You don’t need to be a NASCAR fan to admire Ricky Rudd’s dazzling footwork on the road courses. It was so incredible that the TV networks placed a camera on his pedal box. Watch this little clip and be amazed.
No CarTune this morning. Instead of singing, we’ve got dancing. Here’s Ricky Rudd pedaling a stock car around Sears Point, California. One of NASCAR’s original road course ringers, Rudd employed a unique, dazzling pedal technique—heel and toe, reverse heel and toe, and moments of pure improvisation. The legwork might put a Radio City Rockette to shame. The show was so mesmerizing that the TV networks installed a video camera on his pedal box.
Despite a long, stellar career with 26 victories, Rudd never quite won his due, perhaps, falling just short of a Winston Cup championship in 1991. But in the garage area he was known as a driver’s driver, and both his first and last NASCAR wins came on road courses: Riverside in 1983, Sears Point in 2002. In this video, recorded at Sears Point in 2001, listen to the awe and respect in the voice of commentator Darrell Waltrip, a talented road racer himself, as he describes Rudd’s technique. Now watch this.
I wish to mention that in Ricky Rudd’s day the cars were much harder to drive, no trick chassis or gearbox. Note Ricky has to use the clutch to shift, unlike now. These days they just drive the cars around the track like a video game.
Once you’ve mastered heel and toe, it becomes natural. I do it every time I get in the car without thinking. But modern cars aren’t built to facilitate it. People can no longer be counted upon to discern between two pedals, three is just mind boggling so they space them far apart and at different heights.
I’m sure that in 2001, Ricky Rudd would have said that it was like driving a video game compared to Sonoma in 1989. And when you think about what it was like to drive a stock car at Riverside in 1963, well even AJ Foyt had trouble. Race cars get wimpier every year but so do street cars, so the degree of difficulty remains high for the average driver.
Footwell cams have been around in OZ for far longer. Ricky was driving the car like he is supposed too. Left foot braking and heel and toe are what all good road racers do. And as the other comments, Yes. Cars are woosier with not using the clutch now. Though I bet they are still giving the brake pedal a security tap!
Ricky’s technique is totally different from classic heel-and-toe. Some call it reverse heel-toe but that’s not accurate either.