NASCAR WCUP: Robert Yates speaks on Talladega

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

April 18, 2001

Robert Yates, owner of the No. 28 Texaco Havoline and No. 88 UPS Tauruses, is off to one of his best starts since becoming a full-time multi-car owner in 1996. Through eight races this season drivers Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd have combined for three wins, seven top-five and 12 top-10 finishes, including their one-two finish at Martinsville. Going into this weekend's race at Talladega, Yates has Jarrett leading the point standings by 123 points over Jeff Gordon, while Rudd ranks eighth.

ROBERT YATES, Car Owner --28 and 88 Ford Tauruses -- WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON GOING BACK TO TALLADEGA? "I think probably the thing about Talladega is that we feel we're going back with a chance to run good with the rules package, so that makes our preparation that much more exciting. We would like nothing more than to go down and qualify up front, so we can stay on the front end of things. We're putting a lot of effort toward that."

IS THAT STILL A SPECIAL PLACE TO GO CONSIDERING THE FANS AND AFFECTION THAT STILL EXISTS FOR DAVEY ALLISON? "For many years now when the 28 car goes out to qualify or when they announce it, it probably gets the loudest cheer of any car out there. The fans still remember when Davey won at Talladega back in '89 with the 28 car. That was our first win of this current era (after Yates bought the team from Harry Ranier) and they've been supporting us ever since. Maybe the 28 wasn't supposed to win at Martinsville because they were saving it up for Talladega, where most of the fans will be cheering for us, I don't know. Sometimes things happen that way. It would be a very popular win with the fans and we'd love it."

WHAT IS THE MOOD OF THE 28 TEAM RIGHT NOW? "They're hearts were broken at Martinsville when Dale passed them, but nobody was pointing any fingers at anybody because that's just the way things worked out. The car was good and we knew with 140 to go it could run pretty decent times. It would fall off a little bit after 100 laps on the tires, but track position meant a lot. The toughest part was that we came back from two laps down and were so close to pulling it off. It was like Phoenix because we could almost see the checkered flag and this one was getting even closer. We were just a little unlucky, but on the other hand, we're all in the same camp. The guys on both teams are really working well together and that makes our deal even stronger."

IS THIS THE BEST THE TWO TEAMS HAVE WORKED TOGETHER? "There are some days where I wished we worked better together, but we sit down before each race and after practice and go over our plan. We talk about what we're going to leave with and then after each practice we usually sit down and go over it. What's helpful about it is that you know the other team is not lying to you because you get bits and pieces on just about everything. That lets each team have a better understanding about their packages and helps you make a more educated decision on whatever changes you're thinking about on Saturday night. We've seen that pay off. Sometimes one team might feel like they give more than they get, but that's just the way it is because not every trade is a dollar for a dollar. When the other team wins it's like, 'Dang, I shouldn't have helped them that much,' but if you really understand the whole guts of it, there is a lot of trading between ourselves and you have to earn it just like it's a different team. I can't come in and say, 'Listen, you're gonna tell him what kind of shocks you've got on.' Teams that do that usually don't get the right package. You've got to want to understand and think and work together. There's been a lot of that this year and that's what really helped pull off that one-two finish last week."

YOU ARE RECOGNIZED AS THE LEADER IN TERMS OF GENERATING HORSEPOWER, BUT DOES ANY ADVANTAGE IN THAT AREA GO OUT THE WINDOW WITH RESTRICTOR PLATE RACING? "I hope we'll be able to go back and pick up where we left off before this new rules package was announced last year. We've had good superspeedway cars there in the past and even won a race there with Dale a couple of years ago (1998). Even the 28 car finished fourth at Daytona this year. We were one of the better cars even though we felt handicapped. We couldn't get to the front and we couldn't lead, but we were able to drive up through there and drive good, so we're looking forward to this weekend. In my opinion, if the drivers will all respect each other a little more and not try to run 10-wide in three lanes, maybe it won't be so bad. That's usually what creates the most pressure, if not the wrecks. They need to have a little bit more respect for banging into each other. That's why the drivers have asked for more power. The car has two pedals so if we give them two pedals, let's see them get used. Let's see the best driver and best car win, instead of who can scare the other guy out of the way."

WOULD SMALLER ENGINES HELP ACHIEVE THAT? "We couldn't probably make an engine small enough to have no restriction on the carburetion, but I think smaller engines would just be nice to have for everywhere. When you look at IROC, IROC races are designed to sort the driver out. Our sport has got many more dimensions to it. It's praise for the pit crew, praise for the engine guys, praise for the chassis guys. We don't need things that are designed to put all of those guys right on top of each other. That creates a bigger dimension for our sport. I think a series with spec engines would suck. Why would I build engines then? It would be just a job and that's certainly not what we do it for now. We're in a race, a heated race, with other teams. We go to extreme limits and worry about it going over the edge, but that's what it's all about. That brings a lot to the sport because there is a race within races. There are pit crews, engines and crew chiefs that make good calls. It's much more than the driver."

HOW MUCH FURTHER CAN YOU GO AS FAR AS DEVELOPING HORSEPOWER FOR RESTRICTOR PLATE ENGINES? HAVE YOU MAXED OUT? "We have somebody on it almost full-time and then, when we get close to a restrictor plate race, we get real serious. They're going around the clock now working and testing different stuff, so they're all thrashing right now. Before Daytona we put a serious amount of time into it and I think the extra test we did with the 88 car paid off because we qualified third, but your goal there is to try and get the front row. It's not quite as important now, but qualifying is first and we're gonna go hard for it. The race is second and we're working as hard as we can. Nothing has changed. Because of all the other important races, you can't keep everybody working on just the next week because you'd trip over yourself. It's a never-ending deal."

ARE YOU HAVING FUN? "Yeah, that's racing. We're glad some people don't work as long at night as we do because we feel like that's where we get our edge. I think every department appreciates each other and understands what it takes to be successful. We've got good communication right now with both teams and we're pumped up. It's fun racing right now."

THERE WAS A RUMOR ABOUT YOU POSSIBLY CONSIDERING A MOVE TO DODGE. YOUR DEAL WITH FORD RUNS THROUGH 2004, SO WAS THAT EVER TALKED ABOUT? "I said that Dodge was not in our picture at all and the next thing I see is all this Dodge stuff. There's nothing to it. They made their bed last year when they chose their teams and they've got a good cross-section of people. I would think if they came to us, which they haven't, but if they did come to us that would really say that they screwed up and the teams they did choose would be awfully upset. They didn't come to us. Ford has been good to us. They are a good, strong manufacturer supporter. Ford Credit has been a nice associate sponsor and there's not a better deal. I'm not looking. If you asked anybody in the grandstand what should Robert Yates be running, I think all of them would tell you Ford. I grew up personally with Chevrolet stuff, but I ended up working on Fords and professionally my first eight years were Fords. Ford has been good to me. From time to time you'll have somebody see if they can steer you away or just checking out the water temperature, but I appreciate the Ford guys. They've treated me very well and I couldn't be happier. I'm glad we can win for them."

Text provided by Greg Shea

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