Dale Jarrett
Dale Jarrett
Dale Arnold Jarrettis a former American race car driver and current sports commentator known for winning the Daytona 500 three timesand winning the NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship in 1999. He is the son of 2-time Grand National Champion Ned Jarrett, younger brother of Glenn Jarrett, father of former driver Jason Jarrett, and cousin of Todd Jarrett. In 2007, Jarrett joined the ESPN/ABC broadcasting team as an announcer in select Nationwide Series races. In 2008, after retiring from driving following...
ProfessionRace Car Driver
Date of Birth26 November 1956
CityConover, NC
The changes that were made have made this a better-balanced race car for us, so therefore we might not have to try to trick the car as much as what we had to with the Taurus at times. Obviously, a lot of guys figured that out a lot of different times, but the Fusion should make our jobs much easier in that respect.
The first couple times we raced there it was pretty tough, because it was a one-groove track. It's obviously come a long way.
The guys are sure that they have a leader that's gonna be behind what they're doing and when they're not doing it right, he's gonna make sure that it is getting done properly.
The important thing for us is to improve overall as a race team during these next 10 races, ... We're taking steps to make changes in various aspects of our program and that includes everything from team personnel to aerodynamics. The biggest thing we need in the immediate future is a good run. We haven't put up a good effort since Daytona where we finished fifth. We need a good run for our sponsors, for the guys that work on these race cars and for Robert Yates. The other thing that is important to us is getting back to victory lane. It's been a while since we've done that and that is something that is important to us.
A good run in the Bud Shootout doesn't guarantee a good run in the Daytona 500, but it is a nice indicator that this part of the program is at least headed in the right direction. The extra seat time is always good to have, and I think there are things you can learn by participating in that race that the teams who aren't competing don't have the opportunity to learn.
This is our first opportunity to see how our cars are gong to handle in the draft in actual race conditions. We've been to test, but this is an actual race.
This has generally been a one-lane race track, and it remains to be seen what we're going to be able to do when we get back here, ... But we should have more racing room and better competition.
If Dale could see what has happened, he would have a huge smile on his face. Even though there's nobody to take his place, the sport has done exactly what he wanted it to do. It's gone right to the top.
I'm sure they could not see out of their back windows, not that they needed to because nobody else was close.
I'm pissed off, to be quite honest. You've got the same people doing stupid stuff back there and there's no reason for that.