NASCAR Harvick, Rudd have little talk while Helton listens

Reconciliation was the rivals' objective in front of the Winston Cup president.
LOUDON, N.H. (AP) -- Kevin Harvick and Ricky Rudd finally had a little talk on Saturday.
The main participants in last week's late-race crash and post-race melee at Richmond spent about three minutes talking, apparently amicably, while leaning on a pile of tires in the garage area at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Winston Cup president Mike Helton stood nearby, listening, but didn't join the conversation.
"It was just time," Rudd said. "We needed a couple of words with each other. Having Mike standing there, I guess, didn't hurt."
Neither Harvick nor Helton were available to comment.
Criticized Rudd
On Friday, Harvick criticized Rudd for failing to call him and apologize for knocking him out of second place and into the wall with nine laps left in the Richmond race. Harvick, third in the season points, wound up 16th in the race.
He continued to insist that Rudd knocked him into the wall on purpose.
Rudd, who went on to finish third at Richmond, said the crash was unintentional. Rudd added that he had nothing to say to Harvick, who stood on top of Rudd's car and berated him. Two of Harvick's crewmen caved in the hood of Rudd's car on pit lane in the post-race melee.
NASCAR fined Harvick $35,000 and placed him on probation until Dec. 31. Two of his crewmen were suspended for 10 days and will miss Sunday's Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Two other RCR crewmen were fined.
Rudd's crew chief, Pat Tryson, was also fined.
Asked if the Saturday chat cleared the air, Rudd said, "He was a victim and I told him it wasn't purposeful. If he accepted it, I don't know."
The best
NASCAR has released its latest in a series of "All-Time Top 10" lists, this one covering its Modified division.
Nine-time champion Richie Evans topped the list, followed by Jim Stefanik, Jerry Cook, Ray Hendrick, Geoffrey Bodine, Tony Hirschman, Bugs Stevens, Fred DeSarro, Jimmy Spencer and Reggie Ruggiero.
Evans, Cook, Hendrick and Bodine were also part of "The 50 Greatest NASCAR Drivers of All Time" list compiled in 1998.
Stefanik and Hirschman are still active in Modified racing.
Leading man
Winston Cup driver Ryan Newman led third-quarter voting for the Driver of the Year Award.
The driver in his second full season in NASCAR's top stock car series had three wins, seven top-10 finishes and a pole in 10 starts during the quarter that ended last week.
Newman drew 10 of 17 first-place ballots and totaled 123 points, nearly doubling the 66 compiled by CART series leader Paul Tracy. Tracy, who won three times and had six top-three finishes and four poles in the third quarter, did not get any first-place votes.
NHRA Top Fuel star Larry Dixon had three first-place votes and 46 points to take third. USAC short track driver J.J. Yeley, excelling this season in midgets, sprint cars and Silver Crown cars, also drew three first-place votes. Two-time defending IRL champions Sam Hornish Jr. got one.
In online fan balloting, which counts for one vote, NASCAR's Kevin Harvick beat out Newman and fellow Winston Cup competitor and series leader Matt Kenseth for the top spot.
There will be one more quarterly vote before the panel of national motorsports writers and broadcasters selects the overall 2003 Driver of the Year.