LATE RACE WRECK CATCHES RUDD AND THE #88 SNICKERS CAR FONTANA, CA (February 25, 2007)

Ricky Rudd and his #88 Snickers® Ford Fusion took a 27th place finish Sunday in the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway. The Snickers team had made adjustments to the car all day long in hopes of turning in a strong finish, but a wreck in the final laps of the race proved to be the final downfall for the team on Sunday.Rudd started the race in the 34th starting position on the outside of David Reutimann. The driver of the Snickers Ford started the afternoon gaining spots in the pack after a few early cautions came out. Pit strategy found the team taking four tires and fuel during the first few pit stops. During the caution on lap 53 Rudd complained that the car had a loose condition in the turns while the left rear side of the car felt like it rose up.

Crew Chief Butch Hylton started to diagnose the best settings and adjustments necessary for the #88 Snickers Ford. After the pit stop on lap 55, Rudd and his Snickers Ford had worked their way back up to 19th place and they competed in and around that position for the majority of the race. The Snickers crew continued the search for changes that would improve the handling on the car, making track bar and air pressure adjustments during pit stops on laps 93 and 115. The changes adjusted the car’s handling on the track but resulted in a tight-handling condition in the center of the turn.Misfortune struck the Snickers team during a green-flag pit stop on lap 160. After making adjustments to the tire pressure and track bar the team was served a speeding penalty when Rudd was caught exiting pit road too fast. The penalty was a pass-through pit road which resulted in a loss of precious track position.

Bad luck found the #88 Snickers Team yet again when Rudd was caught up in a late race incident on lap 242. Rookie driver David Reutimann slammed into the outside retaining wall along the backstretch. After making contact his car careened back across the track, collecting Rudd and the #88 Snickers Ford in the aftermath. The incident resulted in a red-flag, delaying the race for 15 minutes while safety personnel worked to clear the track of debris. The Snickers Team kicked into gear at the conclusion of the delay, scrambling to prepare the substantial damage on the left front of the car and keep Rudd on the track for the remainder of the race.

“He (Reutimann) hit hard and bounced off the wall,” said Rudd. “I didn’t have the option of steering up to avoid his car because there were parts up there, so I had to try and pinch it really tight to the bottom of the track, and I spun to prevent the hit. I’d have drove right through him if I hadn’t have spun my Snickers Ford away from him.”The end result was a frustrating afternoon for the #88 team, despite having great pit stops and pit strategy that allowed the team to move forward though the pack and come away with a 27th place finish.

“The pit stops were good all day,” Rudd stated. “We just need to get it all figured out I guess. We tried a bunch of different adjustments all weekend long in practice as well as during the race today, but we just couldn’t get the car running exactly how we needed it to.”Matt Kenseth won the Auto Club 500 edging out Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Kenseth swept the weekend in Fontana winning the Busch Series race as well on Saturday. Rudd’s teammate, David Gilliland had a 25th place finish with his M&M’s® Ford Fusion.Next weekend the NEXTEL Cup Series has the weekend off but will return to action the following week as they head to Nevada for a weekend of racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Race coverage of the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 is scheduled for the FOX Television Network on Sunday, March11 at 4 p.m. EST with radio coverage provided by the Performance Racing Network (PRN).

RUDD TAKES 34th STARTING POSITION IN FONTANA

FONTANA, CA (February 23, 2007) – Ricky Rudd will start from the 34th position in Sunday’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup event at California Speedway after posting a qualifying speed of 182.089 mph in his Snickers® Ford Fusion during Friday’s qualifying session.

Following a tremendous qualifying effort in Daytona Beach for the Daytona 500 last week, Rudd and the #88 team hoped to continue the success at the two-mile California Speedway on Friday afternoon. Cold weather and wind affected the track conditions for the Snickers team which went out to qualify in the 48th position out of 51 cars attempting to make the race.

Earlier in the day, the NEXTEL Cup teams had their first practice of the weekend. The Snickers Ford ran 12 laps during the first practice session posting a fastest lap time of 39.692 seconds and 181.397mph. Joe Nemechek finished the first practice session of the weekend as the fastest driver with a speed of 185.219mph. Following some adjustments to the #88 Ford, Rudd finished the first practice session with the 27th best lap time. Fellow Robert Yates Racing and Masterfoods USA teammate, David Gilliland navigated his M&M’s® Ford to the 25th fastest practice time.

“We came into California with a pretty great car based on our testing out in Las Vegas earlier in the month,” said Rudd. “During practice today we tried a few different minor changes to the car, but I really feel confident in Butch and the guys on the #88 Snickers team that we’ll be able to have a great run on Sunday. It was just a lot cooler on the track by the time we went out for qualifying today so the car was a bit tighter than it had been in practice earlier.”

Jeff Gordon secured the pole on Friday in Fontana with a fast lap time of 38.765 seconds. Gordon will share the front row with Kasey Kahne followed by Mark Martin and Kevin Harvick in the third and fourth positions.

Rudd’s teammate David Gilliland will start the M&M’s® Ford Fusion from the 40th position after posting a lap time of 39.687 seconds and 181.420 mph.

The FOX television network is scheduled to provide live television coverage of the Auto Club 500 is beginning at 3:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 25th with the green flag scheduled to drop at 3:30 p.m. Radio coverage will be provided by the Motor Racing Network (MRN).