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NASCAR WCUP: Jarrett hasn't given up quest for second Winston Cup Title

13 September 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

Dale Jarrett has not given up his quest for the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship in spite of the bad luck his team his endured of late. Even though he dropped one spot to third following Richmond he still believes his team can make run at Bobby Labonte and Dale Earnhardt for this year's seat at the head table in New York. In the 11 races at New Hampshire since the track opened in 1993 Dale has seven top-tens and four top-five finishes. This weekend's event could easily provide the launching pad for a charge on the championship.

HAS DALE AND THE TEAM GIVEN UP ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP? "We've still got nine (races) to go and anything can happen. Obviously, we just have to out-run Bobby and Dale Earnhardt everywhere that we go. Every week we're going to have to finish in front. Unless they have a problem that is what we have to do. It's a very tough task. We could go to Atlanta down 100 points and still have a chance of winning. But we'd like for it to much closer."

ARE THERE ANY TRACKS WHERE YOU FEEL YOU HAVE A BETTER CHANCE THAN OTHERS? "If you are saying is there a place we are better than they are, no. I think we have the capabilities of winning at any of the nine tracks we have left on the schedule. I would say that between us we've probably won a race at most of those. So I can't say that I can look at the schedule and say this is where we can pick up because we are better than them at this place or that. It's just going to be a matter that we're going to be consistently in the top three or four."

DALE EARNHARDT HAS MADE STATEMENTS ABOUT MAKING IT TOUGH ON YOU AND BOBBY. IS THAT KIND OF TALK PART OF THE RUN FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP? "I haven't paid that much attention to it. I'm sure he's trying to do what he can to get this thing closer. He's a veteran at that. He's won seven of them and he's been in more championship battles than that so I expect he's going to do everything that he can to get his eighth championship. He can have his fun at it, but you race on the track. You don't get out there and think about what Earnhardt said. You get out there and race."

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WAY YOU DRIVE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP AT THIS POINT? "No, there is no difference. We race to win every time we go out. Even last year when we were in front we gave it everything that we had to try to win races."

Dale's wins came in this race last year and the fall event of 1997. He has led a total of 171 laps at Loudon. Jarrett finished seventh in the July race at New Hampshire. During the track's eight year existence Dale has four top five finishes and seven top-tens. During last year's race NASCAR penalized him for pitting outside his pit box forcing an 18th place finish, which stopped his top-ten finish streak at four. His best finish at the New England track was second in the 1996 event.

Text provided by Marti Rompf

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