Sources close to Robert Yates Racing told ESPN.com Wednesday that Ricky Rudd’s Snickers Ford will carry the #88 in 2007. An announcement is expected as soon as this weekend, one source said.
Since the mid-December announcement that Rudd would return to Nextel Cup Series racing following a year layoff, considerable speculation has centered on what number his RYR Ford would carry. Team officials were undecided and a bit evasive during a conference call following the announcement, leading many to speculate the number would switch to# 28 — the number carried by Yates’ first-ever Cup Series entry from its inception through 2003, when the car was switched to #38.
Texaco shoudn't have a say in what car # Rudd runs. If Rudd, Yates and Masterfoods wanted to run the #28, then they should have. But Texaco and Yates had an agreement when Texaco left RYR that he wouldn't run the #28 for many seasons. That just sucks. They decided to leave and go to Ganassi, a team where they have... ZERO wins.