Food City 500 - Ricky Rudd Notes

Ricky Rudd: "I would like it better if there were 30 cars. But that is what happens as the race goes on. Attrition takes cars out, generally,as the race goes on, and it thins the crowd out."

Since Bristol has been concrete the groove has been at the bottom of the track, and that makes passing very difficult. In the classic NASCAR videos, when the track was pavement the racing was much better. Do you think the track will ever go back to asphalt? "Never say never. I learned that. Bruton Smith is real big about making sure the fans are entertained at that race track. I have noticed over the years that the concrete has gotten a little bit better, but it still isn't back to the way it was when it was asphalt. You are able to pass, but it is not like it was when it was blacktop. To me, those were the best races. You had guys racing each other for the lead, and you'd have one guy go to the bottom, and one go right up to the fence racing side by side. That was great racing. I don't know how many times they re-blacktopped it, but they just never could get it right and it was a disaster. At least what they've got stays put. I would prefer to have blacktop. Back when the blacktop wasn't coming apart and wasn't an issue, it definitely was better racing. Now it is a lot of the follow-the-leader until you get to lap 300, 350. Track position is very important. Even if you've got a fast car and restart 15th, it is very hard to get through the front of the pack."

Do you think 43 cars are too many cars to have on such a small race track, or is it about right? "I would like it better if there were 30 cars. But that is what happens as the race goes on. Attrition takes cars out, generally, as the race goes on, and it thins the crowd out. To me it is a lot easier racing when the crowd gets thinned out. When you have a restart after an early caution and if you've come into the pits, you have to go back out to the end of the longest line. Everybody stays on the lead lap there fairly early so when they restart you actually are seeing the leader in your mirror. That's how stretched out they are. The track's just not big enough. To me what makes 43 cars seem like too many is because you only have one race groove."

How different are the race conditions at Bristol during the spring day race versus the August night race? "They aren't as much. Concrete is not as temperamental going from daylight to night as a blacktop track. Generally you can run the car a little bit freer at night than during the day. But there aren't any major changes. Sometimes gear ratios might be a little bit different at night versus daylight. The track is usually a little bit quicker at night, but not much. Again, the concrete tracks don't seem to be temperamental. It doesn't seem to know the difference whether you are running under the lights or in daylight."

Will the new tire and spoilers affect the notes from last year or will it not matter because it's a short track? "I think the big thing is the tires. It's a different tire at Bristol. It's a little different tire than we've run in the past. They are fast. We were there the other day testing and the race pace is quicker. It'll probably be three-tenths of a second quicker than what it was when we were there a year ago. That in itself will require a little bit different set-up on the car, tweaking the old setups. So the biggest issue isn't the spoiler, but the tires."

Does the Bristol race rely more on driver ability or set-up? "You've got to have both. You've got to have a car that is pretty racy, that is underneath the driver; he has to be able to run pretty low all race long. A lot of guys go in low, sort of make a small diamond, turn it and they can drive back off the corner low. You can run decent laps like that, but not as good as you can if you can just go right in there, put the tire on the white line and drive all the way around the race track. That is what everybody tries to get their car to do. Once you are in the race, it doesn't always work out that way, so you just do the best that you can do until you have a chance to make adjustments."