Joe Ruttman
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| Born: | October 28, 1944 | |
| Birthplace: |  Upland, California |
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| Achievements: | — | |
| Awards: | 1978 USAC Stock Car Rookie of the Year
1980 USAC Stock Car champion |
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| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics | ||
| 255 races run over 20 years. | ||
| Best Cup Position: | 12th - 1983 (Winston Cup) | |
| First Race: | 1963 Riverside 500 (Riverside) | |
| Last Race: | 2004 MBNA America 400 (Dover) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 0 | 60 | 3 |
| NASCAR Nationwide Series Statistics | ||
| 21 races run over 8 years. | ||
| Best NNS Position: | 41st - 1985 (Busch Grand National) | |
| First Race: | 1982 Sportsman 200 (Dover) | |
| Last Race: | 2005 Aaron's 312 (Tallagega) | |
| First Win: | 1982 Sportsman 200 (Dover) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 1 | 5 | 0 |
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Statistics | ||
| Car #, Team | #18 - Bobby Hamilton Racing | |
| Best NCTS Position: | 2nd - 1995 | |
| First Race: | 1995 Copper World Classic (Phoenix) | |
| First Win: | 1995 Pizza Plus 150 (Bristol) | |
| Last Win: | 2001 Jelly Belly 200 (Pikes Peak) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 13 | 111 | 17 |
| Statistics current as of April 30, 2007. | ||
Joe Ruttman (born October 28, 1944, in Upland, California), is an American former racecar driver in all 3 NASCAR national divisions and a 13 time winner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the seventh most wins by any driver in the Truck Series.
[edit] USAC Stock Cars
He was the 1978 USAC Stock Car Rookie of the Year, and the 1980 series champion.[1]
[edit] NASCAR
He made his Grand National debut in 1963 at Riverside International Raceway and ran a full Winston Cup schedule from 1982 through 1984, 1986, and 1991 and finished 12th in series points in 1983, his best cup season result. Ruttman almost won his first Cup race in the 1982 Richmond race, Ruttman was leading comfortably until his Rod Osterlund owned car's power steering went out and hit the wall ending his chances. The caution handed Dave Marcis the win when it rained and Marcis stayed out when all of the leaders pitted. He was one of the drivers in the first Craftsman Truck Series season and won 2 races that year on his way to finishing second in the inaugural championship. He continued to be a full time driver in the truck series until 2001, winning 11 more series races and made his last truck series start at Texas Motor Speedway in 2002. He made seven Nextel Cup starts in 2004 and one Busch Series start in 2005 and considers himself "semi-retired".
Ruttman caused controversy in a 2004 NEXTEL Cup race at North Carolina Speedway when he ran a race without a pit crew. For the one lap he ran before he was "parked," he earned $54,196 and the scorn of many in the NASCAR community. This also created talk about whether "field fillers," drivers from underfunded and undersponsored teams, should be allowed to compete. He has one race win in the Busch Series and his best race finish in a Cup race is second. He is the younger brother of Troy Ruttman. He returned to NASCAR after a three year retirement period in the 2007 Craftsman Truck Series, driving the #18 Fastenal Dodge in four races for Bobby Hamilton Racing.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ "USAC Stock Car Championship History", ultimateracinghistory.com, Retrieved September 7, 2007
- ^ Driver's statistics at racing-reference.info, Retrieved February 26, 2007
