NASCAR: Daytona Ricky Rudd testing notes 96-07-15

• Dave Rodman
• MNI - Motorsport News International
• Mon Jul 15 23:22:29 EDT 1996

Rudd sets test at Daytona for DieHard 500, Speedweeks '97

     DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 15) -- Riding the momentum of
Sunday's third place finish in the Jiffy Lube 300 at New Hampshire
International Speedway, Ricky Rudd will conduct a two-day test
today (Tuesday) and Wednesday at Daytona International Speedway.
     A section of the Oldfield Grandstand will be open at no charge
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with access through the DAYTONA USA
lobby. Guided Speedway Tours will be offered from 9:30 a.m. to 4
p.m.
     Rudd was disgruntled with the performance of his Tide Ford
after he failed to qualify for the recent Pepsi 400, took a
provisional starting spot (39th) and finished 33rd, one lap behind
winner Sterling Marlin.
     The test was scheduled with an eye to improving the team's
prospects in the July 28 Sears DieHard 500 at Talladega
Superspeedway as well as Speedweeks '97 at Daytona, Feb. 5-16.
     The team, including Rudd and crew chief Richard Broome, plans
to test a pair of Thunderbirds, including the car Rudd drove at
Daytona in the July 6 "Mid-Summer Classic" as well as the car he
used in the Busch Clash of '96.
     "Basically we're just trying to get our superspeedway program
back on track," said Rudd Performance Motorsports Team Manager Dale
Cagle. "We ran good in the Daytona 500 in February and were running
good at Talladega (Winston Select 500) in April and then we got
caught up in the big wreck and Ricky Craven landed on top of our
car.
     "We had to put a new body on it, we came down to Daytona (for
the Pepsi 400) without testing and it bit us.
     "We thought about going to Talladega, but we already had a
baseline for Daytona because we'd just run there. What we learn may
help us for Speedweeks but right now we're looking at a short term
fix for the Sears DieHard 500."