden VZ Commodore HSV Dealer Team 2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series 4th Holden VE Commodore HSV Dealer Team 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series 7th Holden VE Commodore HSV Dealer Team 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series 8th Holden VE Commodore Kelly Racing 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series 8th Holden VE Commodore Kelly Racing 2011 International V8 Supercars Championship 6th Holden VE Commodore Kelly Racing 2012 International V8 Supercars Championship 14th Holden VE Commodore Kelly Racing 2013 International V8 Supercars Championship 14th Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport 2014 International V8 Supercars Championship 13th Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport 2015 International V8 Supercars Championship 9th Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport 2016 International V8 Supercars Championship 13th Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport 2017 Supercars Championship 14th Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport 2018 Supercars Championship 8th Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport 2019 Supercars Championship 17th Nissan Altima L33 Kelly Racing 2020 Supercars Championship 16th Ford Mustang GT Kelly Racing

Supercars Championship results

Complete Bathurst 1000 results Year Team Car Co-driver Position Laps 2001 K-mart Racing Team Holden Commodore VX Nathan Pretty 14th 158 2002 Holden Young Lions Holden Commodore VX Nathan Pretty 4th 161 2003 K-mart Racing Team Holden Commodore VY Greg Murphy 1st 161 2004 K-mart Racing Team Holden Commodore VY Greg Murphy 1st 161 2005 HSV Dealer Team Holden Commodore VZ Garth Tander 16th 149 2006 HSV Dealer Team Holden Commodore VZ Todd Kelly 2nd 161 2007 HSV Dealer Team Holden Commodore VE Garth Tander DNF 134 2008 HSV Dealer Team Holden Commodore VE Paul Radisich DNS 0 Paul Dumbrell David Reynolds 20th 127 2009 Kelly Racing Holden Commodore VE Todd Kelly 8th 161 2010 Kelly Racing Holden Commodore VE Owen Kelly 16th 161 2011 Kelly Racing Holden Commodore VE Owen Kelly 22nd 159 2012 Kelly Racing Holden Commodore VE David Russell 15th 161 2013 Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima L33 Karl Reindler 19th 161 2014 Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima L33 David Russell 8th 161 2015 Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima L33 David Russell 16th 161 2016 Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima L33 Russell Ingall DNF 156 2017 Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima L33 David Wall 13th 159 2018 Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima L33 Garry Jacobson 11th 161 2019 Kelly Racing Nissan Altima L33 Dale Wood 8th 161 2020 Kelly Racing Ford Mustang Mk.6 Dale Wood 17th 144