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NASCAR’s iron man Ricky Rudd returns this week for his last hurrah. The separated shoulder has healed enough for Ricky to give it a go at Charlotte. We’ll get to see ol’ 88 for the handful more races on the calender in 2007 before he hangs it for good- ending 30 years on NASCAR competition for the Virginia native.

I remember being 13 years old and catching my first NASCAR action in 1977. A few names stick with me: I remember seeing Buddy Baker on the track, along with Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, David Pearson and Darrell Waltrip. Then there was Ricky Rudd. In that day where Southern boys ruled the sport, Ricky Rudd seemed like a fitting monicker for a race car driver. I was thoroughly shocked to learn this year that he was still racing.

While 23 wins doesn’t rank you as one of the all-time greats, certainly longevity accounts for something. Rudd made over 900 starts, including this ridiculously long streak of consecutive starts. Rudd also went 16 years in a row where he won at least one race. You also have to appreciate how he’s avoided controversy- except the Kevin Harvick incident a few years back. Even then, it didn’t seem that Rudd did anything wrong- he seemed quite dumbfounded that Happy came after him. That aside- I’ve never really heard a negative word about the guy.

I’ll be be bummed to see him go. He is one of few remaining connections I have left to my origins with the sport. But that’s what you have to love about NASCAR- how many guys can still compete in their 50’s? All my favorite ballplayers from 1977 are long gone. In NASCAR, we still have 64 year old Morgan Shepherd competing- amazing!

Well- I wish him the best. He deserves a break, and I’m sure that he has plenty to catch up on after all these years of roaming the country racing cars. This sport’s history is too short to know whether or not anybody will remember him in 20 years…but they should. NASCAR has been good to Ricky Rudd, and he’s been good to it.

I’m not all that inspired tonight, but I was reminded of the guts NASCAR drivers have when a guy on Yahoo Answers! invited us to take a look at some crash footage he found on YouTube.

Naturally, I took the bait and looked, and once again (as I have done more than once), I looked at some other famous NASCAR crashes. There was Elliott Sadler doing the “Talladega Flip” on the final lap of the 2003 race, and lo and behold, the former driver of what is now David Gilliland’s car did it again in 2004, only this time “Rabbit Release” landed on his wheels after flipping and finished!

Have you ever seen the crash of Richard Petty where all the parts came flying off his car? What about the big wreck Dale Earnhardt got in back in his days behind the wheel of the #15 Wranglers Chevy? Then there’s the grandaddy of them all- a 37 car pile-up at Daytona back in 1960. Can you imagine running 61 cars at once? What were these guys thinking?

What amazes me is to think these drivers will get back in a car and race again. I am also reminded of safety innovations that have made racing safer. Earnhardt was the last guy we lost, over six years ago. I remember hearing about Kyle Petty breaking his leg, Earnhardt’s separated shoulder, Rudd doing the same thing this year. You no longer have a guy like Bobby Allison getting all messed up physically anymore.

I know there are fans out there that bemoan the Car of Tomorrow, restrictor plates, HANS devices and caution flags for what amounts to hankies flying across the track. But at least now, we have the nervous thrill of a crash, and the guy can still walk away from it.

Some notable 2007 crashes:

Bowyer at Daytona. I’ll never forget the #07 crossing the finish line on his roof. I know Clint had ol’ DW worried.

Mikey’s Fireworks Show. Ol’ Mike had a good scare there, and that HANS device sure makes it hard for a big guy to get out his car.

Jimmie’s Eye Brow Job. Jimmie Johnson put on quite a fireworks show himself. It was the 2nd Pocono race wasn’t it? JJ if you’re concerned about your eyebrows, may I suggest a waxing next time.

Robby Gordon’s plow job in the Busch Series. Looking back, Marcos Ambrose probably deserved a good tap, but “Trash” Gordon sure looked like a 4 year old on that brain fart.

Gordon crashing his pretty car in Charlotte. You remember the Coca-Cola 600? Gordon gets this special paint job with the Department of Defense on the hood, and he gets it mangled about 1/3 of the way through the race. He really hit that wall too.

Check out YouTube. There’s a ton of footage there. There are also some other good NASCAR clips.

Good night, everybody.

O.K., so even this dedicated NASCAR fan is feeling lazy today. I don’t have much in the way of creative juices, but here are the hot story lines heading into this weekend:

#1. A Praying Junior Nation. Some poor soul with too much time on his hands or one cushy job has figured out that Dale Earnhardt HAS to run VERY, VERY well, and Kevin Harvick has to really stink to get Junior. What a story this would be if it happened. The really difficult part of this equation is not a good performance by Junior, it’s the idea that Happy will tank here. Harvick has a good history at Richmond. Hmm….I wonder just how close Juan Pablo Montoya will be to the #29 car in the line-up. LOL!

#2. Ricky Rudd is out, Kenny Wallace is in.The big story here is that the man who once ran a race with his eyes taped open will miss his first race in forever. all you newbies, take note: back in the day, Ricky Rudd was a real competitive journeyman racer. He had a streak of 16 years in a row with at least one win (he’s won 23 overall), and he once had a streak of 788 consecutive starts. It stinks that his final laps have been marred with such misfortune. Do you suppose Rick Hendrick would take him back for a couple of races?
I remember watching my first NASCAR race at the age of 13, and by golly, ol’ Ricky Rudd was in it. I’ll miss having him and Sterling Marlin around!
Kenny Wallace, rumored to be NASCAR’s leading funny man and late of the #78 Furniture Row Chevy, will take the #88 car.
#3. Speaking of old drivers……Joe Nemechek will try to get the #78 car in the race (man all these changes will make your head spin).
#4. Toyota Talk.Yep, they’re still talking about the move to Toyota by Joe Gibbs Racing. Team leaders are o.k. with it, the racers are cool with it, the fans (especially the old schoolers) HATE IT!!!! They’re dreaming of a Tony Stewart walk-out. It’ll never happen people. Unless Toyota tanks. That won’t happen either.
#5. Earth to Gordon?Some hope the result of the last few weeks mean that Jeff Gordon will be unseated as the odds-on-favorite to win the championship this year. Now compared to #4, this has a greater chance of happening. In my humble opinion, it won’t.

Oh, you’ve gotta love it. The season’s far from over, and there’s still plenty of reasons to watch.

Keep it right here.