RUDD FALLS VICTIM TO EARLY WRECK BUT FINISHES 24th AT INDY

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (July 29, 2007) – Ricky Rudd and the #88 Snickers® Ford Fusion finished 24th Sunday afternoon in the Allstate 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Rudd is the 1997 Allstate 400 champion and looked forward to returning to the storied grounds of Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  The #88 began the afternoon from the 37th position, yet after a tremendous effort to gain track position, Rudd was a victim of an early wreck which left the #88 Snickers Racing Team repairing the damaged race car for the remainder of the day.

 In a weekend filled with delays in track activity due to rain, even a soggy start to the weekend couldn’t wash away the excitement NEXTEL Cup Series team had this weekend at Indy.  Indianapolis Motor Speedway which opened in 1909, is the second-oldest active track in the world and hosted its 14th NASCAR sanctioned race in speedway history.   NEXTEL Cup Series qualifying took place on Saturday at 5:30pm EST after it had to be postponed due to rain showers which cancelled practice sessions all day Friday as well as early Saturday morning.   Sunday’s forecast for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard provided sunny skies and temperatures in the 90’s .

Rudd began the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard from the 37th starting spot alongside teammate David Gilliland who began from the 38th position.  The green flag flew at 2:22pm EST as Bud Pole Winner Reed Sorenson led the field to green for the first seventeen laps before losing the lead to Indiana-native Tony Stewart on lap eighteen.

During the opening laps of the Allstate 400, Rudd maneuvered his way up to the 27th position by lap eight as Sorenson continued to lead the Allstate 400.  The first caution of the afternoon came on lap 15 as the #66 of Jeff Green blew a tire and hit the wall going into Turn two.  During the caution, Stewart gained two spots coming off pit road and stole the lead away from Sorenson who fell to third at the time.  Rudd and the #88 team took four tires and fuel during the first stop of the day without making any adjustments to the Snickers Ford.  The restart on lap 20 found Rudd in 22nd and Gilliland close behind in 24th.  

The second caution flag immediately followed as Ryan Newman spun around in Turn four on lap 20 and Rudd restarted in 20th.  The Snickers Ford was able to gain one more position on the track before the third caution of the afternoon came on lap 40 as Kasey Kahne got loose in Turn one and collided with the #96 of Tony Raines.  During the following caution laps, Rudd called in over team communications to Crew Chief Butch Hylton that the Snickers Ford was great during the opening of the green flag runs, but after some wear on the tires, the car would slide up the track making it difficult to drive the lower line.  Hylton called for a pit stop on lap 40 taking four fresh tires, fuel, and slight changes to air pressure settings in the new tires.  During the pit stops on lap 40, Gilliland brought his M&M’S® Ford in for a pit stop.  Upon exiting his pit, the #21 of Bill Elliott pinched the #38 into the pit road wall causing damage on both front sides of the #38.  

The restart on lap 44 found Rudd in 20th and Gilliland in 39th as the #38 team struggled to repair the battered race car.  Unfortunately Gilliland’s teammate would also find himself caught up in a mess a few laps later.  On lap 46, Jamie McMurray got loose and collided with Scott Riggs.  The pair also ended up collecting Jimmie Johnson, Robby Gordon, Bill Elliott , J.J. Yeley, and Rudd causing significant damage to all the vehicles.  The Snickers Ford had considerable damage to the right front and hood of the #88 as well as minor damage to the right rear bumper.  

The remainder of the afternoon would be spent in an attempt to repair the Snickers Ford to a level that Rudd could finish the race without losing valuable track position.  The #88 would return to the pits three more times before the field returned to green flag racing on lap 53 as Rudd dropped down to 35th on the score charts.  Fortunately more yellow caution flags would fly throughout the afternoon which allowed the #88 pit crew to keep a close watch on the damaged car.  

Good news came on lap 77 during a caution for debris as Rudd learned that he was the recipient of the “lucky dog” meaning that the Snickers Ford which had fallen a lap down earlier due to repairs, the free pass placed Rudd back on the lead lap of the race.  Once again fighting for survival on the racetrack and after numerous stops to adjust the tape on the hood and front right side of the car, Rudd eventually worked his way up to 25th by lap 114.  Rudd would continue to stay in 25th for the next 15 laps until a routine green flag pit stop brought the Snickers Ford down pit road for four fresh Goodyear tires and Sunoco fuel.  As Rudd was completing his first lap on the new tires, he called in to Hylton that something felt wrong with the car.  Upon returning to pit road on lap 133, the #88 crew changed only the right side tires and discovered that the right rear tire from the previous set, had a small hole in it.

Even after numerous attempts to repair the damaged #88, Rudd found himself fighting a race car that was too loose to run as aggressively as he desired although he had made considerable gains all day.  At the end of the afternoon, Gilliland finished 17th and Rudd finished 24th in Sunday’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.   

“We just got bent up in that wreck today,” commented Rudd following the race.  “The wreck happened in front of us and the track got blocked.  At the time I thought we might be lucky enough to miss it but instead we ended up right in the middle of a seven car wreck.  It was just a disappointing afternoon today because I honestly felt that we possibly had at least a 14th-place car but then we just ran into bad luck early on today and had to spend the rest of the day trying to fix our Snickers Ford enough to where I could drive it.  Track position is very important here at Indy and we really were doing a good job of getting the #88 up through the field.  I’m just disappointed that we weren’t able to see how our car would have played out today.”

Tony Stewart won Sunday’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard making this his second NEXTEL Cup Series victory of the 2007 season.  Sunday’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard marks the second time Stewart has won at Indianapolis as well as his second victory in a row for the 2007 season.  Stewart began Sunday’s race from the 14th position and lead a total of 65 of the 160 laps, the most led by any driver during the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.  Juan Pablo Montoya finished second for the afternoon after starting the race from the same position.  Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch finished third and fourth respectively as Allstate 400 pole-sitter, Reed Sorenson rounded out the top-five finishers for the Allstate 400.

Following Sunday’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, 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 371 points behind Gordon.  Matt Kenseth remains third only six points behind Hamlin.  Jeff Burton also held his position in the driver point standings in fourth, but following a crash early in the race, Carl Edwards fell one position allowing race-winner Tony Stewart to climb into fifth in the driver point standings.  Rudd gained one spot moving up to 29th in the driver point standings, while Gilliland also gained a position moving up to 26th in the driver point standings. 

Next weekend the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series travels to Pocono Raceway for the Pennsylvania 500 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.  Pre-race television coverage begins on Sunday, August 5th at 1:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.  Radio coverage will be provided by the Motor Racing Network (MRN).