Ricky Rudd's best time around Daytona in the 88 Ford was 49.057 seconds. Credit: Autostock

Refreshed Rudd ready to roll for rebounding RYR

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The wet weather that wiped out the second half of Monday's Jackson Hewitt Preseason Thunder at Daytona International Speedway couldn't dampen Ricky Rudd's enthusiasm at being back in a racecar.

Wearing a white helmet and basic Simpson driver's suit -- white with black sleeves -- Rudd looked out of place amid others sporting colorful logos and designs. That is, until he rolled onto the track.

PRESEASON THUNDER Ricky Rudd posted the seventh- and 15th-fastest times in the first testing session at Daytona.  •   Complete speeds, click here Ricky's returnRudd excited to be back after time away from the track Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

It didn't take long for the 50-year-old to fit right in. Within five laps, Rudd had the No. 88 Ford into the top 10, then took six more laps to stick the backup in the top 15.

So much for needing a refresher course.

At the end of his last season with the Wood Brothers in 2005, Rudd looked exhausted, both physically and mentally. On Monday, he dodged raindrops, chatted with friends and carried on like it was his first time at Daytona instead of his 59th.

"It's pretty neat. I missed it," Rudd said. "There's a lot of it I missed.

"Talk to me at the end of the year and I'll let you know the real story, but right now I'm fresh and feel good and ready to go. I'm not tired out from all of the travel."

Rudd's fresh outlook may be the perfect antidote for Robert Yates Racing, which failed to win a race in 2006, its first winless season.

So why come out of self-imposed retirement to return to a situation that you left five years ago?

"I feel like I'm kind of needed over here," Rudd said. "They've got some work to do and I feel like I can contribute and make it a better race team."

Rudd said he's already seen signs that the team is pointed in the right direction -- and that's a renewed effort from Robert Yates himself.

"Robert is a big key to this thing working and he has been for all these years and I think he tried to step back a little bit and it didn't work," Rudd said. "But I will say that he's back there now and that's probably the biggest incentive for me to come over here and run because they definitely have all the things in place to do good."

One place he'd love to "do good" is Daytona, where he's posted seven top-five finishes in 58 career starts, but never better than third.

Rudd finished behind Richard Petty and Bobby Allison in the 1981 Daytona 500 and trailed Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton in the Pepsi 400, 22 years later.