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
We feel like we've made some gains because we know that the competition has stepped up. It's incredible what's out there right now and I know you hear this from everybody, especially the guys that are trying to make their way into that top 10 about how tough it is, but you get around looking at time sheets from practice and things and you realize just how difficult it is. There are literally 22-25 teams every week that you say, 'Those are good cars.' And you're gonna have to be on your game to outrun those.
We had a good race car, but the lapped traffic was pretty tough. There was prime real estate, and everybody was trying to get to the same spot.
It's a small piece of real estate to begin with and over the years that's become a smaller piece of real estate, and we all want that same piece. Trying to maintain the piece for yourself or keep someone from taking it is difficult.
It just seems that everybody realizes it's a tool they have. You're going to have people that have no choice but to make this race by trying to win it or be as close to the front as they can.
Once you try to do more than your equipment is capable of doing you get yourself in trouble and you start wrecking.
We were just trying to pick our way through there. The next thing I knew I got hit in the back. I wanted to make sure I didn't run over anything.
There are so many smart people in this business. Not that the people before weren't smart, but these people are smart in a different way and have a much better handle on what they're trying to accomplish, instead of just trial and error as we were before.
I've watched him race a long time and I don't mean him any disrespect, but if he comes here to race, that's none of our concern. I couldn't even tell you what he's running, how he's running.
I see something that's a little bit scary for the rest of us, ... He's getting smarter out there, knowing when he can go and when he can't. When his car isn't exactly right, he doesn't try to force the issue now, so they've done a really good job.
As the race goes on, the track changes a lot and you'll find yourself changing the racing groove in which you're running. So, while it does require a good handling car, it also takes a driver that is able to adapt to those changes.
At the beginning of this year I felt like we were better prepared for this season, but it turned out that wasn't the case. It's disappointing that we haven't run any better than we have this year, especially since we've been able to be there at the end of the race.
To watch the emotion from those two guys says it all about winning the 500.
There's no doubt that it's a totally different type of racing now. It's a little more in-your-face and stand your ground. You have to do that.
There's no way that you're going to be able to tell with the naked eye. And there's no way of knowing what was intentional, and how are you going to judge what was too hard when the cars are running 190 miles an hour?