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Former NASCAR star Ricky Rudd named Virginian of the Year

Associated Press
Mar 24, 2006

ROANOKE, Va. - Ricky Rudd, who retired from NASCAR racing in November after 31 years and a record 788 consecutive starts in stock car racing's premier series, was honored Friday as the Virginian of the Year by the Virginia Press Association.

Rudd, a Chesapeake native, received the award during The Associated Press dinner at the VPA/AP Winter Conference, held this year at the Hotel Roanoke.

Rudd, who lives near Charlotte, N.C., made his NASCAR debut in 1975 and completed his first full season two years later, winning NASCAR's 1977 rookie of the year.

"I didn't have a clue what I was getting into," he said, recalling how he didn't know what the color-coded flags used to give driver's in-race intruction meant.

Rudd also said he's not happy will all the big-business changes NASCAR has made in recent years as it tries to reach new fans in new areas nationally and internationally.

Early in his career, he said, "we were just a bunch of guys that wanted to race."

During that career, which ended with a three-year stint driving for Virginia-based Wood Brothers Racing, Rudd won 23 races, five in Virginia, and finished a career-best second in the series point standings in 1991 while driving for Rick Hendrick.

Rudd, 49, also was something of a maverick for owning his own team for a six-year period that started as NASCAR was moving toward bigger budget, multi-car teams.

From 1994 until he closed his shop after the 1999 season, Rudd won six races as a driver-owner, including the prestigious Brickyard 400, and extended his streak of consecutive seasons with a victory to 16, tied for the third-longest in NASCAR history.

The streak ended in 1999, and Rudd joined Robert Yates Racing the next year.

After three years _ and three victories _ driving for Yates, Rudd moved to the Wood Brothers in 2003, but never could get the snake-bitten team back to Victory Lane.

He finished 37th in his final race after an accident on pit road.

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