Don't even mention the idea of retirement to 62-year-old Joe Ruttman. He prefers to call the last five years away from the Craftsman Truck Series a "hiatus."

"You never heard the R word come out of my mouth because I've still got the desire, my health is still good," said Ruttman, who will drive a limited schedule for Bobby Hamilton Racing this season, starting at Kansas Speedway. "I'm sure my reactions are a little bit slower, my eyesight's not as good as it was at one time but hell, that could be an advantage.

"You have to play to your strengths. I truly have never had a legitimate job. It's scary facing the possibility that I might have to be a greeter at Wal-Mart or something. Nothing wrong with that, but I wasn't ready for that yet."

Consider that only a handful of today's drivers were even alive in 1963 when Ruttman, a native of Upland, Calif., made his NASCAR debut as an 18-year-old at nearby Riverside International Raceway.

More than four decades later, when getting to the pharmacy and back is a big adventure for most people his age, Ruttman can't think of anything better to do with his life than climb back into a racecar at 190 mph.

"I don't golf, I don't fish, I'm too old to chase women," Ruttman said. "Racing has been my life.

"I've always been movitated because my interest has been and always will be racing. You could cut my head open and springs and motors and chassis and aero would come out. That's my whole life."

Ruttman said even during his time away from the series, he kept track of what was going on.

"Whether it's watching a race and trying to figure out why one team is better than the other, why one driver is better than the other, that's never gone away," he said. "Whether I'm watching it on TV or at the racetrack, talking to the guys at the shop, that's always been my interest and I don't ever see that changing."

When BHR began looking for a driver who could fill in for Ken Schrader at standalone races this season, it seemed like a perfect situation for Ruttman, the younger brother of Indianapolis 500 winner Troy Ruttman. His desire to race was still there, even though his 13th and last CTS victory came at Pike's Peak in the 2001 Jelly Belly 200. (Continued)