NASCAR WCUP: Post Race Notes and Quotes, Phoenix, Ricky Rudd
6 November 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
RICKY RUDD --28-- Texaco Havoline Taurus (Finished 37th) -- WHERE DO YOU BEGIN TO DESCRIBE THIS FRUSTRATION? "Well, it's kind of been like that all year. It seems every time we have a win shaping up something happens. We should have three or four, maybe even five wins this year but at least we ran really good. The wreck at the end of the race, I don't know, it seems like other people's circumstances dictate our finishes too much, but there's not a whole lot you can do about it, you just pick up the pieces and go on."
HOW DO YOU GO ON? "It could be worse. We could have been running dead last. Last year I was back in the back somewhere and this year we're out front. We wreck leading the races. This is a position I haven't been in before, but, I don't know. I think that was an accident. I think a flat tire or something caused it, but, heck, I don't know what to do -- just keep on going."
FRUSTRATION THE WORD? "Well, I can't exactly say I'm tickled to death to be sitting here talking to you finishing about dead last when we had a winning car, but what are you gonna do? Just keep trying and sooner or later maybe we'll knock two or three in a row out."
CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH WHAT HAPPENED? "All I could see was I guess the 14 car had a blown right-front tire and he was headed to the outside fence. I'm not really sure how the 27, it looked like he didn't even see it happen. Everything was gonna be cool and the 27, I don't know if his spotter didn't see it or he didn't see it or what happened, but all of a sudden at the last minute he saw it and he just ran right in the back of the 14 car. I saw the momentum was sweeping right and the next thing I know he runs right in front of me."
YOU FIGURE YOUR LUCK HAS TO CHANGE? "Well, you certainly hope. I keep thinking it can't get any worse, but I hate to see it because we had a really fast race car. The guys really worked their butts off and we don't really have a whole lot to show for it, other than we had a top five in the points until today. I don't know where that puts us."
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