UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 - Ricky Rudd Notes

"FUN FACTOR" - VERY HIGH AT LAS VEGAS FOR RUDD

March 2 will mark Ricky Rudd's sixth appearance at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and his 683rd consecutive career start. The #21 Motorcraft Racing Ford Taurus driver has one pole (2000) and two 12th place finishes (1998 and 2000) at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval. Ranked 10th in points following the first two races of the year, Rudd is really looking forward to another run at Las Vegas where he says the "fun factor" is very high.

"Las Vegas is still a relatively new track for Winston Cup competition. We haven't been going out there that many years.

"It's a good race track. It's a fun race track to drive. I think what makes it fun is that the corners are relatively flat with a banked angle. In turns one and two during the race the groove will move up, so it is a good example of a place that you have two lanes to pass in. It's maybe three lanes wide in turn one, but it's primarily two abreast racing that goes on there.

"It's a flat track with relatively long straightaways. The layout of the track - it's a driver's track. Horsepower is critical there on the front straightaway, but I put it in the category of tracks like a Michigan, where the flatter tracks tend to cause the cars to slide around a little more in the corners.

"You run very, very fast in qualifying and the pace slows up quite a bit in race trim mainly because the tires give up there.

"It is a race track that you can pass on. You can have a fast car and still come from the back to the front unlike some tracks that we run.

"For the fun factor, I rate it very high. And skill factor - again the driver has a lot of input there. And the handling - the driver and the handling go hand-in-hand. It definitely becomes a handling race track as the race goes on."

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