The Winston - Ricky Rudd Notes

LEN WOOD: "We prepare the car the same way we do for any other race of the year."

The Winston means different things to different people. In this case, Ricky Rudd, driver of the #21 Motorcraft Racing Ford Taurus, thinks it is a "fun race," and Motorcraft team co-owner Len Wood says it is just another race for his crew. Wood Brothers Racing won the event in 1996 when then-driver Michael Waltrip parlayed the final transfer spot from The Winston Open into a trip to victory lane.

RICKY RUDD: "It's a fun race. There are no points and it creates a lot of excitement. I have to give it to Charlotte Motor Speedway. That race when it got started didn't look like it was headed anywhere. They went to Charlotte the first year, but then they went to Atlanta the second year on Mother's Day Weekend, and there wasn't hardly anybody who showed up for it. And then they went back to Charlotte, and they've done a lot to promote it and create excitement. They are running it under the lights. They've done a lot to make that race exciting.

"I enjoy running the event. There is a lot of money on the line and there are no points involved. I've always liked racing at Lowe's. From the driver's standpoint, it is a fun race. When you go there, you always play the game as to which car you take. If you have one car that is a little better than another for the track, you save the better one for the Coca Cola 600."

LEN WOOD: DOES THE MOTORCRAFT TEAM PREPARE ANY DIFFERENTLY FOR THE WINSTON? "We look at The Winston as just another race to us. The format is different, but we prepare the car the same way we do for any other race of the year. We run 39 races a year, including the Budweiser Shootout, our 125 at Daytona and The Winston. It is the third Saturday of May coming up, and The Winston is what is on the schedule. We've won it, and we've come back with torn-up cars too. But we really don't look at it any differently than we do any other event on the schedule.

"We are kind of looking at this year's race as a test for the 600. If we run good, and the car is in one piece, we'll bring it back, paint it Air Force blue and take it to Lowe's for Memorial Day weekend. If we find out that the car isn't running the way we like, then we will bring another car to the track for the 600."

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