Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 - Ricky Rudd Notes

RUDD FIRES HIS PIT CREW AND WINS THE RACE

In 52 starts at North Carolina Speedway, Ricky Rudd, driver of the #21 Motorcraft Racing Ford Taurus, has only one win, but it was a memorable one. It may be the only time in the history of the sport that a driver fired his pit crew during the course of a race. Ricky explains how it happened.

"It's been a good track for me over the years. But we've only won one race there. That was in 1996. We had a very good car that day. It was unbelievably good, really good on hot tires and at that time any time the caution came out, you came to pit road whether you had five laps on your tires or 10. Everyone hit pit road to get tires because it made a big difference.

"We had a day that was a frustrating day. I think that day there were 15 cars on the lead lap, and every time we came into the pits there would be a foul-up on our pit stop. We'd come in leading or running second and come out of the pits the last on the lead lap.

"We'd run 50 or 60 laps, finally get back in the lead again, the caution would come out and we'd come in and then go back to being the last-place car. And, it went like that all day long.

"It finally got down toward the end of the race, and as the owner AND the driver, I could make the call. After having so much abuse and it wasn't working right that day, I told my crew chief, Richard Broome, 'Find somebody that is out of the race. We need to do something different. We'll worry about our problem later, but right now go get somebody off another crew.' [Owner] Bobby Allison's car had dropped out, and we got the tire changers off the 12 car, and the next stop was just as bad. They were having trouble.

"We finally worked our way back to the front after that. We were leading the race. The caution came out, and we'd been on those tires probably 30 laps at least. And Richard said, 'Come on in to pit, Rooster. Come on in and get your four tires.' And I remember I said, 'I'm not coming. I'm not coming in.' I thought if we come in we'll lose the race because we won't have enough time to make it up this time. There aren't enough laps left. It had taken us about 50 laps to dig us out of the hole we'd get in. And Richard said, 'But, you've got to come in and get tires. We're at Rockingham.' And I said, 'I'm not coming in.'

"Anyway, they restarted it. Our car was that good on older tires. It would really shine, and we ended up winning the race that day."

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