NASCAR Trucks: Joe Ruttman prepares for fast actions at Texas Motor Speedway
7 June 2000
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
Back To the Beginning: One year ago, Joe Ruttman had just received the
call
from Bobby Hamilton to drive his Dana Dodge truck at Texas Motor Speedway
for
a one race deal. Well, that one race deal turned into a partnership that
has
seen Ruttman and the Dana No.18 team post four poles, one win, seven top
fives, and 14 top 10 finishes in just 26 races together. To say the
combination has been a good one is a vast understatement.
Ruttman and the team enter their one-year anniversary hot off a strong third place finish from the pole at Evergreen Speedway. Both Ruttman and the team are pumped up for another solid run.
"It would be awesome to come here and win," said Ruttman. "To think what has happened over the last year is truly incredible. I'm having more fun now with this group of guys than I've ever had. They make it fun to race. It's just a joy and a privilege to get to run the truck every week. I just can't wait to get to the track."
Ruttman and the Dana team sit eighth in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point standings, just six points back of seventh place Steve Grissom, and 253 out of the points lead.
Miles Lead: Joe Ruttman sits fourth in miles lead so far this season at 157.774 miles. If he can lead 13.96 miles or 10 laps in the Pronto Auto Parts 400, he will surpass the most miles he has ever led (171.734 miles) in a single season in the Craftsman Truck Series. Coming into the 2000 season, Ruttman had led 429.285 miles in his Truck Series career.
Gill is Back: Danny Gill will be back as Crew Chief on the No. 18 Dana Dodge at Texas Motor Speedway. Gill has missed the last three races on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series while serving a suspension following the Gateway International Raceway event.
Laps Completed: Entering the Pronto Auto Parts 400, Joe Ruttman has completed more laps at Texas Motor Speedway than any other driver. He has run all but one lap of the 638 laps run in the four races at the facility. Jay Sauter and Stacy Compton are tied for second on the laps completed list with 636. Neither of which is entered in this year's event.
Ruttman's Quotes for Texas Motor Speedway
"This is a super fast place to race but a lot of fun. I like the track and I've done pretty decent here in the past. But I would like to get a win here."
"Last week we did just what we needed to do to get back into this points race. We started up front, ran up front, and finished in the top five. If we can do that the rest of the year, then we will definitely make up some of the ground we lost in the first nine races."
"It will be good to get Danny back. We've really missed him at the track. We've been a little short handed the last few weeks and now we'll be back at full strength for the rest of the year."
Text provided by David Pepper
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