Ruttman impressive in truck testing at Daytona
By Dave Rodman, Turner Sports Interactive
January 28, 2002
9:26 AM EST (1426 GMT)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Joe Ruttman proved Sunday at Daytona International Speedway that he hasn’t forgotten how to go fast --not that the only man who’s ever won a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Bud Pole at Daytona could be accused of that.
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Joe Ruttman
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After testing for two days with RDS Motorsports, which in itself is something of a story after it took possession of a pair of ex-Ultra Motorsports Dodge trucks just one week before the test, Ruttman was among the five fastest drivers both in single-truck runs Saturday and in drafting Sunday.
The trouble-free day ended the three-day Truck Series test for the Feb. 15 Florida Dodge Dealers 250 at the 2.5-mile trioval. More than 20 NASCAR Busch Series teams open a two-day session on Monday.
On Sunday, former Featherlite Southwest Series champion Matt Craftonhad the fastest drafting speed, 187.556 mph in the No. 88 Chevrolet. Close behind him was Rick Crawford in the No. 14 Ford, 187.512 mph; followed by Bryan Reffner in the No. 7 Chevrolet, 187.492; Ruttman in the No. 79 Dodge, 187.262; and David Starr in the No. 75 Chevrolet, 187.227.
The fastest in single-truck runs over the first two days of the test were Jon Wood in the No. 50 Ford (184.790 mph), Ron Hornaday in the No. 24 Chevrolet (184.676), Travis Kvapil in the No. 60 Chevrolet (184.532), Ruttman (184.253) and Crafton (184.249).
Now comes a chess game of sponsor searching and trying to manipulate the best truck and driver combinations. Team owner Rodney Smith, whose operation also sells and leases engines for everything from NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Late Model Stock Cars to Winston Cup, has some scrambling to do, but thinks he has found an answer in Ruttman.
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Ruttman tested in the No. 79 Dodge.
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“He’s like a rock star -- he brings a lot of charisma and attention wherever he goes,” Smith said after spending two days at the track with Ruttman, 57. “He’s good for our program so I think it will be a win-win with Joe. Him running so good is definitely good for our business.”
“It’s kind of like a date,” Ruttman said of his first meeting with the team, after an initial phone call little more than a week before. “We’ll see if they like me and see if we can kiss on that first date (but) it’s important to be at Daytona because it’s the premier event of the year.
“They’ve done a tremendous job considering that they put that program together in the matter of just a little over a week. It’s a tribute to they’ve got some good people over there that they could make a commitment to come down here and then do so and run so good.”
With the two trucks it just purchased, RDS has four Dodge Rams at its Burlington, N.C., shop. ARCA RE/MAX Series and NCTS veteran Jerry Hill is scheduled to run a full season for RDS and part-time ARCA driver Donny Morelock also tested the No. 79.
“Money is a big thing and it takes a lot of money to run these trucks,” Smith said of coming back to Daytona with as many as three trucks. “However, this is one of the better paying races and with what we’re trying to do with our motor program, we are going to do everything possible to run Joe.
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Ruttman won the season-opener at Daytona last year.
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“We are talking to three or four sponsors and I think the test this weekend will help that cause.”
Ruttman previously had a solid opportunity with Robert Yates that came to naught because of sponsorship woes.
“If we could come up with sponsorship -- probably like 999 other people -- we could do something,” Ruttman said of discussions with Winston Cup and Busch Series owner Yates, who was committed to doing a truck program with Ruttman for 2002 before a planned sponsor decided to pull out of racing. “Everything hinges on money, no matter who you’re talking to, so we’ll have to see what happens.”
Yates formerly built engines for Craftsman Truck teams and would like to get back in that venue, Ruttman said.
“I was concerned about getting his motors, because you knew you’d be a player as far as power,” Ruttman said of the legendary engine builder Yates. “We knew we could field a championship team instantly, I think. We had a lot of interest because it was Robert Yates, and that meant a lot to me that he said he would field a truck for Joe Ruttman.”
But after his performance over the weekend, Ruttman seems to have good horses in hand from RDS’s five-man engine shop, led by two 30-year engine builders, Tony Branson and David Upchurch.
“The truck was driving super-good and I don’t see any problems with driveability,” Ruttman said. “For the first shot at it, they were pretty good. We discussed it and hopefully they can go home and get even better.”
“It’s a pretty neat deal,” Smith said of the last-minute connection. “We had some mutual friends who thought he might be interested in a ride and we thought we had a truck he might be interested in testing. We came down and he’s second-quickest truck (Sunday afternoon). He’s very encouraged and we are, too.”
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