tamermotorsports.com - Nascar - Dodge/Knows Mart 350

This time the luck did not leave Ricky Rudd, that obtained to the first victory of the season when adjudging itself the Dodge/Knows Mart 350, disputed in the winding mixed circuit of Sears Point. This drawing up, along with Watkins Glen, is both unique mixed circuits that Nascar visits during season 2002.
For Rudd, this triumph meant to take revenge after its two previous frustrations in Dover and Pocono. It is possible to emphasize perhaps that this victory was not the most deserved for Rudd, that knew to take advantage the little fortune of Jerry Nadeau, pilot who led the competition lacking two returns to conclude. Nadeau was the solid candidate to the victory, counted on the most competitive machine during all the test, but suddenly the victory slipped to him between the hands when the transmission of its Chevrolet was united.
“It seems that always it is going to me to happen the same one”, it began saying Jerry, “the mechanics gave a fantastic car to me. I thought that already tapeworm the gained race, but the box blocked itself suddenly and that meant the end for me”, ended up saying Nadeau, that has been dismissal of the Hendrick Motorsports the past month. In Chicago it will drive a car property of Michael Waltrip, although after this race there are no future plans. With respect to this, sincere Jerry: “With the happened thing today my sport race has been finished”.
The deep sadness of Nadeau contrasted with the joy of Rudd, that ascends today to the seventh position of the championship with the 180 added points. “Era impossible to reach to Nadeau. Sincerely I do not enjoy winning this way, but thus it is are the races”, mentioned Rudd, “There am lost a pair of races in equal conditions, but this time I had revenge”, said the pilot of Ford.
Rudd not equivocation. To surpass to Nadeau would have been improbable. To begin it counted on a faster car, four seconds to its favor in a circuit where the ambles are not simple task. Whatsoever, the unexpected thing happened. The Montecar it of Nadeau it began to lose rate, its transmission was blocked and there was nothing no to do.
The author of pole position of Saturday, Tony Stewart, finished second with his Pontiac Firebird. Stewart realized an interesting race, that allowed him to add good points and acércalo more to the leader of the match (Sterling Marlin). “I am contented with the result, nobody waited for what happened to Nadeau, that allowed me to gain a position more”, explained Tony.
Terry Labonte, champion of Nascar during season “84 and 96”, arrived third party after an intelligent strategy of its equipment that chose to maintain it in track during the last round of resupplies. “The car was far better in race that in classification”, bruptly declared Terry, that had classified 39º.
Kurt Busch (Ford), Jeff Green (Chevrolet), Elliott Sadler (Ford), Mark Martin (Ford), Bill Elliott (Dodge), Ryan Newman (Ford) and John Andretti (Dodge) completed the ten first classified.
On the other hand the leader of the championship, Sterling Marlin, left the race just by 19 returns to the circuit. Marlin underwent mechanical problems in its Dodge Intrepid and lost the most important points. Other three that did not appear were Jimmie Johnson (35º), Jeff Gordon (37º) and Matt Kenseth (39º).

To see result of the race