Rudd “Wins” Happy Hour, Kahne Wrecks
Written by John Davison · July 2, 2004
Ricky Rudd had the fastest car in final practice for Saturday night’s Pepsi 400 but the real headlines got grabbed by a crash between rookie Kasey Kahne and Ward Burton.
Kahne, the rookie driver in Ray Evernham’s No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge, got loose in Turn Two, leaving Ward Burton no escape road in the No. 0 Haas Automation Chevy. “The car didn’t feel exactly right, and we probably should have brought it in sooner and worked on it,” said Kahne. “I was just trying to search for the right lines, but it got loose coming out of the second turn.
“I’m sorry the 0 car got caught up in it. There wasn’t anywhere for him to go.”
Kahne’s car was damaged beyond safe repairs at the track, forcing him to the team’s backup car and sending him to the back of the pack for the 160-lap race Saturday night.
“This was a brand new Dodge, but the backup car is a new one, too. I’m sure the team will get it ready for the race,” Kahne explained. “I hope we can get back out and practice some tonight, but it’s getting late and the skies don’t look that good. Maybe rain would be a good thing.
“I just got loose. The car was up out of the racetrack and I just got loose. I got loose and didn’t get off the corner.”
“I’ve done it enough to know what it [aerodynamics and the draft] is. You always have to get used to it. We have to have a good car too, and that thing wasn’t very good. I should have pulled in and we should have worked on it. It’s just my fault for not pulling in.”
“It’s important to make sure that everything is right, everything is tight and ready to race. If we don’t, these guys will get it ready. It will be ready tomorrow.”
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed, Behind
1, Ricky Rudd, No. 21 Coca-Cola C2/Motorcraft Ford, 46.898 sec, 191.906 mph,
2, Michael Waltrip, No. 15 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 46.911, 191.853, -0.013 sec
3, Scott Wimmer*, No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge, 46.957, 191.665, -0.059
4, Joe Nemechek, No. 01 U.S. Army Chevrolet, 46.991, 191.526, -0.093
5, Ward Burton, No. 0 NetZero HiSpeed Chevrolet, 47.117, 191.014, -0.219
6, Jeff Burton, No. 99 Coca-Cola C2 Ford, 47.140, 190.921, -0.242
7, Robby Gordon, No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet, 47.155, 190.860, -0.257
8, Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Coca-Cola C2/GM Goodwrench Chevrolet, 47.206, 190.654, -0.308
9, Jeremy Mayfield, No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge, 47.207, 190.650, -0.309
10, Mark Martin, No. 6 Viagra Ford, 47.215, 190.617, -0.317
11, Dale Jarrett, No. 88 UPS Ford, 47.271, 190.392, -0.373
12, Jamie McMurray, No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge, 47.280, 190.355, -0.382
13, Brian Vickers*, No. 25 GMAC Financial Services Chevrolet, 47.376, 189.970, -0.478
14, Casey Mears, No. 41 Target Dodge, 47.395, 189.893, -0.497
15, Greg Biffle, No. 16 Coca-Cola C2/National Guard Ford, 47.463, 189.621, -0.565
16, Rusty Wallace, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, 47.492, 189.506, -0.594
17, Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont/Pepsi Chevrolet, 47.501, 189.470, -0.603
18, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, 47.512, 189.426, -0.614
19, Ryan Newman, No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge, 47.529, 189.358, -0.631
20, Scott Riggs*, No. 10 Valvoline Chevrolet, 47.536, 189.330, -0.638
21, Kurt Busch, No. 97 Coca-Cola C2/Sharpie Ford, 47.541, 189.310, -0.643
22, Tony Stewart, No. 20 Coca-Cola C2/Home Depot Chevrolet, 47.549, 189.278, -0.651
23, Bobby Labonte, No. 18 Wellbutrin XL Chevrolet, 47.578, 189.163, -0.680
24, Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet, 47.612, 189.028, -0.714
25, Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Smirnoff Ice/DeWalt Ford, 47.612, 189.028, -0.714
26, Ricky Craven, No. 32 Tide Chevrolet, 47.635, 188.937, -0.737
27, Sterling Marlin, No. 40 Coors Light/U.S. Marines Dodge, 47.668, 188.806, -0.770
28, Kyle Petty, No. 45 Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge, 47.710, 188.640, -0.812
29, Jimmy Spencer, No. 4 Morgan-McClure Chevrolet, 47.733, 188.549, -0.835
30, Mike Wallace, No. 50 SportClips Dodge, 47.740, 188.521, -0.842
31, Dave Blaney, No. 30 AOL Broadband Chevrolet, 47.766, 188.419, -0.868
32, Jeff Green, No. 43 Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories Dodge, 47.796, 188.300, -0.898
33, Elliott Sadler, No. 38 M&M’s Ford, 47.797, 188.296, -0.899
34, Ken Schrader, No. 49 Schwan’s Home Service Dodge, 47.802, 188.277, -0.904
35, Terry Labonte, No. 5 Cheez-It/Spider-Man 2 Chevrolet, 47.846, 188.103, -0.948
36, John Andretti, No. 1 Coca-Cola C2 Chevrolet, 47.851, 188.084, -0.953
37, Brendan Gaughan*, No. 77 Kodak/Jasper Engines Dodge, 47.911, 187.848, -1.013
38, Kerry Earnhardt, No. 33 Bass Pro Shops/NRA Chevrolet, 48.041, 187.340, -1.143
39, Bobby Hamilton Jr., No. 09 Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts Dodge, 48.050, 187.305, -1.152
40, Kasey Kahne*, No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge, 48.069, 187.231, -1.171
41, Bill Elliott, No. 98 Coca-Cola C2 Dodge, 48.081, 187.184, -1.183
42, Morgan Shepherd, No. 89 Racing With Jesus/Red Line Oil Dodge, 48.526, 185.468, -1.628
43, Larry Gunselman, No. 98 Lucas Oil/Gibson Products Ford, 48.737, 184.665, -1.839
*: Rookie
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