As of the middle of last week there were only 38 drivers listed on the official entry list for the race. According to a persistent rumor, the TV contract stipulates that the race include a full field of 43 cars or there are financial penalties for NASCAR. This forced NASCAR to dig up a few drivers who just didn't have the resources to compete.
The most glaring example of this is 60 year-old grandfather of six Joe Ruttman. Joe hadn't entered a cup race in over ten years and his qualifying speed was over 11 mph slower than Ryan Newman's pole sitting pace. Ruttman apparently skipped both practice sessions on Saturday so as to avoid running up a tire bill.
In the race Joe Ruttman ran one lap and was parked by NASCAR because he failed to produce a pit crew! That's right, he showed up to the race, ran qualifying, skipped practice and ran one lap of the race completely without a crew. For his trouble Joe took home the 43rd place check for $54,196.
So did Fox get their money's worth out of him? Was he part of their show? His only contribution that I saw was that his name scrolled by on the top of the screen about 600 times: 43 Ruttman (Out).
I understand that NASCAR is in trouble but is it really worth it to drag out these embarrassments just to have 43 drivers take the green flag? I'd much rather see the best 36 drivers racing than to bring in people who clearly don't belong.
