Rudd still in the running for the Jerry Jones team? Free-agent driver Ricky Rudd says he has not shut down negotiations on a possible deal with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup season. Rudd reiterated that he hopes to learn next week about the status of his No. 1 choice, a contract that reportedly would see him join car owner Chip Ganassi’s Dodge Intrepid stable. But Rudd, 45, said the Cup team being formed by Jones and team owner Andy Petree remains an option. “Until these deals are done, you don’t want to burn all your bridges and opportunities,” said Rudd, lame-duck driver of the #28 Havoline Ford owned by Robert Yates. “Right now, I don’t have a written contract for next year. I don’t have a verbal agreement for next year. I think we’ve got a commitment by an owner [Ganassi] and a driver that want to work things out. And it probably will, but, until that’s done, I don’t want to say ‘no’ to anything else out there.”(Fort Worth Star Telegram)(8-11-2002)
