RUDD GETS CAUGHT IN A WILD DAYTONA NIGHT

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (February 18, 2007)- In a highly dramatic ending to the Daytona 500, Ricky Rudd and his Snickers® Ford Fusion finished the day in the 26th position after starting on the front row alongside fellow teammate, David Gilliland.

In a race that ended with a last lap wreck which scattered cars across the finish line, and a finish separated by .02 seconds, the 49 th Annual Daytona 500 was a day that had initially held promise for the Masterfoods USA teammates of Gilliland and Rudd.

“At the end we just got in that mess,” said Rudd. “They were bouncing off each other and off the walls. I don’t know who finished the race without any scrapes, but what a day. I was really pleased with the pit stops. Our car was really good on long runs.”

The race started out with Gilliland leading 18 laps in his M&M’s® Ford. Lap 16 showed the first caution of the day when Boris Said spun out on the backstretch. After a routine pit stop of fresh tires, Rudd and the rest of the field went 63 laps before the yellow flag returned.

The Snickers Ford was running strong, fighting his way back into the top ten on lap 118, and continued to climb though the field to a race-best of second place. Race favorites Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, and Kurt Busch were some of the drivers involved in collisions that dropped them out of contention. Following a caution on lap 185, Rudd and Gilliland found their Masterfoods cars lined up in the 11th and 12th positions poised to restart and maneuver their way to victory.

Drafting and nose-to-tail three-wide racing eventually took its toll on the 88 team. On lap 196, the #26 of Jamie McMurray got loose and slammed into the wall coming off of Turn 2. As McMurray bounced off the wall, he collected the Snickers Ford along with the #8 machine of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Damage to the left front and rear of the 88, left the crew scrambling to get Rudd’s machine in working order again. In an attempt to clean up all the debris on the speedway, NASCAR called for a red flag and all the remaining vehicles came to a halt on the backstretch of Daytona.

After clinching the #2 starting position in Sunday’s qualifying for the Daytona 500, it wasn’t the “satisfying” ending that the 88 team had dreamed of going into the day. Cold temperatures and a full moon might be to blame, but the desire to win “The Great American Race” had all the drivers putting everything on the line for a potential win. Gilliland had his first career Top Ten finish, and prior to the late crash, The Snickers team had been successful in running a clean race.

“We came out of here banged up,” said Rudd. “The other side of it was the pit stops were excellent today. I think we got up to second or third one time just by the way the stops worked out. We didn’t two-tire it or anything to do that, we just did it with four tires and got up there, so I’m really optimistic about what I’m seeing.”

Once again, Daytona proved that the draft and three-wide racing on its infamous high banks can cause a jumble of activity and wild rides.

Kevin Harvick was declared the winner of the 2007 Daytona 500 just edging out Mark Martin in a photo finish where race cars were strewn all over the infield grass and Clint Bowyer’s car crossed the finish line upside down. Harvick won the Orbitz 300 Busch Series race on Saturday afternoon, thus sweeping the weekend in Daytona.

Next weekend the NEXTEL Cup continues as the Series heads to California for a weekend of racing at California Speedway. Race coverage of the Auto Club 500 is scheduled for the FOX Television Network on Sunday, February 25 at 3 p.m. ET with radio coverage will be provided by the Motor Racing Network (MRN).