For Rudd, 800 Winston Cup starts no big deal

HAMPTON, Ga. -- To Ricky Rudd, it's just another Sunday. To everyone else, it's quite an accomplishment.

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Rudd made his 800th career Winston Cup start in the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, making him just the fourth driver in Winston Cup history to reach that level of longevity.

Regardless of all that, Rudd wishes there was more to talk about this week.

"I would rather be going to Atlanta with five wins, and obviously we haven't done that this year," Rudd said. "I'm proud of the fact that we're at 800, but by the same token, I'd rather low-key it because it seems like so many things have been about the number of starts."

Atlanta brought the second milestone of the season for Rudd. In July at Pocono, Rudd became the first driver in Winston Cup history to make 700 consecutive starts. Rudd also shares the modern-era record for consecutive seasons with at least one victory.

	Rudd's biggest career win came in 1997, when he won the Brickyard 400.

He won at least one race in each season between 1983-98.

Despite Rudd's apparent indifference to reaching his 800th start, he doubts whether any of today's younger drivers will accomplish the feat.

"In this sport, until recently, you were considered in your prime in your mid-30s and your peak wasn't until your late 40s," Rudd said. "Those numbers are changing, with all the young guys coming in.

"The guys who are called young are in their low-to-mid 20s. I don't think you'll see it because they're getting a little bit later start and I don't see them going and driving as long as I have or the guys before me have.

In spite all the accolades, Rudd says wins are the thing.

"I've got a couple of years left in this business, and I would rather be thought of for the win streak and things like that, than the guy that went out there and ran 10,000 races."

Either way you look at it, the numbers are impressive: 23 victories, 28 Bud Pole Awards, 191 top-five finishes and 361 top-10 finishes in his 799 career starts heading into Sunday's race at AMS.

	Credit: Autostock

Rudd also made his 52nd career Atlanta start. His lone victory at AMS came at the spring race in 1987.

In all, he has seven top-fives and 22 top-10s on what is now Winston Cup racing's fastest track.

Still, Rudd says he cringes when he sees Atlanta on the schedule.

"Everybody's got their strong tracks and weak tracks and Atlanta has been one of my trouble tracks for years," he said. "I just seem to struggle with getting the car set up correctly to run there."

"The track has got grip in the upper grooves, and I think that's the key," Rudd said. "The speeds are down a little bit, which allows for better racing because you can run side-by-side because the track is not a bottom-groove only track, it's a multiple-groove track."