Riverside Qualifying : Rudd’s 118.484-M.P.H. Lap Sets Permanent Record

Ricky Rudd, despite a bulky knee brace on his left leg as the result of a crash last month at Charlotte, N.C., broke the Riverside International Raceway stock car qualifying record Friday with a lap of 118.484 m.p.h. in his Buick Regal.

Rudd earned the pole for Sunday’s $396,000 Budweiser 400, race No. 12 in the 31-race NASCAR Winston Cup series, with a fast lap that will remain forever in the record books. Sunday’s race will be the last for stock cars at the 31-year-old facility.

Rudd eclipsed the mark of 118.247 set in November 1986, by Tim Richmond, who would be the defending champion Sunday if he had not retired last year after a long bout with double pneumonia. Rudd also topped Terry Labonte’s race record of 117.541 set last June.

Rudd, who won the 400 here in 1983 as well as the 1985 Winston Western 500, said he hopes to drive the entire 400 kilometers--248.9 miles--Sunday, even though his team has West Coast driver Jimmy Insolo ready to fill in if Rudd tires.

Five-time Riverside winner Richard Petty failed to qualify when he crashed his Pontiac Grand Prix into the wall in Turn 6. Petty was not injured and will try again in a backup car today. He has appeared in every Riverside NASCAR race since 1966.

An International Race of Champions, featuring Indy car, stock car and sports car drivers driving identically-prepared Camaros, will be held today, along with a 300-kilometer Southwest Tour race in the All-American Challenge stock car series.