NASCAR'S Nextel Cup drivers will be off this weekend, so Ricky Rudd answers general questions from fans including giving advice to young people interested in becoming race car drivers. Submit questions to via his Web site at http://www.rickyrudd.com/askricky.html.

What advice would you give to a young person or rookie who is trying to make it in racing?

I guess two-fold. Definitely go and get a good education. Don't sacrifice your education for going racing. It helps today to be up on what is going on. With these cars I think you need to look at some type of engineering background in school that will help you relate to the race cars better. Don't sacrifice that. I was very fortunate that I was able to make it into Cup. I didn't go to college. But you need to have something to fall back on in case your day job, racing, doesn't work out. And, you need seat time. Get whatever seat time you can. It doesn't matter if it is go-kart racing or motorcycle racing or local track racing. But not just at one speedway. You need to move around. You don't need to run at just one track all the time. And meet as many people and shake as many hands as you can because you've got to have somebody with financial backing, whether it be family or friends, somebody that takes an interest in you and wants to back you. Even if you've got the ability you have to have somebody that wants to back you.

Why were the Fords able to run to the front at Talladega, but not get around the Chevrolets?

I don't know. I never saw a Ford that could get out and lead the draft for the lead. And, the Chevrolets seemed to be able to do that. I think at one time we were like 10th, and we were the top Ford for a long time and we could tag along in the draft, but we couldn't pull out and pass. Everybody had a little trouble passing, but I saw some Chevrolets that could definitely pull out, and they had pushers behind them, but they could quickly drive to the front and I didn't see a Ford that could do that. I'm not really sure why. I don't know the answer.

Are you at the shop quite a bit or do you let the team do its own thing?

I go by there, or try to go by there, once a week. This stuff is advanced way beyond my thought process. I go just to give them some input. I go by and we'll talk. My job is just to relate what is going on behind the steering wheel, anything I can do to kind of put those guys in the driver's seat. I'm not too actively involved in chassis set-ups, just because most drivers aren't now days. It's advanced so far.

Do you think you have a strong enough team to finish in the top ten this year as in previous ones?

I don't know. If all of a sudden we got our act in gear and started running really good a top-10 is not out of the question. We see signs that we are improving, but we need to do better yet to think about the top-10. It is reachable, but we've got to get turned around. The qualifying effort at Talladega was really good. That was a good shot in the arm. But, we need to be consistent week in and week out. The guys are trying so it is not for a lack of effort, but we're just not where we need to be looking at a shot at a top-10. We're just not there yet.

Which of the competitors is your best friend and which one you rather not have a cup of coffee with?

I'm friendly with just about everybody in the garage area. But any free time I get, I don't spend it with the competitors. I spend all the time I can get with the family. We travel around together, we're around each other a lot, say hello and like that. I'd say we are friendly with everybody, but I don't really consider anybody in here close friends. I elect to spend time with the family instead.

Do you have a truck and, if so, is it a Ford?

I do. I've got an old work truck, a '98 Ford F-150. I've used the heck out of it. It's got about 80,000 miles on it right now. I haul stuff in it. It's a work truck, farm truck, whatever you want to call it. Ford makes great trucks and SUV's. I'd be speaking out of turn if I recommended a car other than a Taurus. Usually, we get a Taurus as a rental car. That's a lot of car for the money.

Since you are running the Wonder Woman car at Michigan, tell us why Linda is your "Wonder Woman".

I've got a lot of respect for not only her, but for all of the women who are housewives today that take care of family and all the things they've got to do, plus she takes care of me. We've only got one kid, but really it's probably more like two kids. She gets me packed up every week, and the turn around time is usually pretty short by the time you get everything done. She handles a lot between everything with me, and all of Landon's activities. I don't know where she gets all the energy. She's definitely my wonder woman.

What type of carburetors do the cars have, Holley, Rochester or Carter? And, are they 850?

Holley, and I think they are either 850's or 830's.

Was it Lowe's Speedway or Daytona that you raced the Truxmore Ford in the mid-'70s, one of your first races in Winston Cup?

I raced that car the whole season. That was 1979. We ran all but about four or five races that year, maybe all but three races that year. We did not run the road courses and there were two of those, so we skipped a few.

Is Eddie Wood going to wear the pink hat the rest of the year?

I don't know, but if that is an on-going challenge I hope he has to wear it every week.

Are all the Ford teams using the new cylinder head? Are any other teams thinking about switching to Ford?

I'm sure that there are not many teams looking at switching. Each car manufacturer has many things they are working on. Just because Ford gets a new cylinder head that doesn't mean a lot will switch over. It's not that easy to do any more. The commitment that it takes, besides the financial resources, most teams have some type of legal arrangement with the manufacturer today. You'll see over the years different manufacturers come up with different pieces, and you'll never get in the right line if you start chasing that. As a team owner it is almost impossible to do. I don't think the cylinder head is allowed yet. I'm not sure exactly the time frame as to when it will be ready, but as of yet it has not been run yet.

Many drivers were upset about the addition of SAFER walls at Darlington. Are there any other tracks that would fit into that category?

I can't think of any. Darlington is probably the only race track that I can think of that would fit into that category. That was a concern just because there is not that much racing surface there to begin with and they were worried about taking up three feet of wall space presenting a problem. But, the guys adjusted as the race went on, and it all worked out after the smoke cleared. You didn't hear much about it after the race.

Ricky Rudd drives the No. 21 Motorcraft Racing Ford Taurus owned by Wood Brothers Racing.