Back in Black

[Working Stiff]

So, NASCAR has come and gone for the year.  The Rooster made a big move this week...his 21st leapfroged him over Jeff Green, so now he is no longer the lowest ranking driver who has been in every race.  Maybe Yates should have hired a young guy after all.  Or Mark Martin. He has skipped five races and has 289 more points than Ricky.

With what? Seven races until the Chase? 

Kurt Bush is 14th with 2074 pts, 77 pts out of the Chase. 0 wins; 3 top 5's; 5 top 10's.

Ricky Rudd is 30th with 1597 pts, 554 pts out of the Chase.  0 wins; o top 5's; 1 top 10's.

Michler is but weeks away from being $10.00 richer.

[CEValkyrie]

It's been an extremely disappointing season for Rudd. I did not understand why Jarrett left Yates and i'm starting to see why. Yates organization has fallen way behind Roush, Gibbs, & Hendrick. Gilliland is Yate's young gun & he's 3 spots ahead of Rudd. We (David & Ricky) have not been competitive at all this year. I was at Michigan and the cars were slow. Usually, with Yates horsepower, those cars are fast qualifying and in race trim.. They were slow all weekend. They have a lot of work to do to catch up with all the good teams. I don't think Ricky would have come back if he knew the cars were going to be this bad.

[Working Stiff]

It's kind of an ongoing problem for the Fords.  The last non-Roush win in a Ford was Jarrett's last win, that was in 2005 I think.  Ford used to have Yates, Penske & Roush.  Now Penske runs Dodges and Yates can't put out competitive cars.  Other than those three team, I think the last time another Ford team won was the year Elliott Sadler won at Bristol for the Wood Brothers.  Wasn't that 2001?  The next one I can remember was Rudd's last win in the #10 Tide; that was in 1998.

Chevy had the Hendrick-Childress-Gibbs-DEI teams; Dodge has Evernham, Penske and Ganassi.  All Ford has anymore is Jack Roush.  At this point Yates has the 9th or 10th best shop in Cup, and once the Toyota teams have a chance to mesh they stand to fall even further.  There is not a lot that Ricky Rudd can do about that.

I like Robert Yates as much as the next guy.  If Davey Allison had lived, he would have a lot more than that one Winston Cup.  But, I think things have passed him by.  Guys that try to hang on in racing end up going broke.  I think Yates should sell out while he can still make a few bucks for his shop.  Otherwise, they will end up actioning it all off at his bankruptcy sale.

[Working Stiff]

Look who sneaks into the top 12 with a win at Pocono.  We have a Kurt Busch sighting.

Saw this on ESPN.com about RYR:

If he wasn't already, the single-car team owner is on the verge of extinction. For that matter, Penske Racing is the only thriving two-car organization. Robert Yates Racing is the model for failing to adjust with the evolution of the sport. Doug Yates will tell you that himself.

They were among the last teams to adopt engineering as the future. It was viewed as voodoo for far too long. They tried to run old-school seat-of-the-pants setups. That doesn't work with any consistency anymore. These days it's about computer simulation and the ability to decipher 1's and 0's. That's why Yates just merged with the Newman/Haas/Lanigan ChampCar team. Engineering is their forte. (Yates is right. It does sound like a law firm.)

I'm glad to see RYR make this move. I'm a Davey Allison fan, and the thought of Robert Yates selling off the business pained me. Here's hoping this is a successful marriage and Yates can reestablish itself as a contender.

Maybe RYR can straighten things out soon.  Rudd had a nice run at Pocono also, stayed on the lead lap and finished 13th and has moved up to 26th in the points.  Of course one of the guys he passed is his teammate David Gilliland, and he passed Sterling Marlin when he lost his ride in the DEI/Ginn merger.  He passed Robbie Gordon this week because Gordon was parked for that stunt he pulled in Montreal. 

However, he did also pass soon to be Budweiser Golden Boy Kasey Kahne.

[Dan Michler]

Pure domination by the 2 car Sunday.  My mom could have driven that car home for the win.

[Working Stiff]

If my mom had been driving it, there would have been more dents in it 

Yahoo had an article about Ricky Rudd & RYR today
http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news;_ylt=AvK6t2rdEecQ_tugweuqhcHov7YF?slug=db-yatespocono080507&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

[ChrisPUTTS]

Thats the first time i can remember all year where a car was hands down better than any car in the field, laps 1-200... eh, good for the 2 team.

The first time in a couple months Kyle Busch didn't have much to offer... can't wait for the chase to get going

[Working Stiff]

Bad news for Brett:

Rudd says he's done racing, heads back into retirement:  #88-Ricky Rudd says he'll leave NASCAR Nextel Cup racing after this, his 28th full-time season. The 50-year-old Chesapeake native said Saturday that he's told car owner Robert Yates he won't be back and that he has no plans to race full time again. "It's time. It's time,'' Rudd said at Michigan International Speedway. "It's time for me to step back from the active schedule.'' At the end of the 2005 season, Rudd said he'd take a break from racing but refused to call it a retirement. Other than filling in for Tony Stewart in one race, Rudd skipped all of last season before returning this year. While Rudd says he'd consider a part-time ride with a strong team, he's not pursuing such an opportunity. He's at peace with leaving the series. "As you grow older, your interests change,'' Rudd said. "I'm not going about it saying I'm scared to death of it. To me, it's exciting.'' This has been a tough season for Rudd. He started alongside teammate David Gilliland on the front row for the Daytona 500 but finished 26th. His best finish this season is seventh in the Coca-Cola 600. Rudd enters today's race 29th in the points. Rudd said he's not sure what he'll do. A television career could be a possibility. Rudd said ESPN offered him a job last year, but he declined it because of the travel schedule. If nothing else, he'll have plenty of time to spend with his wife, Linda, and son, Landon, who turns 13 this month. "It's not like, 'Oh, man, what am I going to do with my life?''' Rudd said. "I'm kind of looking forward to the next chapter. I just don't know what it is yet."

http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=130582&ran=6192

[CEValkyrie]

I was hoping the Rooster would be competitve this year. He was actually more competitve in that Wood Bros. car. Go figure. I am sad to see him retire. He's one heck of a competitor and the Michigan race isn't the same without him. I watched the race on Tuesday and Rusty Wallace talked to Ricky. He said he's retiring but would consider offers for a full time ride if it were a competive team. I'm hoping he gets an offer but unlikely. There has been talks about a 3rd team at Penske. Rudd was going to fill the 2 car until Busch got that ride. I think it's a big time long shot for Ricky to get any type of quality ride. This year has hurt!

[CEValkyrie]

When I thought it couldn't get any worse it does. Rudd will miss this weekends race at Richmond due to a separated shoulder when wrecked at California. This is the first time in his 900 race career he's missed a race. It's even worse since Richmond is his home track. Kenny Wallace will be driving the 88 this weekend. Rumor has it Wallace will be in the 88 next year as well.

[Working Stiff]

Yeah, with Yeley going to the 96, the 88 is wide open.  I also heard the rumor that Yates is considering Kenny Wallace for '08.  Kenny has never had great equipment, his best ride was when he ran the 55 for Andy Petree.  However, he ran really well in the 1 for DEI when he subbed for Steve Park.  Maybe if Yates can get their equipment back up to par he can actually drive.

It's too bad for Ricky that he has to miss Richmond of all places.  It would be nice to see him go out with some good runs in the last few races. 

Kurt Busch is hot at the right time.  He is in the Chase, up to 11th and running well.  Plus, he knows how to win the Chase.  He could really be a factor.

[Working Stiff]

D'oh!  Wrong again!  Here is the latest Yates headline:

Yates will turn over team to son; Kvapil replaces Rudd

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?seriesId=2&id=3009460