Mooresville, NC (Best E Casino) - Ricky Rudd made it official Thursday, saying he will join forces with Robert Yates Racing to participate in a full NASCAR Nextel Cup schedule for the 2007 season.

Rudd, who sat out 2006, will fill the seat left vacant when Dale Jarrett left the team at the end of the season.

Rudd and Yates were previously paired together between 2000 and 2002. The Chesapeake, VA native collected three wins and finished in the top-10 in all three years they worked together. For his career, Rudd has 23 Nextel Cup wins, 29 poles and was named 1977 Rookie of the Year. He also holds the Nextel Cup record of 788 consecutive starts between 1981-2005.

The team will be sponsored by Masterfoods USA (Snickers) and will likely use the No. 28 that Rudd used when they were together the first time.

"When I took a break from racing at the end of 2005, I knew that I would return to competition if the right opportunity presented itself," Rudd said. "Returning to Robert Yates Racing and partnering with Snickers was the ride to get me back into competition full time. In today's market, you have to have a multi-car organization to be competitive and win races and with Masterfoods' support I believe we have the ability to do both of those next year."