DALE JARRETT PAYS TRIBUTE TO MOTHER'S DAY

Dale Jarrett, driver of the No. 88 UPS Taurus, is participating in a Mother’s Day promotion along with Kyle Petty. Both drivers were involved in a Q&A session prior to Saturday’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Darlington, along with their moms, to talk about the weekend.

DALE JARRETT – No. 88 UPS Taurus – WHAT WAS IT LIKE GROWING UP WITH YOUR MOM? “It was great. Obviously, dad was doing what he loved to do and making a living for the family, but you always have to have that person there that has that stability and keeps that stability of the family in order. She got us to church when we weren’t at the race track and did all the things that you would expect – you can say regular moms, I’m not sure we know what a regular life is – but she kept us in order and kept us in line. Having our homework done – everything – just like you would watch on TV and see how those moms are, that’s kind of how things were for us. She got us to our baseball and basketball practices and, again, made it to where when dad did come home and had the time that his time was able to be spent with the kids.”

WHO BROKE THE NEWS TO HER THAT HER SON WAS GOING TO BE A RACE CAR DRIVER AND HOW DID YOU DO IT? “She wasn’t very happy about that, I don’t think. I think she thought that she had gotten through that part of her life and she wasn’t really gonna have to be concerned with that because I didn’t show that much interest outwardly that I wanted to become a race driver at some point in time. I think she thought by taking me to all of these other sporting events that I was participating in and to all the practices that it would keep me out of a race car. When I decided that, I went over to tell my mom and dad and a couple of friends of mine – of course she knew Andy Petree and Jimmy Newsome – and I told them who it was that was building a car and that I wanted to give it a try. I think she thought it was probably something that would just pass, but I think she’s pretty happy with the way things turned out.”

MARTHA JARRETT, Dale’s Mom – IF YOU COULD HAVE HAD YOUR WAY, WHAT WOULD YOUR SON BE DOING INSTEAD OF DRIVING A RACE CAR? “Playing golf.”

DALE JARRETT CONTINUED – “We could sit here and tell a lot of stories about growing up. I mean, we literally stayed in a lot of, I guess hotel would be the right word. I don’t know about some of those places we stayed, but we grew up together. What these ladies have done over the years for us, and many others, it’s not just us. They’re involved in communities and, obviously, with what Kyle and Pattie have going on with the Victory Junction Gang Camp Richard and Linda have been a huge part of that, and my mom and dad being a big part in our community. I don’t know that we could have gotten enough money between us to say thanks, but, hopefully, we’ve given you a little something back through the years be we certainly want to say thanks.”

MARTHA JARRETT – IS THERE ANY DISCIPLINE STORY WITH DALE THAT WE WOULD FIND INTERESTING? “The only thing I will say is that if he did need to be disciplined, I would tell his dad. He would say, ‘OK, we need to sit down and have a talk.’ They would much rather have had a belt taken to them than to go sit down and have a talk with their dad (laughing).”