The 51-year-old Rudd plans to make his 906th and final Nextel Cup start this Sunday, putting the final touches on a career that spanned four different decades. Second behind only Richard Petty in longevity, the race will cap a disappointing one-year comeback after Rudd left the sport following the 2005 season; he’s got just one top-10 finish this year and missed five races due to a separated shoulder suffered in September.
One of the sport’s true independents, Rudd embodies the entrepreneurial spirit of the ‘90s, in which his self-owned team rose to prominence through a six-year span that included a Brickyard 400 win in 1997. Never lucky enough for the stars to align for a championship, Rudd did finish second in points in ‘91, then gave Jeff Gordon a spirited run at the title a decade later while driving for Yates. Arguably, it was with Yates where Rudd experienced his most consistent success: he accumulated three wins, 34 top 5s, and finished in the top 5 in points back-to-back for the only time in his career (‘00-01).
Sports Illustrated.com
The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series travels to Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend for the final race of the 2007 season, the Ford 400. Ford Championship Weekend will mark the final start for Rudd in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series and Sunday’s Ford 400 will be Rudd’s 906th career start in the series. NASCAR’s “Iron Man,” who holds the record for the most consecutive number of starts with 788, will start the final Cup series race of his career Sunday. Rudd holds numerous accolades on his resume including: 1992 IROC Champion, 1997 Brickyard 400 Winner, 2006 Virginian of the Year, and was named one of NASCAR’s “50 All-Time Great” drivers to name a few. Motorsport.com
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