RUDD BATTLES BACK TO FINISH 21st AT CHICAGOLAND

JOLIET, IL (July 15, 2007) – Ricky Rudd and the #88 PEDIGREE® Brand Food for Dogs Ford Fusion finished 21st Sunday afternoon in the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. After a difficult qualifying effort earlier in the weekend, Rudd and his #88 PEDIGREE Racing team battled through the race field Sunday in an effort to bring home a solid finish from Chicago. Rudd began the USG Sheetrock 400 from the 41st starting spot alongside Robert Yates Racing teammate David Gilliland who began from the 42nd position. The green flag flew at 3:18pm CST as Casey Mears led the field to green for the first five laps before losing the lead to Martin Truex, Jr. on lap six.

Rudd drove his way up to the 36th position by lap ten as Truex, Jr. continued to lead the USG Sheetrock 400. Lap 18 found yet another lead change as Jimmie Johnson found himself in the top spot as Rudd continued to pilot his PEDIGREE Ford through the field. By lap 48 as the first series of green flag pit stops began, the #88 PEDIGREE Ford was scored in 25th as Rudd came down pit road two laps later for the first pit stop of the day. The PEDIGREE Racing pit crew put on four new tires and added fuel before Rudd returned to racing action.

The first caution of the afternoon came on lap 58 as the #66 of Jeff Green got loose and slid into the #55 of Michael Waltrip in turn two. #88 Crew Chief Butch Hylton made the call for Rudd to make another pit stop on lap 62 under caution to take on four fresh tires and fuel. The restart on lap 64 found Rudd in 30th immediately behind his teammate Gilliland in 29th.

The second series of green flag pit stops began around lap 107. The PEDIGREE Ford stayed out on the track in an effort to gain track position, but on lap 116, Rudd returned to pit road for four fresh tires and fuel. Immediately following the restart, Rudd called in over team communications to Hylton that the #88 was very loose to the point where he was unable to accelerate and use the throttle as much as was necessary. Unfortunately the caution flag would not fly for another 40 laps forcing Rudd to drive under loose conditions until the team could make a routine pit stop without losing valuable track position.

During the caution on lap 156, the PEDIGREE pit crew made the first adjustments to the #88 Ford for the day with adjustments to the left rear wedge as well as a slight lowering of the track bar. These adjustments were made in an effort to tighten the #88 Pedigree Ford up so that Rudd could throttle up in the turns. The third caution came on lap 165 after Robby Gordon spun out in turn two. After a quick restart, Rudd was in 25th and Gilliland was up in 22nd where they continued to run for the next 38 laps until the #22 and #4 collided in turn two which brought out the fourth caution of the day. Hylton decided to call for a pit stop during the caution laps and the #88 received fuel and four new tires. Once again Rudd restarted 25th in an effort to catch Gilliland who restarted 21st. By lap 212, Rudd had driven his way up to 22nd and once again began to methodically pass cars for position. On lap 224, the caution flag flew once again as Jimmie Johnson careened into the wall in turn three. Johnson who had led a total of 82 laps throughout the race found himself entering the garage with a failed attempt at a victory. During the caution laps, Rudd made his final pit stop of the day taking only right side tires and fuel. Rudd restarted in 20th and would remain there until the closing laps of the race where Bobby Labonte passed him for the 20th position with less than 15 laps to go.

At race end, Gilliland finished 16th and Rudd finished 21st in Sunday’s USG Sheetrock 400. Gilliland and his #38 M&M’S® team spent the afternoon making adjustments to a car that was too tight. In the end, Gilliland and Rudd were able to make considerable gains on the scoreboard after starting the race in 41st and 42nd.

“We really fought our way through the field today,” commented Rudd following the race. “We started out the weekend with a qualifying run that left us starting today’s race near the rear of the starting grid. Our car handled pretty well all day long and we didn’t have to make any major adjustments. In the middle of the race, during a long green-flag run, we ended up with a set of tires on the car that made the car very loose to the point where I couldn’t throttle into the turns the way I wanted to. For us starting in 41st at the start of the afternoon, our PEDIGREE racing team did a great job of making sure that we had a solid finish this afternoon.”

Tony Stewart won Sunday’s USG Sheetrock 400 making this is first NEXTEL Cup Series victory of the 2007 season, and his 30th victory in 303 NEXTEL Cup Series starts. Stewart began Sunday’s race from the 19th position taking the lead six separate times for a total of 108 laps, the most led by any driver during the USG Sheetrock 400. Roush-Fenway Racing teammates Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards finished second and third Sunday afternoon. Kevin Harvick finished fourth after leading a total of 54 laps throughout the afternoon, and Bud Pole Winner, Casey Mears rounded out the top-five finishers Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway.

After Sunday’s USG Sheetrock 400, Jeff Gordon continues to lead the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series driver point standings and increased his lead over Denny Hamlin who remains in second place 303 points behind Gordon. Matt Kenseth remains third, but following a crash in Sunday’s race, Jimmie Johnson fell in the driver point standings which allowed Jeff Burton to move up to fourth while Carl Edwards climbed up to fifth place. Rudd gained one spot moving up to the 30th in the driver point standings, while Gilliland remained in the 27th spot in the standings.

Next weekend the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series has the weekend off but will return to action the following weekend as the series travels to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Pre-race television coverage begins on Sunday, July 29th at 1:00 p.m. EST on ESPN. Radio coverage will be provided by Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS).