Long's Call Sends Rudd to Victory lane
5 August 1997
LONG'S CALL SENDS RUDD TO VICTORY LANE CHARLOTTE, NC - With the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway coming down to the final laps, the leaders ducked down pit road for a final fuel stop during the fifth caution period. Ricky Rudd just watched them go. Crew chief Jim Long took the gamble that the Tide Ford could go the distance on fuel. That gamble paid off with a $571,000 pay day for Rudd and the biggest win of his career. It also helped Long grab his third RCA Pit Strategy Award of the season. Long will be awarded a check for $5,000 and the RCA mascot Nipper during pre-race ceremonies this weekend at Watkins Glen. It was at Dover in June that Long elected to keep Rudd on the track late in the race rather than take on fresh rubber like everyone else that gave Rudd his first win of the season, and extended his winning streak to 15 straight years with at least one victory. That also earned Long his first RCA award of the year. Rudd, who won twice in the same season for the first time since 1987, had not led the race all day and most didn't view him as much of a factor. His lap times had been as quick as the leaders all day, but Rudd said his car wouldn't handle in traffic. "I would come up on a lapped car and I wouldn't even be able to pass a lapped car," Rudd said. "The car would get so radically tight in the front end that it wouldn't turn." But Long was keeping a close eye on track position and mileage. "We had tried to save and pinch and everything else," Rudd said. "But you ride around under caution and you've got twice or three times the fuel economy. The guys were saying don't work the accelerator, just let it idle and don't abuse the throttle, just leave it in a tall gear and let it chug along. "It was really a borderline, iffy situation if we could make it, but it was just close enough that we were going to roll the dice and go for it." Rudd was helped by one more caution on Lap 155 of the 160-lap race. "When it was a green-flag deal it was a big gamble," Long said. "But it's the biggest race of the year besides the Daytona 500. Man, it's worth it. We knew everybody else had to come in, so it was great. We slowed down a little bit. We could run with them all day, but we couldn't pass anybody. "This is the biggest thing that has ever happened to me, besides getting married." Long has become a master at pit strategy, even when a top-five finish seems out of reach. After struggling all weekend and using a provisional to make the field for the California 500, Long gambled on two-tire stops and a late gas-and-go to give Rudd a third-place finish from his 39th starting position to win his second Nipper dog. Long is now tied with Terry Labonte's crew chief Gary DeHart for the lead in the chase for the $50,000 year-end RCA Pit Strategy Award. They lead a group of five crew chiefs with two awards apiece. By RCA Racing Public Relations