FanHouse Ricky Rudd

Ricky Rudd will miss his third consecutive race this weekend at Dover International Speedway. Rudd suffered a serious shoulder separation during a crash at California Speedway.

Kenny Wallace has filled in Rudd's No. 88 since that time and will continue this weekend with Dover's Dodge Dealers 400.

Wallace says that he is looking forward to running in the Dodge Dealers 400.

"I really have a love/hate relationship with Dover," he said. "I've had some good runs there, and those are the runs I always try to remember when we head there for a race. I really enjoy the track a lot, and I'm just waiting to love the track, but I really feel that I can do well up there in the car of tomorrow this weekend. For as much as I enjoy Dover, I haven't had the finishes that I should have so far, but I'm just going to keep on trying."

During his time in the RYR Ford, Wallace has posted unremarkable finishes of 28th and 34th respectively at Richmond and Loudon.

David Gililland, the other Yates driver, has only posted finishes of 22nd and 39th at the same events -- showing that the Yates machines aren't exactly up-to-par at the moment, however.

For Wallace's future, you've got to hope that Yates brings a better package to the Monster Mile this weekend.

It's not known when Ricky Rudd, who is retiring at the end of this season, will come back -- if at all -- from his injury.

The superspeedway races have certainly seen some of the more spectacular crashes in NASCAR history. They range from hit-n-runs causing a single car to go flying to pileups involving half the field or more.

Kyle Busch's wreck on Saturday was reminiscent of Tony Stewart's airborne roll crash last year and Elliott Sadler's in 2003 and Ryan Newman's at Daytona and ...

Of course, no one will forget last October in 'Dega when Brian Vickers took out leaders Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson, his then teammate, on the last lap for the win.

Here's a look back at some of the more memorable wrecks at Daytona and 'Dega.

Click on the video to watch full size.

Talladega 2006 Tony Stewart Gets Airborne	Talladega 2003 Elliott Sadler's Talladega Tumble
Daytona 2007 Clint Bowyer Fiery Flip	Daytona 2003 Ryan Newman's Wild Ride
1996 Winston Select 500 Ricky Craven gets thrown up onto the catch fence and then across the track	2003 Aaron's 312, Talladega Johnny Sauter flips in a 27-car pileup, the biggest in the modern era
1988 Daytona 500 The King Does Cartwheels	2000 Daytona Geoff Bodine, NCTS Tumble
1984 Busch Clash Ricky Rudd twirls his car like a ballerina -- before the safety evolution	1960 Daytona 500 The biggest pileup in NASCAR history. 68 cars in the field, 37 of them involved

More History

• 2001 Daytona 500 - Claimed the life of seven-time Winston Cup Champion Dale Earnhardt in a head-on collision with the wall that did not appear to be that serious. The Intimidator's fatal crash led NASCAR to mandate the use of the H.A.N.S. device for all drivers to protect them from head and neck injuries.
• 1998 Talladega - Restrictor plates were born after Bobby Allison destroyed the catch fence and almost flew into fans at 200mph
• 1994 Talladega - The reason Mark Martin hates going to Talladega
• 1979 Daytona - A wreck on the track is followed by the most infamous fight in NASCAR history

Dale Jarrett got some much needed practice time at Indianapolis on Tuesday in preparation for the 2007 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

"With this team, we need time on the racetrack. This was invaluable to a team like ours," said Jarrett.

Jarrett was among four other drivers from each manufacturer who were on hand to assist Goodyear in finding the correct tire combination for the July 29 race. Jimmie Johnson, Bobby Labonte, and Ricky Rudd were the other three.

The time has to be invaluable to those teams because NASCAR decided this year to remove Indianapolis from the scheduled test docket. Teams worked with NASCAR to develop testing sites for this season, and Indianapolis was removed from that list because it doesn't compare well to other tracks -- with the exception of Pocono.

The test was supposed to be a two day lapping extravaganza, but the threat of rain in the Hoosier state led to one day session.

After last week's complaints about the car of tomorrow exhaust systems, I expected we'd have more air quality complaints by the halfway mark of today's Goody Cool Orange 500.

I wasn't the only one. The drivers have the oxygen tanks ready to go.

Jimmie Johnson even tried to preempt any potential problem by preparing for today's race with oxygen therapy:

"Everybody has different beliefs with it, and it hasn't scienced out to a T yet. But the schedule I have been on is Friday for an hour, Saturday for an hour, Sunday morning for an hour. And then if I can, Sunday afternoon after the race; that is really when you can feel it the most. If you can get on some oxygen, it helps you out a lot."

But being short on oxygen at Martinsville isn't exclusive to the COT.

Check out this video from 1998 when race winner Ricky Rudd suffered a broken air conditioner in 90 degree heat. He gave his post-race interview lying on the ground in victory lane with oxygen in hand:

$4,929,787 – Amount of Martinsville purse

2,206 – # of laps led by Jeff Gordon, most of any active driver

1947 – Martinsville Speedway opening

1,548 – # of laps completed this season by Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth, the only drivers to finish on the lead lap in every race

609 – # of Nextel Cup drivers who have competed at Martinsville

150 – # of Cup starts for Casey Mears once he takes the green flag Sunday

98.084 mph – Fastest qualifying speed (Tony Stewart, 2005)

67 – # of starts by Richard Petty, most of any driver

53 – # of starts by Ricky Rudd, most of any active driver

51 years, 8 months, 12 days – Age of oldest winner (Harry Gant, Sept. 22, 1991)

49 – # of entries for the Goody's Cool Orange 500

36 – Lowest starting position of a race winner (Kurt Busch, 2002)

25 – Most # of lead changes (Sept. 28, 1980)

17 – # of races won from the pole

15 – # of wins by Richard Petty, most of any driver

14 – Most # of leaders (Oct. 15, 2001)

10 – # of consecutive years Ryan Newman has started from inside the top 10

8 – # of poles won by Darrell Waltrip, most by any driver

7.2 – Average finish by Jimmie Johnson, best of any active driver

7 – # of wins by Jeff Gordon, most of any active driver

7 – # of Toyotas outside the top 35 in owner points forced to qualify on time

5 - # of Toyotas to qualify on time. In: Mayfield, Blaney, Jarrett, Allmendinger, Reutimann. Out: Waltrip, Vickers

5 – # of poles won by Jeff Gordon, most by any active driver

1 – Fewest # of cars on the lead lap at the end of the race (27 times, most recently April 27, 1986)

Priceless – Celebrating Hendrick Motorsports wins at Martinsville

On yet another night of endless Youtube'ing, I came across this video taken from an on-board camera on Michael Waltrip's car from last year's Dodge/Save-Mart 350 from Infineon Raceway in California. The clip is a little long, but it's always fun to watch these drivers turn laps -- especially on a Road Course where you can hear the throttle response.

Anyways, as the tape shows, Waltrip gets into a tussle just before the "S's" with the 40 car of Scott Pruett, and the Coors Light Dodge goes for a spin. It's a few minutes in, but wait for it.

Now I'm not trying to crack on Michael here, but rather just pointing this out because I can't for the life of me remember this incident last year. So it's got me thinking.

On paper, Sunday's race has the potential to be a high-profile showdown--the last 10 races in Martinsville have been won by a former champion. Technical and Emotional Advantage: Hendrick Motorsports. Tip: Fanhouse has failed to rank the race winner the past two weeks in a row, so don't look for the winner to be listed here!

1. Jeff Gordon. Gordon sits on top of the points standings for the first time since winning the Daytona 500 in 2005. He'd like to stay there. He has the dominate record of any active driver (7W, 16 T5, 22 T10). Don't be looking for him to be as generous with room on the track as he was in Bristol.
2. Jimmie Johnson. He has a better average finish than his teammate and has already been to M'ville victory lane twice. This track holds special significance for all Hendrick Motorsports team members--since the October 2004 plane crash, HMS has won 4 of 5 races on the paper clip. I don't expect this race to be any exception.

$5,551,106 - Size of the Food City 500 purse
160,000 - Bristol Motor Speedway capacity - Sunday's race will be its 50th consecutive sell-out
2,429 - # of laps led by Jeff Gordon, the most of any active driver
2004 - Last time a driver won three consecutive races. That was Jimmie Johnson. Can he do it again?
1992 - Year Food City joined Bristol Motor Speedway as the sponsor of the spring race
621 - # of consecutive starts Mark Martin leading up to Bristol, the longest current streak
477- # of consecutive starts by Jeff Gordon, who will become the active leader in that category after the green flag falls
401 - # of Nextel Cup drivers who have competed at Bristol
266.5 - # of miles in the Food City 500
78 - Percentage of races won from inside the top 10
60 - Most # of starts by any driver (Richard Petty)
56 - Most # of starts by an active driver (Ricky Rudd)
50 - # of cars on the entry list for the 2007 Food City 500
38 - Lowest starting position of winner (Elliott Sadler, 2001)
36 - Degrees of banking in the corners, the steepest on the Cup circuit
26 - # of car owners currently ranked higher in the standings than at the end of last season
21 - # of wins from the pole
20 - Most # of cautions (three times)
18 - # of owners in the current standings locked in to the top 35 through Bristol
12 - # of owners currently outside the top 35 that could move into the top 35
12 - Most # of wins in Thunder Valley by any driver (Darrell Waltrip)
9 - Difference in owner points between 35th and 36th place (Gene Haas #66 (274); Teresa Earnhardt #15 (265))
4 - # of drivers that have completed every lap so far in 2007 (Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin)
1 - # of drivers that have led laps in all races so far this season (Kenseth)
.533 - miles Length of track
Immeassurable - Comfort level of leaving Bristol in the top 35

a.k.a. The Bristol Sweet 16 COT Crapshoot

1. Kurt Busch. Bristol's snow angel has plans for a sixth drive to victory lane--the first on his ears of CORN.
2. Jeff Gordon. Along with Busch, has the most wins in Thunder Valley. This season he's just trying to keep up with the Johnson.
3. Matt Kenseth. He's got three straight top 5s and nine top 10 finishes in 10 starts at Bristol. But nevermind that, he's got his crew chief back.

4. Denny Hamlin. He's got a win under his FedEx timing belt and was among the fastest in COT testing. Plus, his stock is up.

When Darrell Waltrip took the checkered flag in the Busch 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in 1982, a sold-out crowd of 30,000 watched him do it.

That August race began a consecutive streak sellout of Nextel Cup events that now stands at 50 strong with the upcoming Food City 500 and its 160,000 capacity crowd.

Only three drivers that competed in that 1982 race still race today.

Mark Martin, who is not expected to race in this year's Food City 500, was 23 years old and competing in his first full year as a driver/owner.

Kyle Petty, who was 22, and Ricky Rudd, who was 25, will be the only drivers in the field this Sunday who also ran in 1982.

Most of today's Nextel Cup drivers weren't even around back then to see it.

Reed Sorenson, Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers had not yet been conceived.