Conversation: Dale Jarrett

LAS VEGAS -- Dale Jarrett and Team UPS have already secured a Winston Cup victory in 2003 and appear determined to deliver a second championship in five years to Robert Yates Racing.

General manager Doug Yates heads up a new hierarchy at RYR that includes team manager Todd Parrott and first-year crew chiefs Brad Parrott and Raymond Fox.

Thus far, everything seems to be clicking, as Jarrett and teammate Elliott Sadler have combined for three top-10s in the season's first two events.

	Dale Jarrett

Saturday morning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Jarrett sat down with NASCAR.com's Marty Smith to rap about templates, race dates and -- you guessed it -- driving the big brown truck.

Win any money yet?

Jarrett: "It's been a good trip (grinning). It's always a fun place to come, and I've really enjoyed being out here for a few days."

Have you ever come out here and cleaned up?

"I've done alright out here at times. But this is a place where the law of averages says that if you can stay somewhere around even and have a good time, you'll be okay."

I certainly know I'm nowhere near even at this point. If I asked you for an ETA on driving the truck, would you punch me in the face?

"No, I wouldn't. But I couldn't give you and answer, either. Because I have no idea."

They say the ladies love those UPS deliveryman uniforms. Any merit to that?

VIDEO CLIPS Dale Jarrett celebrates his win at Rockingham. Play video Dale Jarrett races Kurt Busch for first at The Rock. Play video

"I think they're talking about the ones with the shorts, and I don't get to wear those. I think they probably do. I'm not to that point, yet."

You're never averse to voicing an opinion in the event that your Ford isn't up to snuff with the other makes. What's your take on the common templates so far?

"I think that we a couple more races to really see. I think Vegas is a good test because of the speeds we attain here and the relative lack of banking in the corners. I think Atlanta will be as good as test if not better for us to see. I honestly feel that the Chevrolets, right now, have a little better-balanced car than what we have for these tracks.

"And as they continue to work those out even more, that we'll be at a little disadvantage. I know everything that was done to make these common templates and to make the body location pretty much the same for everybody -- everything we did took downforce away from our car and everything that I know about the new Pontiac and Chevrolet, they made more downforce.

"That doesn't seem to go together to me, but we'll see. We'll get some races here and make sure all of our thinking is right."

The competition at Rockingham last week was the best in recent memory, all the way through to the end and your duel with Kurt Busch. Yet, all anyone talks about is how they're soon to lose a race date. How do you feel about that?

"It's unfortunate. It's a good track to race on. There's no doubt about that. You don't have just one groove. You can run on the bottom, in the middle, at the top, and you see all of that take place throughout the day. That opens it up to be a good race. A lot of people have problems there. As the race goes on, the track surface changes a little bit.

"You find yourself chasing that, and if your car's not really good, then it can look like you're not so good a driver. So I'd hate to see them lose a race. But I understand why they may.

"Obviously it was a little bit disappointing scene last week that the stands weren't filled. It was only the second race of the season. In their defense, at Rockingham, it they would get the opportunity to try a little better date, it may help. By now, everybody knows it's going to be cold there and the chance of bad weather, whether it's rain or snow, is always a possibility.

"And our TV coverage has gotten so good that some people have decided to stay away and do it that way. So maybe a spring date, up in April or May, would be a better opportunity before we take a race away from them. But on the other side, I know that with the TV deal, we need to make FOX and NBC happy, get the ratings they need.

"So that may mean going to larger market areas twice, rather than the smaller places like Rockingham. It's fun, because it's only a couple hours from home and the other areas I see us going to are many hours away from home. But we'll do whatever is best for the sport."

That's a fine line, though, right? Selling tickets in a major media outlet or promising good competition on the track? The on-track competition at Rockingham and Darlington is always great.

	Credit: Autostock

"Oh yeah, it is. And if we don't have that competition on the racetrack then you're not going to have fan support at the track or on TV. So we have to be careful there that we're not replacing it with a boring race or something. We certainly don't need any of those. It is a fine line."

Why does everyone keep building 1.5-mile superspeedways? Wouldn't it make sense to build another Richmond or Bristol somewhere?

"You know, I've wondered that, too. And I guess they look at it from the standpoint of having opportunities to race a lot of other types of cars there -- especially the IRL cars. That would allow them to have more dates.

"You can't say that you can't get enough stands or people there, because both Richmond and Bristol hold over 100,000 people. That's not the problem. I think it's just a situation of having an opportunity to run other cars.

"But if it were up to the drivers, we'd certainly like to see 3/4-mile or mile tracks like Richmond, because we always have great races there."

You've been doing this for a long time, so you're probably used to seeing yourself on TV. Are there ever times when you're chillin' on the couch eating some chips and see yourself on TV and think, "Huh. That's me. That's kinda crazy."

"I probably say, between what UPS does and what my car dealership does in Monroe, N.C., I think I say, 'Wow, I bet people are tired of seeing me on TV.' But it is pretty cool.

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"UPS has done such a great job of marketing their company and our race team and Dale Jarrett. It really makes it fun to be a part of it. And the guys at the dealership do a great job with the ads there. I'm not really a part of it, but my name's always there. So it's pretty cool. The kids really enjoy it, too."

Which term is more overused, "Young Gun" or "aero push"?

"Ohhhh, gosh. I don't know about that one. I don't think you can say that the term 'Young Guns' is overused, because these guys are young and they're fast and they're very talented.

"I think we're getting away from aero push. I think we all got tired of hearing about that, so we got tired of saying it and complaining about it ourselves. That's on its way out."

Speaking of youngsters, you and Elliott Sadler are two of the best all-around athletes in NASCAR history. You're both accomplished golfers and basketball players. Is it safe to say you guys could take any other duo in the Winston Cup Series, in any sport?

"We haven't had the opportunity to play golf together yet, but I understand Elliott's a pretty good golfer. So we might could team up there. We both could do alright on the basketball court. Football? Yeah, we could probably hold our own in just about anything. I'm not sure how fast either one of us are running, but I'd bet we could give it a go."

Can you take him one on one?

"He says I can't, but I think he just thinks that because I'm 20 years older. He's a pretty good athlete, though. You're talking about a guy that went to college on a basketball scholarship, so I'm not sure I'd still have what it takes, but I'd sure try."

It took you a while to develop your talent as a driver. Are owners these days less patient in allowing late bloomers to develop?

"I think maybe some of the patience factor is gone, but I also think that on the owner's side, they give young guys the opportunity a lot quicker than what they used to, to get in very good equipment. So you better be ready whenever you get that chance, because I was fortunate.

"I got a couple of opportunities. Not everybody gets that, so you have to be pretty lucky in this business. But you have to understand, these owners are getting a lot of pressure to perform with the type dollars they're having to go out there and get from sponsors.

"So I think it's pretty fair that they see a young guy and give him that chance in very good equipment, with good people, and see what he can do right off. If you can't, they've got to look elsewhere."