"It's one of my favorite tracks. I've always had pretty good luck here," Rudd said. "Dover's one of those places that just sort of comes naturally to me. It's just a track that suits my driving style."
Rudd made his NASCAR debut in 1975 and completed his first full season two years later, winning rookie of the year honors in 1977. He has 23 career victories and finished a career-best second in the standings in 1991 while driving for Rick Hendrick.
He was an "Iron Man" in the sport and now he's helping Stewart keep his own modest streak alive. Stewart needs all the help he can get. He was knocked out of the race and knocked down in the standings - dropping from second to fourth, 231 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson -- and faces a punishing month.
Dover International Speedway is one of the worst tracks for an injured driver. With its high-banked, tight, concrete layout, it's a fast and physically demanding track that wears on the healthiest of drivers.
Next week, it's 500 miles on the formidable triangle at Pocono, followed by Michigan, which runs very fast. Then it's the road course at Sonoma, Calif., where he started a run last season of five wins in seven races en route to the championship.
"If we get through this weekend without any problems, then for Pocono we shouldn't have any issues," Stewart said.
Zipadelli said he doesn't want Stewart practicing too much and the team will go through a dry run Saturday of getting him out of the car and Rudd in. Zipadelli said he won't push Stewart.
"He knows the best thing for him is getting out," Zipadelli said. "I know he's hurting. When he gets in the car, he's going hurt more than he does right now."
Rudd was taking life easy at his farm outside Huntersville, N.C., trying to figure out if he could truly stay away from a sport where he left a legacy as the most durable driver in the sport.
"I've really enjoyed my time off," he said.
He still raced, though it was more go-karts and dirt bikes, instead of race cars. Rudd has not ruled out running a full or limited schedule next year, but won't commit to anything.
"I've been approached by different race teams and I've told them, out of fairness to them, don't let me hold your plans up," he said. "I'm forcing myself to take one year off to sort of gather my thoughts and figure out what I want to do next."
For now, that's easy -- to see if he can tame that Monster Mile one more time.
wink91wink 
