Dale Jarrett Quotes (60 Quotes)

It will be interesting to see how the transition from day to night goes this year. We don't have as much information on tires like we did in the past so that could be of some concern as we prepare for that this weekend. But it will be a great show. I've said this before but everything seems to intensify under the lights and I'm sure this weekend will be no different.

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.

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.

I am proud to be part of the Toys for Tots program for a second year. In addition to giving kids the chance to design a special The UPS StoreToys for Tots car, this contest is a great way for children to learn about the importance of charitable giving.

I didn't realize they had a 24-hour period they could wait for these things to settle down. I'm fired up about this. I don't understand it.

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 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.

This pretty much seals our fate in regards to making the Chase. We went for so long this season without having issues like this. I guess we're due.

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

Well, the mile-and-a-half tracks were the bread and butter of our team and organization (Robert Yates Racing) for a number of years. We kind of lost touch with that part of our program and really haven't got back to where we once were. I think we can get there again. We just have some work to do on our race cars, specifically in the nose and front end of the cars.

I am not going to sit here and say that I am against the Car of Tomorrow because I haven't driven it. I have seen it and I have seen pictures. I am not sure that's totally the right direction.

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.

You like to think every time you come here you have that opportunity at least, but you look at it and we've had kind of a dry spell as far as running well here. We've won some poles and things, but that's not really what we're after.

It's been a dry spell for the Fords. And I don't know if it's been that close. We've had a hard time leading, which makes it hard to get the drafting help we need.

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.

If we could somehow reduce that speed by 15 miles an hour on the straightway, the fans couldn't tell a difference watching that car go down, and you would see a whole hell of a lot better racing through the corners with what we could do then.

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.

For as long as I can remember, we spent the Labor Day weekend at Darlington (S.C.).

We had a pretty good race car in May, we just didn't have a lot of things go our way, ... We had a wheel come loose and we actually were down a lap. Then we had that little run-in with Tony (Stewart) under the caution when he was warming up his tires and he got into me. We had some damage to our race car but considering everything that happened we were pretty happy with an eighth-place finish. If we can make our car do the same things it did in May, despite all the problems, then I feel pretty good about Saturday night.

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.

I'm extremely happy. That's actually faster than I thought I could go with this car.

When you get to this point of your career, you're not exactly sure when that last victory is going to be there so you learn to cherish each one, ... It is very emotional. When I was coming down that backstretch, it was very emotional.

You still have to beat everybody to win a title, but the level of competition has changed. In '99, if we had an off day, we could still run in the top 10 most of the time. Now, if you have just a little bit of an off day, you're going to finish outside of the top 20. You have so many teams that can make you go from a reasonable day to a really bad day with either just missing the setup or having a slight problem.

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.

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.

I think Dale would at least be pleased from that to know that we moved forward in that. He and I had a discussion the week of the Daytona 500 about the HANS because he was questioning me why I was wearing it. But certainly, there were a lot more put into

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.

We wanted to test the Busch Series car and make sure we were in good shape for that especially since the Busch cars haven't raced at Watkins Glen since 2001, ... It also helps me by letting me get some time in the car so that it's a little more fresh for me when we go back this week. I was able to go and get some laps. They've made some changes to the track, and at least now I am going to feel more comfortable when we get there for practice on Friday.

Jarrett knows the third-year driver is going to be a handful. That young man is the hottest driver out here, ... I told someone last week when talking about who would be a surprise for a championship that Kurt Busch is really a guy we're going to have to contend with.

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.

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.

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.

We have two crew chiefs who are willing to work with that engineering staff. Before, we haven't exactly had that combination working. Now we feel like because everyone who has come here has been talked to about the same ideas, everyone is on the same page. We're going to be a much better organization than we have in quite a few years.

Everywhere I've had to go this week, it has been amazing, ... You realize just how popular this sport is when you go to the Monday Night Football' game in Charlotte and fans are hollering at you from everywhere.

If you look at it, we've improved our team immensely in a lot of areas. We have a better product with the Ford Fusion. We have a better engineering staff than we've ever had at Robert Yates Racing, and we have two very hungry crew chiefs that have come in to take over and lead this group. So I would say that the potential is there for both teams to be in the top 10 and make the Chase, it's just a matter of us going out and making that happen now.

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.

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're late in the season, and a lot of things happen here, so I don't think that the close and hard racing is over, ... I think you're going to see a lot of it.

They don't pass inspection, they're allowed to sit there and jump up and down on their cars and whatever they need to do everything I saw (reported) was either on the back page or the next-to-last page, ... I'm sorry, but I'm not understanding what you all (media) are doing here.

We were so used to winning in those days, I didn't see any reason we wouldn't just continue right on doing that at least a couple of times each year, ... But over the past couple of years ... we haven't been in position to do that as much. I think we've got some more victories to go, but in case that doesn't happen we'll make sure we enjoy this one.

When we used to drive out of the garage at night and go through the infield, you would make sure the van doors were locked, and your kids weren't looking. Now you see some of the stuff fans are getting to do and the vehicles they are camping in and you want to stop and hang out with them.

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.

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'm not saying that 10,000 isn't a lot of money, but I think Jeff can probably handle that OK. He probably felt after it was over that it was worth that much anyway.

You have the ability to keep that thing right around the bottom, then you can get off the corner good enough and that's what a lot of people work on.

I think so. A lot of things have happened since the past. I came back in 2003 with Elliott and we had a lot of success. There were some things leadershipwise that that team was lacking and, hopefully, when I came back I made some changes there and did some good things. We won some races and had a lot of success. A lot of things have gone on since then. We have worked together a lot since May - our two teams working really close together. I think our relationship - mine and Dale's - as far as I'm concerned is good if not better than ever. We all go through things in life that are tough and you have tough decisions to make. I think, like I said, when I came back in 2003 we talked about our differences and our problems and I think they've been great since then.

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.

To watch the emotion from those two guys says it all about winning the 500.

I think we've recovered. It will never be the same because, again, you're not gonna replace someone like that. ... But the sport is in a better position, (and) a lot of that still comes - even five years down the road now - from the things that Dale did and was doing and was putting into place at that particular time.

Today is about guys back in the fab shop and the cars they gave us, ... It's a brand new race car. (It's about) the adjustments Todd (Parrott) and these guys did to get me ready to make two laps today. So, my job really starts tomorrow - getting it ready for the race. I'm looking forward to that. I think we've got a good car for Sunday so it should be fun.