Rudd to Ganassi, Sadler/M&M’s to Yates announcment postponed? UPDATE 2: Ricky Rudd, Chip Ganassi, Robert Yates and Elliott Sadler may have to wait another week to make the official announcements of their plans for next season, because there is apparently a disagreement between Yates and long-time sponsor Texaco [Havoline/Chevron] over the car #28. That has been Yates’ number since the late Davey Allison drove for him. However, Texaco executives say that number has been theirs just as long. Yates, Sadler and new sponsor M&Ms had planned to unveil their new car at Indianapolis.(Winston Salem Journal) AND A news conference scheduled by Chip Ganassi Racing for this morning was canceled a couple of days ago, track officials confirmed Thursday. The cancellation leads to speculation that a deal with Ricky Rudd is not yet completed. Published reports state that Ganassi is close to signing Rudd for a third team, and Rudd will be a teammate to points leader Sterling Marlin and Jimmy Spencer.(Roanoke Times) UPDATE: There’s widespread speculation that Ricky Rudd is close to signing with Chip Ganassi’s Winston Cup team, although he said Friday that nothing has been finalized. “I’m looking for which operation is the best I can go to and win races right out of the box,” the 45-year-old Rudd said. “I don’t have three years. If it’s going to be a two- or three-year building process, well, I don’t have two or three years to do that.” Rudd currently drives for the Robert Yates team, and a possible hang-up to the deal with Ganassi is the Texaco-Havoline sponsorship and the use of the Yates team’s traditional car number 28. “It’s not a done deal,” Rudd said. “There have been some conversations”.(ThatsRacin.com/AP)(8-2-2002) UPDATE 2: Ricky Rudd’s deal to move to Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2003 season could be finalized as soon as Saturday. “It’s not a done deal,” Rudd said Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “There have been some conversations trying to get all the details worked out.” When asked at midday when an end to the ongoing saga might come, Rudd jokingly looked at his watch and then suggested he might have a deal by late afternoon. But after Friday’s Brickyard 400 practice he said nothing would be signed at least until Saturday. Ganassi, who currently fields Dodges for Sterling Marlin and Jimmy Spencer, was coy when asked about rumors he’ll add a third team with Rudd for 2003. “(The press) is talking about it more than I am,” Ganassi said. “Stay tuned.” Rudd said that his current sponsor, Texaco/Havoline, has another year left on its contract with Yates. Though there has been nothing announced, it’s apparent that Elliott Sadler has a deal to drive for Yates next season with M&M’s as his sponsor, joining Dale Jarrett’s UPS-backed team. Rudd has talked about retiring at the end of this season and about trying to keep his current team together, but he said Friday that based on what he has learned in the past few weeks “the Yates deal has never really been an option for me since probably late May.” Rudd said he believes legal issues are complicating the disposition of the final year of Texaco/Havoline’s deal with Yates. One possible scenario is that the sponsor would go with Rudd to Ganassi’s team along with the car number, 28, that has been with Yates since he bought the team from Harry Ranier. That would allow the sponsor to carry over the car owner points amassed by Rudd this season to next year’s Dodge effort with Ganassi.(ThatsRacin.com)(8-3-2002)
