Motorsports

Rudd's longevity reaches new high

By BRUCE LOWITT, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published July 24, 2003

---

On Jan. 11, 1981, you could have watched Evita on Broadway, Private Benjamin in the movies, The Jeffersons on television and Ricky Rudd at Riverside.

Rudd is still running.

He had been racing in Winston Cup for six years before the speedway east of Los Angeles opened the 1981 schedule, but that race began a streak of starts that reaches 700 Sunday at the Pocono 500 in Long Pond, Pa. He set the record last year when he passed Terry Labonte's 655th consecutive start.

"It wasn't a record I was trying to establish. It just sort of developed," Rudd said. "There was no guarantee I was going to reach 700. You never know when you're going to smack the wall and break a body part that's not healable in a short period of time."

He has had two that came close:

- He crashed during the 1984 Busch Clash a week before the Daytona 500. He had, among other things, torn rib cage cartilage and a battered face so swollen he could barely open his eyes. "The hospital wanted to keep me there a lot longer than I wanted to stay," said Rudd, who checked himself out the next day. With duct tape keeping his eyes open, Rudd finished seventh in the Daytona 500.

- He crashed in 1988 during the Winston at Charlotte, tearing all the ligaments in his left knee. Doctors wanted to operate. That would have meant six weeks without racing. Rudd flew to Indianapolis and was examined by orthopedic surgeon Terry Trammell ("The guy that puts all the Indy-car guys back together," Rudd said.). "I was on an exercise bike the next morning. He designed a special knee brace and I was off and running (races) again."

He never has raced just to keep the streak alive. "It was more about getting patched up and trying to win or get as many Winston Cup points as we could."

The experience he brought to Wood Brothers, the team he joined this year, is invaluable, said co-owner Ed Wood.

"He's got the wherewithal to back up everything he says because he's done everything," Wood said. "If the car's not doing well, Ricky's your gauge, the only standard you really have. If it's not doing what it needs to be doing, he can help you work on whatever area it feels like it is - chassis, aerodynamics, engine. What he tells you, you can take it to the bank."

In 28 years of Winston Cup racing, Rudd has earned more than $30-million and gone from the new kid on the track to one of its elders. "I was 18 my first race; the next youngest guy was probably in his early 30s. I got kidded a lot about pit stops for diaper changes. Now there's four or five guys older than me out here. A lot of guys have come and gone. It's nice to have some mileage left on me."

OBIT: Bob Latford, NASCAR's unofficial historian, died in Concord, N.C., after a long illness. He was 67. Mr. Latford is best known for the championship points system he invented in 1974 on a request from NASCAR president Bill France Jr.

- Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Bowling

Lack of funding raises questions about future of women's tour

Colleges

Baylor to investigate if missing player paid

Cycling

Injured American gets win

Golf

Wyckoff rallies atInnisbrook

Some rules turn classy majors into goofy golf

Titans return to Turnberry

Vet, rookie share lead in France

In brief

Cabinet member calls for new supplement law

Little League

Citrus Park one win shy of state title

Southport again ends Hernando's title hopes

MLB

AL: Pettitte ends O's streak at six

NL: Mordecai homer leads Marlins past Braves

Tsao will be 1stpitcher from Taiwan in MLB

Motorsports

Rudd's longevity reaches new high

NBA

Four teams pull off a six-player trade

Not all charitable donations welcome

NFL

Redskins resume fight for nickname

Outdoors

Daily fishing report

Preps

Hard times bring out the best qualities in Weller

Achievements speak for Hosack

Rays

From lead to loss in 5 pitches

Rolls takes rest, Perez takes spot

Bucs

Discipline is the key to Smith's transition

Safety still a backup, still confident

Sapp, McFarland take turns with offense

Tempers flare, punches flail during intense goal-line drill

Lightning

Lightning adds depth to its defensive corps