Joe Ruttman

Infobox NASCAR driver
Name = Joseph Ruttman


Birthdate = birth date and age|1944|10|28
Birthplace = flagicon|USA Upland, California
Awards = 1978 USAC Stock Car Rookie of the Year

1980 USAC Stock Car champion
Best_Cup_Pos = 12th - 1983 (Winston Cup)
Cup_Top_Tens = 60
Cup_Poles = 3
First_Cup_Race = 1963 Riverside 500 (Riverside)
Last_Cup_Race = 2004 MBNA America 400 (Dover)
Years_In_Cup = 20
Total_Cup_Races = 255
First_Busch_Win = 1982 Sportsman 200 (Dover)
Last_Truck_Win = 1982 Sportsman 200 (Dover)
Best_Busch_Pos = 41st - 1985 (Busch Grand National)
Busch_Wins = 1
Busch_Top_Tens = 5
First_Busch_Race = 1982 Sportsman 200 (Dover)
Last_Busch_Race = 2005 Aaron's 312 (Tallagega)
Years_In_Busch = 8
Total_Busch_Races = 21
Truck_Car_Team = #18 - Bobby Hamilton Racing
First_Truck_Win = 1995 Pizza Plus 150 (Bristol)
Last_Truck_Win = 2001 Jelly Belly 200 (Pikes Peak)
Truck_Wins = 13
Truck_Top_Tens = 111 | Truck_Poles = 17
Best_Truck_Pos = 2nd - 1995
First_Truck_Race = 1995 Copper World Classic (Phoenix)
Updated_On = 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.

USAC Stock Cars

He was the 1978 USAC Stock Car Rookie of the Year, and the 1980 series champion. [ [http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/usacstock.htm "USAC Stock Car Championship History"] , ultimateracinghistory.com, Retrieved September 7 2007]

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. [ [http://www.racing-reference.info/driver?id=ruttmjo01 Driver's statistics at racing-reference.info] , Retrieved February 26 2007]

References