RICKY RUDD – No. 21 Motorcraft Genuine Parts Taurus (Finished 37th) – “Just disappointed to end up this way. We had a really good car. We had come from 25th to 18th and we were going forward and got wrecked on pit road. It’s a darn shame, things like that.”

HOW BAD WAS THE CAR, AND WHAT WAS THE WORST ASPECT AFTER THAT? “It knocked the front end out of whack, and messed up the aerodynamics and this is a real aero track. If it wouldn’t have been a points deal, we’d have probably just parked it, but we needed to go out there and run as fast for the fans.”

A FEW YEARS AGO, WHEN YOU WERE IN THE 28, THERE WAS A SIMILAR SITUATION. DID THAT CROSS YOUR MIND AT ALL? “No, not really. I did what I was supposed to do, and a guy turned in a pit stall and knocked me into somebody. We were barely moving, we hadn’t gotten going yet.”

WHEN IS STEPPING AWAY GOING TO SET IN? “Probably about February, Daytona time.”