Rudd Leaving Yates and not retiring? – Third Yates Team and some M&M’s news: Ricky Rudd has apparently decided not to return to the #28 RYR team next season, but Texaco will apparently remain as Yates’ sponsor. If that’s indeed the case, then Rudd could become a candidate for a Chevy ride with Dale Earnhardt Inc. as well as a Ford ride with Jerry Jones’ proposed new team [well the team(s) #33/#55 of Andy Petree that Jones is expected to buy into]. Ford officials say they would very much like to keep Rudd in the Ford fold. Rudd has said he might retire at the end of the season, but sources close to the situation say that may have been a bargaining ploy. Rudd said last month he hoped to make a decision by the middle of July [15th]. Rudd says he thinks Yates has already signed Elliott Sadler to replace him, though Yates and Sadler both deny any contract signing. If Texaco stays and Rudd goes, then Yates could continue as just a two-team owner, which he says he would prefer to be, rather than a three-team owner, which appeared looming a few weeks ago. M&M Mars [#36 sponsor] has been hoping to sponsor that third Yates team, according to NASCAR sources. What might now happen with that sponsorship is unclear. Cal Wells [#32] is one man who is figured to be in negotiations with the company, which could support a second team.(Winston Salem Journal)(6-17-2002)
