Space
Provided By
The Auto Channel

Credits
Contact Us
Back Home

NASCAR
Image Gallery

Callahan's
Racing Art

---

A Conversation With Dale Jarrett

Dale Jarrett

"It's been hectic, to say the least. I think most of it has been fun, except that I didn't run very well at Homestead in my Busch car. Still, the things leading up to Atlanta have been fun, just the thought of going there and experiencing the opportunity to win the championship and wrap up what has been a tremendous season for us. It's been a lot of fun, as we get closer with each day, I think we all get a little more excited. I talked to the guys at the shop. I'm going there in about an hour to see them and tell them what a great job they've done and that this is championship week and we need to be ready."

YOU'VE WON FIVE RACES IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON. WITH ONE OR TWO BREAKS, YOU COULD HAVE NINE OR TEN WINS. THIS HAS TO BE A SATISFYING YEAR FOR YOUR, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS THIS WEEKEND. -

"Absolutely. No matter what happens this weekend, we'll look back on 1997 and say we had a great time, we accomplished a lot of things that we set out to accomplish. We don't set the number of wins we want, because that's pretty impossible to do in this sport. We knew that we wanted to win a number of races and win at some race tracks that we haven't won at and improve our program, and we wanted to run up front all the time. And I think that we have shown this year that we have done that. Except for a few cases, we've been able to run in the top five or the top 10 pretty much every race, so we've accomplished a lot. It's been a very, very satisfying year as far as the things we've been able to accomplish. If we aren't able to win the championship, there will always be that one small piece in our hearts and our minds, that we didn't come away with the championship, and that is obviously the ultimate goal."

WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH TODD LIKE? WHEN IT COME DOWN TO THE END, WHO MAKES THE DECISION ON TWO TIRES OR FOUR TIRES? -

"I think that it started out as a business relationship, but has evolved into a very strong friendship that we share the same business interest. We both have a level of competitiveness inside us that makes us want to be the best in our business of NASCAR Winston Cup racing. That friendship allows us to go with this a little differently than a lot of others, because we enjoy being around each other and talking about what we need to do and what we need to accomplish. We spend more time at it than probably other drivers and crew chiefs. I think our friendship allows our success to come a little more easily. I think we hear each other out, and if there is a final decision to be made, Todd does that. I have that much confidence in them, that he is watching what is going on around us at all times. He's probably a little better informed to make that decision that what I am on the race track, so I leave that totally to him after I have given him my thoughts."

IS TODD THE GUY YOU WOULD HAVE PICKED? -

"When Robert Yates and Larry McReynolds came to me and said, 'We watched Todd Parrott for a number of years and we see what he has done and what he has accomplished while he was working with Rusty,' I said, 'You know he's been around the sport for a long time. I've known him for quite a while, and I know he is a very hard workeR.' And I've always been one who likes to give people the opportunity who work hard and who are dedicated. That's how I got in some of the positions I've been able to get into to, because of that hard work and an attitude of never-give-up. That's what intrigued me about Todd. He was going to give it everything he had. I don't think you can ever sit back and say, 'This is going to be the perfect situation for me.' You have to get in and see if the personalities are going to mix. I knew that he was very capable of being a crew chief with the knowledge that he had and that he had always been really good around people and working with people, and that's very important in his position. I can't say that from the very beginning that this was just going to take off and go like it did, but I felt very confident that Todd and I could make it work with just a little bit of effort on our part. And knowing the backgrounds that we both came from, that it wasn't going to be a problem for us to give that effort. We have become tremendous friends and that has added a little more to our relationship."

DO YOU FAVOR A SHORTER SEASON? -

Dale Jarrett

"No, I don't really favor a shorter season. I'm a competitor. I want to race. But certainly it does get to a point in time where we have to realize that, physically, this is as much as we can do. And I think that next year we are looking at getting to that point. I know that there are areas that, as our sport continues to grow, that we need to be in and are very important to our sponsors and NASCAR. Somewhere along the line, something is going to have to be taken out before something else can be put in. I believe we can still do what is being asked of us, especially if the schedule is looked at and made a little bit easier on the crews and the truck drivers, we as drivers will be able to handle it, even though there is a lot of demands from the sponsors on our time now. But I believe that we can handle what is there, but not much more."

WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO THE END SUNDAY AND IT BECOMES OBVIOUS THAT GORDON IS GOING TO HAVE A GOOD FINISH, AT WHAT POINT DO YOU RE-FOCUS ON BEATING MARK? -

"I think that we have to race Mark right from the very beginning. That is going to be a focus of ours right from the very start. Hopefully, we are going to be up front trying to do that. But if we get into the last part of the race, we are going to pay attention, especially if Jeff is still within the bounds to take the championship, we focus on Mark, because second place is important to us. We've worked hard all year and we would like to be the highest finishing Ford in the championship. But it will have to be late before we totally give up because we realize that anything can happen at any time. But Mark has to be a focus of ours also, because he is only 10 points back, and that's only a couple of spots up front."

ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT THE WEATHER ELIMINATING PRACTICE THIS WEEKEND? -

"Yeah, it doesn't look good. I watched the weather last night. That is certainly a concern, because I believe there are a number of things that are going to need to happen at Atlanta for everybody to feel reasonably comfortable with the entire situation as far as the speeds. We really need some time to scuff some tires, in addition to the practice time that we have, to help work in the tires so they will last longer and also to work on getting a second groove worked in, a higher groove, so that we can do some good hard racing, and it's not just a follow-the-leader type of deal. Yes, the weather is a huge concern. NASCAR has been very fortunate over the years that things like this work out."

WHICH CAR ARE YOU TAKING TO ATLANTA? -

"We've run it three times this year, at Indianapolis, Darlington and Charlotte. When we took it there to test, we felt like it was the best car that we had. We finished third twice and first once, so we are very comfortable in taking that car."

HOW IS THE TAURUS DEVELOPMENT GOING? -

"We've done quite a bit of testing with it, as much as we could. We tested it at Rockingham for a day and at Atlanta for a couple of days, and Todd took the car back with Rusty Wallace, because he was testing at Atlanta last week, to do some more with it. It's going to take a group effort with it, because it's going to take a group effort from everybody at Ford to make this work. Rusty was good enough to drive it a few laps for us so that we could all learn some more about what we need to do. We've got a lot of cars in the process of being built with the Taurus body, and we are trying to get everything sorted to know exactly what we need. We're still in the development stages of that, and it's pretty late in the year to be doing that. We have a lot of testing scheduled at Daytona and Talladega for January and at some other tracks. The first part of the year is going to be hectic for the Ford teams in getting everything sorted out."

ARE YOU HAVING A LOT OF FUN WITH THIS? -

"I am. And it's not a front or anything that I am putting up. What you see is what it's all about. This is just a tremendous opportunity and a tremendous feeling to come into the last race of the season having any chance at all to win the championship. It's what you work all your life for, to have that opportunity. We know our chances are slim. If Jeff and Ray and those guys do the job that they normally do, they are probably going to finish up front. But we're still in a battle for second with a chance to be first, so I'm having a great time. This is really what it's all about. The competition and trying to outperform and outguess the others at this point in the season. Todd and I were talking last night. We'rehaving a great time and it's really fun to be in this position. I know the hundreds and thousands of people who race cars and don't get the opportunity to race for championships, and we're very fortunate to be in that position and enjoy it while we are here."

CRITIQUE YOUR TWO COMPETITORS? -

"Jeff Gordon probably has as much talent and ability as anyone who has ever come through this sport. He has a tremendous race team and an organization that has won the last two championships and has proven that they are at the top of this business. They have the complete package. Then Mark Martin, you have the ultimate competitor. There are a lot of people out there who want to win, and I feel like there is nobody who wants to win as much as me, but you can see that come through with Mark Martin. I don't know the name of his book, but he was born to race. That's what he does, and that's all that he thinks about. He is focused totally on driving a race car. He just has a lot of talent, with a race team also that has been around for a while and has a lot of experience. Jack Roush has won championships in everything that he has done, so they certainly know how to do it. You couldn't ask to have any better competitors to be racing against. If we are able to beat them, I think we can honestly say that we challenged the very best that there is out there right now and were able to overcome 'em."

WHAT KIND OF CONVERSATIONS HAVE YOU HAD WITH ROBERT YATES? -

"Robert and I have talked a number of times about what lies ahead for us and what it took to get to this point. I think he is excited to have this opportunity again, to have this chance. He has given me his views about what they went through in years past when they were in this position. There is a lot of experience there to draw on as far as how to handle situations, and he's been very open to doing more listening than talking. If you can sit and listen to Robert long enough, you are going to get something out of it that can be very beneficial."

WHY ARE YOU SO NICE? -

"I think you can be a nice person and have a competitive fire inside you that allows you, once you get in competition, to have an attitude that you take no prisoners, you are going to do whatever it takes to win. That's the way our race team performs. We have a good time at what we're doing. We enjoy it and we smile a lot, and I guess a lot of people at times think that we are not very serious, but we're totally involved in what we're doing, but we can have a good time it, also. When I get strapped in the race car, my total thought is to beat everyone out there that I'm racing against. I don't think that you have to be a person who is mean and tough and project an image all the time that this is the way that you are constantly. That, to me, is reserved for the competition. When I get in the car, maybe I'm a different person in there, but I'm not going to put anybody in a dangerous position. It's just that when I get in the car, I want to win and I don't' want anything to stand in my way."

WHAT WAS IT LIKE GOING TO ATLANTA THIS TIME LAST YEAR? -

"It's ironic, because I look back and I wasn't that many more points behind than I am right now. But I think we come in here kind of on a roll. That's why people tend to look at it a little more. And obviously, we are in second instead of third. It seems to be a little more of an atmosphere for some reason. I can't explain it. But we have had a very successful second half of the season and have made a pretty strong charge. I think people tend to look at the very recent history and say that these guys have made up a lot of ground, so it's not impossible for them to do. And it's even different for me. When we get into Thursday of this week, my brother-in-law had a rather serious accident this time last year, and it kinda put a different tone on everything. Things kinda changed focus for me, and there are reasons for that. I had a lot more on my mind than just racing for a championship. He made a great recovery and is doing extremely well, and I think that we really looked at this as having a serious opportunity or a realistic opportunity to win the championship."

DID YOU DREAM ABOUT WINNING A WINSTON CUP CHAMPIONSHIP AND HOW IT MIGHT HAPPEN? -

"I certainly thought about it as a kid. I thought about racing in the last race and having to win to win the championship. That was always a great thought, and that thought carries over from being a kid to being just a bigger kid like I am now. Since Phoenix, I've gone through every scenario of what it might take or what we're going to have to do. I've gone over it a lot in my mind. There has been a lot of dreaming to this point. The reality will come Sunday, and we'll see which one of those scenarios play out."

By Ford Motorsports

Editors Note: The images displayed in this article (plus many more) can be viewed in the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.

Member of the Internet Link Exchange