A TUMS “FightS back fast”MOMENT
(For each of the 36 races during the 2011 Sprint Cup season, TUMS will provide a brief historical recap of a moment when a team fought back to overcome an obstacle, one that can easily be described as a TUMS “Fights Back Fast” Moment. This week, the focus is on Dover International Speedway).
RUDD OVERCOMES FLAT TIRE, GETS FIRST SUPERSPEEDWAY
The date was Sept. 14, 1986. Ricky Rudd had a TUMS moment at one of the most demanding tracks on the NASCAR schedule, but prevailed in the end.
NOTE: TUMS is the sponsor of the TUMS Fast Relief 500, the seventh race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, at Martinsville Speedway on October 30.
After suffering a flat tire on lap 122 of the 500-lap Delaware 500 at Dover International Speedway, Rudd fought back from a lap down to post his first superspeedway victory. The Chesapeake, Va. native wheeled the Bud Moore-owned Ford around Terry Labonte with 93 laps remaining and held off the challenge of Neil Bonnett for the win.
Crashes by Tim Richmond and Dale Earnhardt and a transmission issue suffered by Darrell Waltrip helped pave the way for Rudd’s victory.
“It took a long time to finally win a superspeedway race,” Rudd said. “I’ve won on short tracks and road courses. It sure feels good to finally get one on a big oval track.”
Similar to how TUMS fights back fast, Rudd and his team fought back for the win by a margin of five seconds to post his first superspeedway victory.
