Ricky Rudd

Ricky Rudd, driver of the No. 21 Motorcraft Ford Taurus

"It's a different shift. In some ways racing was a lot harder years ago...you had to work on your own equipment, then you had to help drive the equipment to the race tracks...It was a different type of grind then it is today....Everyday that goes by, you've got something to do, even if you're not at the race track..you've got some kind of Pr commitment to do. It's hard to find free time for yourself to get a break...you have to work at that so you don't get involved in a burn out factor. You can go seven days a week if you did everything demanded of you... that's the balance that keeps drivers fresher then other drivers...keeping that PR schedule where it makes some sense that you can get some rest. I really don't look at it in a way that you only have so much energy..and then it burns up. I look at my family history, and in our case my dads in his late 70's and works physical work everyday...everybody's different...you really can't put a gauge on when someone's career is getting used up...because everybody is a little different."