It definitely wasn't the weekend Ricky Rudd and his Motorcraft Genuine Parts team were hoping for at Talladega ? started 29th and finished 18th.
Practice on Friday before qualifying yielded a 21st on place on the speed chart. Then in qualifying Ricky placed 29th. His comments after the run were brief.
"Usually we pick up at these restrictor plate races in qualifying. Today we slowed down, and I'm really not sure why."
During the first practice on Saturday Ricky recorded the 10th fastest lap, but in second practice he ended up 23rd.
Restrictor plate racing produces dynamic changes in position. Drivers shuttle back and forth, dicing for position in extremely close racing, running three and four wide at close to 200 miles per hour. Good pit stops gave Rudd good track position several times, and his driving savvy with the assistance of good spotting kept him out of the two "big ones" that occurred in front of him on the track. A stop for gas only on the 91st lap under caution put him back on the track in the top spot. And he led the next four laps under green.
Ricky stayed in and around the top ten for the majority of the race. Then just before the final laps for a green, white, checker finish he returned to the pits for four tires. Three laps didn't give him enough time to move back to the front.
