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Saturday, 8th September 2007

Hard California crash rules out Rudd for Richmond race and possibly beyond.

NASCAR veteran Ricky Rudd will miss a race due to injury for the first time in more than a quarter of a century this weekend after he separated his left shoulder in a hard crash during last Sunday's Aquos 500 at the California Speedway.

Rudd, who was making his 900th career Nextel Cup start last weekend just days after confirming his retirement from the sport, injured the shoulder in a multi-car pile-up on the front straight of the two-mile California oval after being clipped nearly head-on into the outside wall at full racing speed.

The Chesapeake, Virginia born driver, who holds the longest consecutive start streak in NASCAR with 788 prior to his 2006 sabbatical, hasn't missed a race through injury since 1980, the year before his record streak began.

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Fellow veteran Kenny Wallace has been drafted in to the #88 Robert Yates Racing Ford for this weekend's race at Richmond while Rudd awaits further evaluation.

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