[5] He came very close to winning a race at Richmond in 1982, but a late power-steering failure sent his car into the wall and gave Dave Marcis the victory.

Joe Ruttman would dominate the middle of the season, winning two races that year on his way to finishing second in the championship.

His success as a full-time driver in the Truck Series continued as he went on to win 11 more races between 1996 and 2007.

Ruttman contributed to an ongoing controversy by not showing up with a pit crew, and only coming to collect a small share of the prize money.

Ruttman was ordered off the track by NASCAR after one lap and team owner James Finch was admonished by officials.

[6] His father, Ralph "Butch" Ruttman, was an award winning mechanic on top Indy teams.