Rudd to call it a career at the end of the '07 season

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Ricky Rudd stood under the lift gate of his No. 88 hauler Sunday morning at Michigan International Speedway, wearing a raincoat buttoned tightly around his collar, answering questions about his decision to retire at the end of the season.

In 14 more races -- which will give Rudd a total of 911 career starts, second only to Richard Petty's 1,184 -- the pride of the Tidewater will hang up his helmet as a full-time driver.

Ricky Rudd

Cup career stats

Years	32
Races	897
Wins	23
Top-fives	194
Top-10s	374
Poles	29
Avg. Start	15.3
Avg. Finish	16.4
Earnings	$43,495,884

• Ricky Rudd Superstore

Like a man who just had a tremendous weight lifted from his shoulders, the Rooster looked much more like the 18-year-old kid who finished 11th in his NASCAR debut than the veteran driver who will celebrate his 52nd birthday next month.

"I've been fortunate that it's something that I've loved to do, had fun doing and made a good living doing it," Rudd said. "I've seen this sport on both ends, from the youngest guy's perspective and now after all these years, of being one of the older guys."

How long has Ricky Rudd been driving? In Rudd's debut, the 1975 Carolina 500 at Rockingham, Richard Petty finished third and Coo Coo Marlin was 26th. Rudd is now racing against those two drivers' sons.

Rudd had two wins at Riverside International Raceway, which is now a shopping mall -- and two top-10s at the Ontario Motor Speedway, just a few miles from the current track in Fontana. In all, Rudd has starts at six tracks no longer on the schedule.

He drove against Richard Childress, then for him. In fact, Rudd related a story that dealt with one of NASCAR's most famous numerals.

"He got the 3 from my dad," Rudd said. "We actually had the No. 3 when we bought our first racecar in '75 or '76. It came with the No. 3 on it. At the time, it hadn't been a popular number for a lot of people. During the winter, Richard Childress calls up and he wants the number, to switch from 96 to 3. A lot of people don't realize we had the number before he did."

Sure, it appeared Rudd was finished two years ago when he wound up 21st in the standings while driving for the Wood Brothers, his third consecutive season outside of the top 20. But he never "retired," leaving the possibility open of a return to the driver's seat, which came about when Robert Yates knocked on his door before the season started.

"I wasn't sure if I wanted to retire at the end of '05 or not," Rudd said. "That's why I never made a statement. I took a year off and I ended up coming back. I think it's clear to me that I want to do it now. I've enjoyed the sport but it's time for me to do something different."

Back in January -- at Daytona testing -- Rudd addressed his concerns about the length of the current Cup schedule, the demands that are placed on today's drivers and whether he would have the stamina to make it to the end of the season. (Continued)