Ricky Rudd

Richard Lee Rudd (born September 12, 1956), nicknamed "the Rooster", is an American former racing driver and racing team owner. He is the uncle of actor Skeet Ulrich and former NASCAR Busch Series driver Jason Rudd. He retired in 2007 with 23 career wins; twenty were done in a span from 1983 to 1998, where he won at least one race in sixteen consecutive seasons, a mark only surpassed by three other drivers. He was named the 2006 Virginian of the Year and was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. In October 2010, he was selected to the Hampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame, which honors those who have contributed to sports in southeastern Virginia.

Career

Early life Rudd was born in South Norfolk, Virginia (now Chesapeake), the son of Margaret (née McMannen) and Alvin R. Rudd Sr., the president of Al Rudd Auto Parts. He began racing as a teenager in karting and motocross, but did not attempt stock car racing until he was eighteen years old, when he made his NASCAR debut at Rockingham in 1975, driving the No. 10 Ford for family friend Bill Champion.

Qualifying 26th, Rudd finished in 11th place despite running 46 laps down. He then ran an additional three races for Champion, his best finish being a tenth at Bristol. He drove another four races in 1976 for his father, posting another tenth-place finish at the Firecracker 400. He went full-time in 1977, again driving the No. 22 for his father. He had ten top-ten finishes and was named Rookie of the Year. Rudd ran part-time the following season. Despite the abbreviated schedule, he earned four top-tens and finished 31st in points. In 1979, he signed with Junie Donlavey to pilot the No. 90 Truxmore car, garnering four top-fives and a ninth-place finish in the final points standings.

Rudd did not return to Donlavey in 1980, and started out in a part-time run for his dad and D. K. Ulrich. He finished season in the No. 7 Sanyo car for Nelson Malloch, for whom he had one tenth-place finish.

1981–1987 Ricky Rudd's 1983 Riverside International Raceway-winning No. 3 Piedmont Airlines Chevrolet Monte Carlo

In 1981, Rudd signed with DiGard Motorsports to drive the No. 88 car. Although he had no victories, he won his first three pole positions, and began his lengthy streak of consecutive race starts. In 1982, Rudd stepped into the No. 3 Pontiac for Richard Childress Racing. Rudd had six top-fives but dropped down to ninth in the points standings. In the 1983 Daytona 500, Rudd became the youngest pole winner in Daytona 500 history at the age of 26 and would hold that record until 2014 when it was broken by a 23-year-old Austin Dillon. He was able to get his first two career wins in 1983 at Riverside and Martinsville respectively, but he again finished ninth in points. He also ran the only three Busch Series races of his career that season, winning in his debut event at Dover Downs.

In 1984, Rudd and Dale Earnhardt swapped rides, with Rudd moving over to the No. 15 Ford for Bud Moore. The move came after Earnhardt signed with Childress, leaving Rudd disappointed and out of a ride until he drove for Moore. He won his first race for this team in only his second start at Richmond and improved to seventh in points. He moved up one spot in points in the following season, and then a career-best fifth-place finish in 1986. Despite an additional two victories in 1987, Rudd left Moore Engineering at the end of the season.

1988–1993

Rudd joined King Racing beginning in 1988 in the No. 26 Buick Regal owned by drag racing legend Kenny Bernstein. He struggled with engine failures all season long and finished 11th in the point standings, his worst points finish in eight years. In addition, Rudd suffered a knee injury in a crash at The Winston. That fatal incident caused NASCAR to implement pit road speed limits at every NASCAR track, for all of the series.

In 1991, Rudd won his only race of the year at Darlington. Later in the year at Sonoma, Rudd was the center of controversy in one of the most bizarre finishes in NASCAR. Rudd started on pole at the race, and was offered a bonus paycheck with the winning money if he won the race. Rudd took the 2nd-place position with three laps left, and when the white flag was waved Rudd tapped Davey Allison to take the lead. When Rudd came back around to the finish line he waved to his pit crew but was shown a black flag for the tap. His win was taken away and given to Allison who refired to end up in second place. Rudd ended up in second place; Rick Hendrick, and crew chief Waddell Wilson unsuccessfully tried to appeal the penalties.

Rudd finished the year a career-best second-place finish in points. The following season, he won Dover, but dropped to seventh in points. After finishing another three spots lower in points in 1993, he left Hendrick to start his own racing corporation Rudd Performance Motorsports.

1994–1999

Rudd took Tide and formed his own race team in 1994, Rudd Performance Motorsports, and drove the No. 10 Ford Thunderbird that season. His first win as an owner/driver came at New Hampshire, which led to a fifth-place points finish. 1995 saw his consecutive winning streak almost end before he won Phoenix, the second-to-last race of the season. He had another near miss in 1996, but won late in the year at Rockingham.

In 1997, Rudd had two wins, one in the Brickyard 400 and the other at Dover, making this his highest win total since 1987, but he dropped to 17th in points, making this the first time he finished outside of the top-ten in nine years. His only win in 1998 came at Martinsville, dealing with high air temperatures and a faulty cooling system. As a result, Rudd suffered burns and blisters over most of his body, and gave his victory lane interview lying on the ground breathing from an oxygen mask. This was the last win of his consecutive victory streak, as he struggled with mechanical failures and wrecks throughout the season. With sixteen winning seasons in a row, he nonetheless broke a new record that still stands today, though Jimmie Johnson managed to tie it in 2017. The following year, Rudd failed to win a race, snapping a sixteen-season streak with at least one victory. When Tide left his team, Rudd chose to liquidate his equipment and close his team.

2000–2005 After many rumors and speculation, Rudd was hired to pilot the No. 28 Texaco/Havoline Ford Taurus for Robert Yates Racing in 2000. Although he still did not win any races that season, he did have two poles and moved to fifth in the points standings, a 26-spot improvement over the previous season. In 2001, Rudd got his first win in three years at Pocono, followed by another win at Richmond late in the season. He also matched a career-high fourteen top-five finishes. Rudd scored his final win at Sonoma in 2002, but dropped to tenth in points. Following the fall Richmond race, Rudd had a heated argument with RYR engine specialist Larry Lackey on pit road, with Lackey punching Rudd in the face and Rudd retaliating with a water bottle. Rudd was fined 5,000 and placed on probation while Lackey was fined 10,000 before resigning from his position at RYR. Rudd left RYR at the end of the 2002 season.

In 2003, Rudd signed to drive the No. 21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing, replacing Elliott Sadler, who took over Rudd's seat at RYR. Rudd scored four top-fives and a 23rd-place finish in points that year. The following year, he won his final career pole at Talladega, but fell a spot in the standings. He was able to recover to earn nine top-tens in 2005 and improved to 21st in points. The closest he came to winning a race between 2003 and 2005 was at Sonoma in 2005, when he led several laps and finished 2nd to Tony Stewart after being passed by him with nine laps to go.

At the end of the 2005 season, Rudd left the No. 21 team and announced he would "take a break from racing", although he was not retiring. At the time he was known as NASCAR's "ironman", or record holder for most consecutive starts, ending at 788, and holding the record until it was surpassed by Jeff Gordon in 2015.

2006–2007

Rudd spent most of 2006 out of racing, racing only at Dover, where he filled in for an ailing Tony Stewart. Late in the season, his return to Yates was announced, to drive the No. 88 Ford full-time. His best finish since his return to the sport was seventh in the Coca-Cola 600. Since he missed Richmond, it was the first time in his career where he did not make a start due to an injury. Kenny Wallace drove the No. 88 on an interim basis until Rudd healed, except at Talladega, where Mike Wallace drove the car. Rudd made his return at Charlotte, where he finished 11th. He finished his career with a 21st-place finish at the Ford 400 at Homestead.

After racing After the 2007 season, and a 32-year career, Rudd resides at his home in Cornelius, North Carolina. In 2007, Rudd was inducted into the 2007 Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and in 2010, he was selected to the Hampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame that honors those who have contributed to sports in southeastern Virginia. Rudd now lives what he calls "a very simple lifestyle" with his family. On February 7, 2012, Rudd signed to be an analyst for Speed Channel's weekend motor sports news program, SPEED Center. Following the announcement he said, "I'm really looking forward to the next chapter. It’s going to be a lot of fun working with the gang at SPEED." In 2013, Rudd made appearances in Series Two of the TV show Dallas in scenes filmed at Texas Motor Speedway as the hired driver for Christopher Ewing's methane-powered race car.

On February 17, 2014, Rudd was inducted into the Daytona Beach Stock car Hall of Fame by Rotary International.

In 2025, Rudd was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Even though he retired from professional racing, Rudd still races go-karts at Trackhouse Motorplex in the Charlotte area.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Nextel Cup Series NASCAR Nextel Cup Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Pts Ref 1975 Champion Racing 10 Ford RSD DAY RCH CAR BRI ATL NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH DAR DOV NWS MAR CLT RCH CAR BRI ATL ONT 47th 431 1976 Rudd Racing Enterprises 22 Chevy RSD DAY CAR RCH BRI ATL NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL ONT 53rd 407 1977 RSD DAY CAR ATL NWS DAR BRI MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL ONT 17th 2810 Ford RCH 1978 Chevy RSD DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR CLT NSV RSD MCH POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL ONT 31st 1260 Buick TAL DOV DAY NSV 1979 Donlavey Racing 90 Mercury RSD DAY ATL DAR TAL CLT TWS RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH DAR CLT ATL ONT 9th 3642 Ford CAR NWS BRI MAR NSV DOV RCH DOV MAR NWS CAR Chevy RCH BRI 1980 Ulrich Racing 40 RSD DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL NSV DOV 35th 1213 Al Rudd Auto 22 CLT TWS RSD MCH CLT CAR ATL ONT Nelson Malloch Racing 7 Olds DAY TAL Chevy NSV POC MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV NWS MAR 1981 DiGard Motorsports 88 RSD NSV POC MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR 6th 3988 Olds DAY RCH CAR BRI TAL TWS DAY Buick ATL NWS DAR MAR NSV DOV CLT RSD MCH TAL ATL RSD 1982 Richard Childress Racing 3 Pontiac DAY RCH BRI ATL CAR DAR NWS MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT POC RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV NWS CLT MAR CAR ATL RSD 9th 3537 1983 Chevy DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR NWS MAR TAL NSV DOV BRI CLT RSD POC MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD 9th 3693 1984 Bud Moore Engineering 15 Ford DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT RSD POC MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR ATL RSD 7th 3918 1985 DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL DOV CLT RSD POC MCH DAY POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD 6th 3857 1986 DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL DOV CLT RSD POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD 5th 3823 1987 DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR NWS BRI MAR TAL CLT DOV POC RSD MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR RSD ATL 6th 3742 1988 King Racing 26 Buick DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV RSD POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR PHO ATL 11th 3547 1989 DAY CAR ATL RCH DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR PHO ATL 8th 3608 1990 Hendrick Motorsports 5 Chevy DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL 7th 3601 1991 DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL 2nd 4092 1992 DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL 7th 3735 1993 DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL 10th 3644 1994 Rudd Performance Motorsports 10 Ford DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL 5th 4050 1995 DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL 9th 3734 1996 DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL 6th 3845 1997 DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR TEX BRI MAR SON TAL CLT DOV POC MCH CAL DAY NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV MAR CLT TAL CAR PHO ATL 17th 3330 1998 DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL CLT DOV RCH MCH POC SON NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI NHA DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT TAL DAY PHO CAR ATL 22nd 3131 1999 DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR TEX BRI MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV MCH POC SON DAY NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV MAR CLT TAL CAR PHO HOM ATL 31st 2922 2000 Yates Racing 28 DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV MCH POC SON DAY NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV MAR CLT TAL CAR PHO HOM ATL 5th 4575 2001 DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV MCH POC SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MAR TAL PHO CAR HOM ATL NHA 4th 4706 2002 DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT MAR ATL CAR PHO HOM 10th 4323 2003 Wood Brothers Racing 21 DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX TAL MAR CAL RCH CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV TAL KAN CLT MAR ATL PHO CAR HOM 23rd 3521 2004 DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV TAL KAN CLT MAR ATL PHO DAR HOM 24th 3615 2005 DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL DAR RCH CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV TAL KAN CLT MAR ATL TEX PHO HOM 21st 3667 2006 Joe Gibbs Racing 20 Chevy DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT MAR ATL TEX PHO HOM NA - 2007 Yates Racing 88 Ford DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV POC MCH SON NHA DAY CHI IND POC GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT MAR ATL TEX PHO HOM 33rd 2622

Daytona 500 Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish 1976 Al Rudd Auto Chevy DNQ 1977 21 22 1978 36 37 1979 Donlavey Racing Mercury 11 31 1981 DiGard Motorsports Olds 5 3 1982 Richard Childress Racing Pontiac 16 35 1983 Chevy 1 24 1984 Bud Moore Engineering Ford 14 7 1985 9 5 1986 22 11 1987 31 9 1988 King Racing Buick 27 17 1989 36 19 1990 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy 19 4 1991 9 9 1992 8 40 1993 12 30 1994 Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 20 8 1995 18 13 1996 10 9 1997 13 9 1998 40 42 1999 29 30 2000 Yates Racing Ford 2 15 2001 30 4 2002 9 38 2003 Wood Brothers Racing Ford 5 15 2004 16 18 2005 11 24 2007 Yates Racing Ford 2 26

Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Pts Ref 1983 Zervakis Racing Team 01 Olds DAY RCH CAR HCY MAR NWS SBO GPS LGY DOV1 BRI CLT SBO HCY ROU SBO ROU CRW ROU SBO HCY LGY IRP GPS BRI HCY 65th 311 Pontiac DAR31 RCH NWS SBO MAR ROU CLT34 HCY MAR

International Race of Champions (key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.) International Race of Champions results Year Make 1 2 3 4 Pos. Pts Ref 1992 Dodge DAY2* TAL3 MCH3 MCH2 1st 68.5 1993 DAY5* DAR5 TAL4 MCH7 4th 49 1995 Dodge DAY4 DAR11 TAL8 MCH10 10th 28 1996 Pontiac DAY TAL CLT MCH10 NA 0 2001 Pontiac DAY2 TAL4 MCH10 IND6 6th 45