Rudd's 700th start Sunday keeps 'Ironman' label intact

Ronald Reagan was President, Charles and Di got married and the first space shuttle was launched.

That was 1981, the year that Ricky Rudd began a record string of consecutive Winston Cup starts that will reach 700 Sunday in the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono International Raceway.

Rudd, who doesn't seek the spotlight, is a bit surprised to find himself in this position.

"There are no guarantees that you can ever reach 700," he said. "You never know when you smack a wall if you're gonna break a body part that's not healable in a short period of time.

"When we started the season, I hated to kind of get too optimistic about it, but it looks like it's here."

Rudd became NASCAR's reigning "Ironman" when he broke Terry Labonte's record of 655 consecutive starts in June 2002.

Getting No. 700 means more to Rudd.

"I think there's something a little bit magical about the number 700. It just sounds like a lot -- 656 doesn't sound like a lot -- but 700 in a row means a lot to me.

"When I look back, I didn't realize the stats because you're racing and looking forward, but what someone pointed out was that nearly 50 percent of those races were top-10 finishes. So I guess I'm kind of more proud of that than I am of the number 700."

Making the sacrifice

Rudd said building such a streak takes personal sacrifice.

"When you get in this sport it demands 120 percent of your time," he said.

"There are some family get-togethers that I've had to miss -- weddings, funerals, things of that nature -- that you just simply can't do. ... My son is 8 years old and I've missed a few of his elementary school plays and things of that nature that don't seem huge but, to me, they're pretty big."

He acknowledges that getting to this point also involves some luck.

"There have been a few injuries along the way, but I was fortunate enough that none were serious enough to the point that I couldn't get in the race car that particular weekend," Rudd said. "On the days that I was injured, there wasn't really any thought put to it about just getting in the car to keep this streak alive.

"It was more about getting patched up and trying to win the race and, if we couldn't win the race, try to get as many Winston Cup points as we could."

Even with all that sacrifice and good fortune, No. 700 would not have come if Rudd had followed through after considering retirement as he went through a contentious season in 2002 with Robert Yates Racing.

But an offer to join the Wood Brothers -- one of NASCAR's oldest and most respected teams -- was too good an opportunity to pass up for the 46-year-old driver.

Eddie Wood, co-owner of the team, is happy to be part of another historic racing event, but Rudd has mostly played down the significance of the Pocono race around the team.

"You'd like to have a big party and stuff for him, but he's kind of a low-key guy," Wood said. "He's not interested in having the rock star status; he just wants to drive race cars. To be honest with you, I had not heard him mention the 700th race until today. He just wants to race."

The peaks along the way

Along the way, there have certainly been highlights for Rudd, who has 23 career victories and won at least once each year from 1983 through 1998.

"I'd have to say probably that first Winston Cup win, which came in 1983 driving for Richard Childress," Rudd said. "That was his first win as an owner and my first as a driver. Then I remember winning the IROC championship" in 1992, "and then winning the Brickyard with our own car in 1997. And there are others that just don't come to mind right now."

For Rudd, who first raced a Winston Cup car in 1975, retirement is still a cloud off in the distance.

"There have been a lot of guys that have come and gone that have been older than me, but it's nice having that mileage under you," he said. "I'm definitely not the youngest kid on the block, but not the oldest either."

Rudd doesn't have any specific plan for leaving the sport.

"I'm sure when it comes time to exit, it will probably be pretty quick" -- hopefully "on a high note," he said. "It would be great just to finish your last race and go out in Victory Lane and then leave the sport. That would be my dream.

"It's probably unrealistic to have it happen that way, but my goal is to try to go out on top if it's possible -- at the top of my game anyway."