#21-Ricky Rudd and #41-Casey Mears made contact during last night’s final Budweiser Shootout practice. Mears’ Dodge spun without incident, and both cars avoided significant damage. Mears visited Rudd’s garage stall to apologize and drew angry words from Michael McSwain, Rudd’s burly crew chief. “I thought I was clear, and I wasn’t,” Mears said. “It was my fault. Ricky was cool, but [McSwain] needs to calm down a little bit. Stuff happens.” Rudd said a minor wrinkle to his “super sensitive” right-front fender could affect his Ford’s handling tonight but accepted Mears’ apology. “It’s very easy to make a mistake when you’re running three wide like that,” Rudd said. “It’s intense.”(Richmond Times Dispatch)(2-12-2005)
