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
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.
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.
I wasn't a lap down and, as we've seen, a lot of these races end under 'green-white-checkered,' and there's no free pass in the last 10 laps. I've got to try to stay in front of the leader to try to make sure I give myself a chance to earn as many points as I possibly can.
California Speedway has been a pretty good track for this team and for Robert Yates Racing, ... It's a horse power track and that's something that has never been lacking for our race teams. California is one of the tracks where we ran decent this year. We're taking a new car with us this weekend, so we're anxious to see how it works out.
Everywhere I've been people have talked about what an exciting race it was.
Hopefully, in these next nine races we can see some good things that are going to happen for the entire organization. That's what all this was done for.
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.
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.
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.
The first two cars last week are so obviously doing something on the race track that is of benefit to them, then they don't pass inspection and they're allowed to sit there and jump up and down on their cars and do whatever they need to do to get through?
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.
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.
I think more than anything, this is our first opportunity to see how our cars are going to handle in the draft in actual race conditions. We have been to the test, but it's not an actual race and this is, so that's probably the biggest advantage.
California is one of the tracks where we ran decent this year. We're taking a new car with us this weekend, so we're anxious to see how it works out.