Auto racing: Injured Rudd back behind the wheel

Ricky Rudd will get back behind the wheel of the Robert Yates Racing No. 88 Ford this week at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., after missing five weeks with a separated shoulder.

“My shoulder still is not at 100 percent yet,” said Rudd, who will retire at the end of the season. “But we’re going to have to see how it handles being in the car for practice.”

Rudd separated his left shoulder in a Sept. 2 wreck at California Speedway. It was the first time the 50-year-old Rudd, who recently started his 900th race, missed a race because of injury.

He sat out last year – racing once as an injury substitution for Tony Stewart – and returned to a full schedule this year.

Rudd, who was replaced by brothers Kenny and Mike Wallace, said he isn’t certain he’s ready to run the full 500 miles Saturday night.

Alonso questioned

Reigning Formula One champion Fernando Alonso was questioned by prosecutors Tuesday in Modena, Italy, in the Ferrari spy scandal.

The McLaren driver was not under criminal investigation but considered to have knowledge of the facts in the case.

The Spaniard is second in this season’s standings, four points behind fellow McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton.

McLaren was fined a record $100 million by the World Motor Sport Council on Sept. 13 after a separate investigation by Formula One’s governing body FIA found McLaren guilty of using leaked data from Ferrari.

The FIA investigation centered on phone records and e-mail exchanges between McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa and McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan, and De la Rosa and Alonso.

Another debut for Franchitti

IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti will make his NASCAR debut Oct. 20 in the Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway in Charlotte, N.C.

Franchitti is moving to NASCAR next season. He made his stock-car debut in the ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend and finished 17th.