Year of the fire-fight

Fight's impact on Rudd goes deeper than bruise

LOUDON, N.H. -- The only visible remnant of last week’s incident is a shiner. It peeks from under the left lens of Ricky Rudd’s mirrored sunglasses, a muddy spot of sallowed skin.

Rudd tried to joke about his appearance Friday at New Hampshire International Speedway, but the impact of last week’s post-race incident with a Robert Yates Racing employee apparently extends deeper than the bruise.

"No, I’ll be honest," Rudd said of his shock. "It’s pretty much caught me off guard. But again, it’s unfortunate that it happened. It’s an incident that’s not pretty. It’s not pretty for any of us."

If you haven’t heard, Rudd become involved in a conversation with Larry Lackey, an RYR engine-shop employee, as he left Richmond International Raceway late Saturday. Rudd says Lackey suddenly sucker-punched him without warning; his reply was to hurl a water bottle at Lackey.

The latter was reportedly upset about something Rudd had said about engines, and the damage thus far is Rudd’s black left eye, NASCAR-levied fines of $10,000 for Lackey, and $5,000 for Rudd. Lackey also resigned from RYR.

"I didn’t even know his name," said Rudd, who finished seventh at Richmond. "I still didn’t know his name until after the incident. Barely recognized who he was. We deal with like immediate guys, about 15 to 30 guys that work on this car and service it every week. If it had come from one of these guys from inside the circle, that would’ve been pretty hard to take."

That’s because according to Rudd, the No. 28 team had circled its mental wagons. Finally free of speculation about Rudd’s future and who might succeed him -- Elliott Sadler will drive the No. 28 next year; Rudd replaces Sadler in the No. 21 -- Rudd says his team had focused on the points race during the past few weeks. Entering Sunday’s New Hampshire 300, he sits ninth in the Winston Cup standings. He starts 15th Sunday.

"Regardless of everything else that’s going on, Ricky’s a veteran at this," said crew chief Michael McSwain. "We’re all professionals at what we do. Regardless of what’s going outside of racing, it’s our job to perform, it’s our job to win races and it’s our job to try to win championships."

"I have not sensed otherwise," Rudd said. "They haven’t let up, I can tell you that."

Yes, there has been strain. Rudd said there aren’t many dinner invitations flying around the No. 28 truck, but he has no qualms about climbing in his seat or interacting with his guys. He trails points leader Sterling Marlin by 248 and with 10 races remaining, has plenty of motivation.

McSwain, who had left the Richmond track before Rudd’s incident with Lackey, says he’s only worried about racing.

"There’s nothing we can do to reverse it," McSwain said. "So there’s no reason to concentrate on it. It shouldn’t have happened. There’s no place for it in our business. There’s no place for it in life. That’s not a way to solve things. But we just want to put it behind us, put it as water under the bridge and just go try to win a championship."

It’s been the year of the fire-fight for Rudd; fighting rumors that he might retire, that he might not return to the No. 28, that he might be at constant odds with McSwain. As things have evolved, he’s not retiring, he’s not returning, and he says he’s not at odds with McSwain.

So much distraction in one season is a personal first, said Rudd, who’s in his 27th year of Cup racing. And while he and McSwain have had contentious moments -- one season together when Rudd owned his own team; the last three at RYR -- their professional chemistry remains intact.

"He still comes down and sits beside me and he doesn’t have to do that," Rudd said of McSwain, citing each week’s pre-race drivers’ meeting. "I mean, he can go sit on the other side of the room. But that’s what I’m saying. That’s why that thing last week was such a surprise."

As for Yates, Rudd admitted, "I don’t think there’s a warm, cozy feeling right now probably, either one of us toward the other." He also denies acrimony. Twice this season, Rudd has publicly voiced frustration about Yates’ handling of the No. 28’s situation -- at the June race at Dover, and in Indianapolis. But Friday, he said he and Yates haven’t exchanged harsh words.

"People might think that, but Robert’s the kind of guy, he’s real quiet," Rudd said. "He doesn’t have a lot to say, so it’s not like we’re at each other’s throats every week. I have no negative thoughts toward Robert, and I don’t know if he’s saying the same thing about me, but we’ve never had any in-each-other’s-face type of things. It’s never been that way."

Yates wouldn’t comment Friday. Instead, he flashed a rueful smile. Drew two fingers across his mouth zipper-like. The best barometer might be inter-team cooperation. This week, Rudd was allowed to test with the Wood Brothers at Kentucky Speedway, the result of a reciprocal agreement between Yates and the Woods (Yates had already asked Eddie Wood for permission to test Sadler in RYR cars).

Coming on the heels of Richmond’s post-race nastiness, Rudd called the experience, "a refreshing change of pace." He termed it a get-acquainted session, his introduction to the Woods’ cars, and an opportunity to provide feedback. As for the option of him and Sadler switching teams right now, Rudd says absolutely not. In fact, he says the Lackey incident has had the opposite effect; he’ll buckle down that much more.

"I guess maybe I’m too hard-headed to sit down and let that enter my mind," he said of a switch. "But that hasn’t even entered my mind. I still got 10 races to go. I’m in a very good position in the points. We’re going to try to win it, but if not, we’re going to try to get the best finish we can."

 

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