NASCAR WCUP: Interview: Jarrett and Rudd discuss their return to Indy

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

July 31, 2001

This week's stop on the NASCAR Winston Cup Series is the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Dale Jarrett is a two-time winner of this event while his Robert Yates Racing teammate, Ricky Rudd, has one victory in one of the biggest races of the year. The two Ford drivers spoke about returning to Indy during their test session last week.

DALE JARRETT --88-- UPS Taurus -- THE LAST THREE WINNERS OF THIS RACE HAVE GONE ON TO WIN THE NWC CHAMPIONSHIP. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS RACE?

"It probably just shows the caliber of the team. At this point in time of the season, if you're doing things well and running well and getting victories, then that shows you're probably gonna go on and challenge for that. If we come out of here and wouldn't win, I wouldn't walk away from here saying we can't win the championship. Then again, if we were to win we'd say, 'Well, history says we're gonna win it,' and we'll take that and go with it."

IS IT HARD TO PASS HERE AT THE BRICKYARD? IS IT A BORING RACE FOR YOU? "I don't think it's a boring race because it's such a challenge with the race track here. What makes it difficult, again, is a flat racing surface with our stock cars. We don't have the big, wide tires. We've got heavier cars and it doesn't make a lot of horsepower, so that makes it difficult, but with a good handling car you can make passes. It's just that some people have a more difficult time in finding that balance. Our cars have become so aero sensitive and we depend on those aerodynamics so much that when you're behind another car and you lose that, then it really makes a big difference. But that's where our horsepower comes into play and, hopefully, we can make that work to our advantage."

THERE WAS SOME TALK AFTER THE RACE LAST YEAR THAT THIS TRACK DIDN'T LEND ITSELF WELL TO NASCAR. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT? "We can race anywhere. If you get your car right, you can do anything anywhere. You're gonna have the guys that run well say that there's nothing wrong with it and the ones that haven't found what it takes, they're not gonna be very happy and look for something to put it on. It's just another race track. Again, our cars have become so aero sensitive that when you get on these flat race tracks and get behind cars, you lose that aerodynamic advantage that you have on the front end. When you lose that, then you've got to do something different. What you've got to do is search then. A lot of guys want it to come easy, so they're the ones that are looking to change everything."

THIS IS JUST ANOTHER RACE TRACK, BUT IT'S NOT JUST ANOTHER RACE. "No it's not, and what I meant by just another race track is that it's something different and it's another race track that you have to adapt to. As far as being another place, no, this is a very special place. There are two places that we race at -- Daytona and here -- that have a lot of history and that everybody wants to do well at. I get excited coming through these gates. To me it's a fun race and when you put 250,000 or 300,000 people in here watching you, you have to get excited."

WHAT'S IT LIKE HAVING GRANDSTANDS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE TRACK, ESPECIALLY COMING DOWN THE FRONTSTRETCH INTO TURN ONE? "I was talking to Kevin Harvick the other day. This is his first time here and I was telling him, 'There's nobody in the stands right now, but you just wait.' Even when you come here to qualify it's a little different because we get a lot of fans for that, but when you go out there for the first time and for that first lap in the race, you think you're at a totally different race track because they fill both sides. It looks like this place is narrowed up by 100 yards and it's just an incredible feeling." IS THIS A DRIVER'S TRACK? "The driver plays a big part here. You have to work extremely hard at a race track like this, where you don't have the banking to help you as much. At a lot of places that can get you by if you miss the setup a little bit or if you're off aerodynamically or horsepower-wise, but at a place like this you've got to put it all together and the driver has to really do his part."

IS FINDING SOMEBODY TO RUN WITH LESS IMPORTANT HERE? "Actually, you'd rather not have anybody to run with because you want to get all of the effects of the aerodynamics and all the air you can get on your car. You would prefer that your car be in clean air all the time. You don't want anybody right behind you if you can help it and you certainly don't want anybody in front of you."

IS IT POSSIBLE FOR SOMEONE TO STEAL THE RACE HERE? "I don't know. I think it lends itself to some opportunities for that with pit strategy. The tire that we have here now, I would be very, very surprised if anybody could make two tires work. I think you're gonna want four. I'm sure somebody's gonna try to take two if they feel they might not have a chance at the end of the race, but as far as staying out or something like that, that's not gonna work as well. As far as out and out getting lucky, that's gonna be kind of hard because it does take the whole package."

RICKY RUDD --28-- Texaco Havoline Taurus --

WHAT'S IT LIKE COMING BACK KNOWING YOU'VE ALREADY WON THIS RACE? "It makes you feel good coming to any race track that you've won at, especially Indianapolis. It's such a big event for us. It's a race track that I enjoy driving. Some of the competitors don't enjoy it and, I think, that's one reason that we've probably had success here because I like the race track. The team has had success here over the years. They've won this race a couple of times with Jarrett and the 28 Texaco car has run extremely well here, so it's just a good track for the team and myself."

IT'S HARD FOR NASCAR TO PUT A GOOD SHOW ON HERE ISN'T IT? "We go out there every week and race the wheels off these cars. Some days we're three-wide and some days we're single-file through the corners. I think at this particular race track the racing has gotten better over the years. The problem is you can catch cars, but you have a hard time passing them. A lot of it is because we depend on the aerodynamics so much for these cars to go through the corners that when you get in heavy traffic the aerodynamics go away and you really lose a lot of the corner grip. That means you can catch guys, but it doesn't necessarily mean you can pass 'em."

WHAT IS THE SECRET FOR THIS TEAM HERE AT INDY? IS IT THE ENGINE? "No, I think it's a combination of everything. Don't get me wrong, this is a Yates type of race track where you're able to sort of strut yourself with the horsepower, but you've got to get through these corners good too. They're very flat, so if you're off a little bit that will cause problems. If you're good, then all of a sudden it's not impossible to have a pretty good margin on your competitive. We know when we come here we've got horsepower that's second to none here, but we still have to work hard to get the race car to go through the corner."

DO YOU FEEL YOU'RE BACK ON TOP OF THINGS NOW? "It's been a couple of years since we've had good equipment. This is probably the first time in my career that I've ever had the chance to go to each and every race track with a car that's very capable of winning the race. We didn't start off that way when I came on board to the Yates operation. We've had to build it to that situation and Michael McSwain, our crew chief, is very much the biggest part of that. He's been able to bring this team together. We've always had good horsepower, maybe not always the greatest handling cars over the history of time. There's been occasions when Davey was here and they had everything clicking where they had motor and the handling. That was a very powerful combination. It was the same thing with Ernie, but it's been a major rebuilding process to get back to that and I'm just sort of the benefactor. I get to enjoy the hard work that's going on within this race team and it shows every week when we're running very well and challenging for those wins."

YOUR WIN HERE AS A DRIVER/OWNER A FEW YEARS AGO. IS THAT ONE OF THE PROUDER ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF YOUR CAREER? "I don't think the average public really realized how big of a feat that really was to beat and win on that given day with the limited resources. Our race team at that time was about 18 or 20 people strong and we were up against the Yates organization that was in the hundreds and the Hendrick camp which has over 300 people working there. Jeff Gordon basically has a support staff of 300 and we were able to win that day with about 16 guys and I take a lot of pride in that. Again, I don't think a lot of people realize how tough of a task that was really was to pull off being a single-car team at that time. I know how difficult it was and I take special pride in that win, not just because it's the Brickyard win but because of the way we did it."

YOU WON WITH FUEL HERE. IS THAT HARDER TO DO AT THIS TRACK THAN OTHERS? "I know that sort of got labeled as a fuel deal, but the fuel deal allowed us to move from third or fourth in the line to the front of the pack. It was a smart strategy call that allowed us to basically run in clean air, whereas once our competitors got in the dirty air like us, they couldn't do any better than third or fourth. So, I think the fuel strategy actually just played into our hands as far as giving us track position when we needed it. The same thing applies at just about every major speedway race we go to this year. Track position is very important. If you need fuel mileage or decide to change two tires instead of four, a lot of that strategy has been played out this year and has been played out successfully."

IS DRAFTING IMPORTANT HERE? "It's not so much that drafting is important as it is to try to keep your car in clean air. Track position is probably more important at this race track because of the air situation than it is almost anywhere else we go."

Text provided by Greg Shea

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.