Rudd was runner-up to Dale Earnhardt for the '91 championship at Hendrick Motorsports, but left two years later to establish a team from scratch. He didn't like Hendrick's multicar concept, which wasn't in vogue then. His thinking was if he couldn't drive for a title team, he'd build his own. Though he won races, including the Brickyard 400 at Indiana-polis, he never got out of the buildup stage. "We had crossed many hurdles," Rudd says, "but realistically, we couldn't have won a championship. It might have taken us another three years to build that type of effort."
And There's More
Waltrip won five races his first two seasons as owner, followed by five goose eggs and a plunge to 26th in points. Geoffrey Bodine had a single win while Brett Bodine and Nemechek had none as owners. Brett Bodine's sole Winston Cup win came in 1990 while driving for Kenny Bernstein, and Nemechek didn't get that landmark first victory, at New Hampshire, until 1999 with Sabates, whom he departed at the end of the season to replace Kenny Schrader at Andy Petree Racing.
In terms of performance, Elliott has been but a semblance of the "Awesome Bill" he was with his family-oriented team in the '80s and a six-win, three-year stint with Junior Johnson. The '88 champion hasn't won a race in the five years he has been principal team owner and has been bogged in mediocrity. Elliott will lose corporate giant McDonald's, probably the sport's most visible team sponsor, at the end of 2000. It's too early to surmise how that situation will play out, but we would not choke on our Big Mac if Elliott, 44, retires. He steadfastly vows that he will continue with another sponsor.
Marcis is a survivor, a throwback to small-time, modestly sponsored independent owners/drivers of the '60s and '70s who were satisfied with backpack prize money until racing got so competitive they could no longer make the field. Marcis has managed to keep the team he owns afloat with a single victory since 1981, an amazing feat for the 32-year Winston Cup veteran. Now 58 and unable to make but a portion of the races, admittedly his days are numbered.
Waltrip, 52, who will drive the #66 Kmart Ford on a farewell tour leading to retirement as a driver after the 2000 season, is vocal about the plight of owners/drivers and single-car operators. He's worried about guys such as himself who have devoted most of their lives to racing and have given their heart, soul, energy, and resources to owning a team, only to be driven out by multicar owners. He wanted to remain in the sport as a car owner but says that's not possible now, with the way the sport is structured. He adds that NASCAR needs to devise a system or plan whereby single-car owners don't go broke trying to keep the sport as healthy as it is. "I've worked 30 years to end up with nothing," he says, alluding to losing his team. Franchising has been bantered, but that wouldn't help owners/drivers and single-car owners, except the value of their teams would increase substantially.
It Was A "No-Brainer"
Rudd says, however, that not having to contend with the problems and hassles of ownership-sponsorship, personnel turnover, car building, and taxes, for example-was like unloading a stack of anvils off his shoulders. "It's a big relief just to concentrate on driving again," he says. "I'm ready for that. As owner, it was an interesting six years. Ownership gives you a different perspective on the sport, and it sure made me appreciate what it's like driving the race car without having to worry about all the responsibilities of running a multimillion dollar business. I think every driver on the Winston Cup circuit at one time or another needs to be in the owner's shoes."