NASCAR Trucks: Joe Ruttman Going to a Good Place in Milwaukee
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
June 27, 2001
Going to a Good Place: Joe Ruttman has been racing and winning at the Milwaukee Mile for a number of years. He first started coming to the historic mid-west facility with his father and brother in the 1950s and 1960s. Over the years, Ruttman has raced about every type of stock car there is at the flat one-mile track.
When Ruttman raced with the United States Auto Club (USAC), he was one of the best at getting to the front. He has beaten the likes of AJ Foyt, Alan Kulwicki, Dick Trickle, Bobby Allison, and many others at this track.
Unfortunately, Ruttman has never been able to win here in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He has had some great runs, but each time, something or someone prevents him from getting the ultimate prize.
"It would be great to win one here, just because of how I ran before the Truck Series began to race here," said Ruttman. "Realistically though, if the Dana Team came out of here with a top five run, I think we'd be happy. Not satisfied, but happy."
Race Wins: Both Ruttman brothers have won races at the Milwaukee Mile. Older brother, the late, Troy Ruttman, won a USAC race in 1965 at the Milwaukee Mile, while the younger (Joe) Ruttman won USAC stock car races at the track in 1979 and 1980.
Only Two: Entering the GNC Live Well 200 at Milwaukee, only two drivers have competed in every NASCAR Truck Series event run at the speedway. Ruttman and Jack Sprague have entered every race dating back to 1995.
Laps Completed: Entering this weekend's race at the Milwaukee Mile, Ruttman and the Dana Team have completed more laps than any other team this year. The No. 18 Team has completed 99.9% (1835 laps of 1837 laps) run this year.
Going for 100: Ruttman will be looking for his 100th top ten finish of his career at Milwaukee. Currently, Ruttman has recorded nine top ten finishes in ten races in 2001.
This Week's Truck: The No. 18 Dana Racing Team will race "Angel" this week at Milwaukee. Ruttman won the race at Pikes Peak with this truck, which has never started a race from outside the top five.
Ruttman's Quote
"Every year, I look forward to running Milwaukee. I've had a great deal of success at the Milwaukee Mile. It's been kind of rough in trucks, even though I have three top 10 finishes. It didn't seem to be a very hard track back years ago, but now every part of it seems to be hard to get around."
"I have great memories of Milwaukee and my dad. We used to take the racecar over to the track and we'd race it. It was a pretty great thing when I think back on the time we spent together."
"We're having a pretty good year so far, but there is a lot of racing yet to go. All we can do as a team is keep turning in solid performances and hope for the best."
Text provided by David Pepper
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