Q & A: Dale Jarrett

Whether he's opening the newest NASCAR Speedpark in suburban St. Louis or racing his way toward a berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup, Dale Jarrett is on the move. TSN associate editor Roger Kuznia recently caught up with Jarrett, who trails 10th-place Ryan Newman by 45 points with two races left before the Chase begins.

TSN: Did you consider your third-place finish at the DHL 400 to be the turning point of your season?

D.J.: Actually, I would go back to the first Pocono race. We went to test there. We took one of our in-house cars where we built the chassis, and we ran extremely well. Even though the finish (26th place) doesn't show it, we were running fourth with less than five laps to go when something let go in the engine. I think that was the time we really started to move forward. If you would've asked me at the end of May if we would be able to get into the top 10, my answer would have been we weren't a top 10 team at that time. But now that's changed. Over the last seven to eight weeks, we have shown the capabilities of being a top 10 team. If we can position ourselves in the top 10, we can be very dangerous in those last 10 races.

TSN: Talk about your relationship with Mike Ford as crew chief.

D.J.: I think it took us some time to learn each other--the way he was used to doing things and then understanding what I was telling him about the cars. I think that's just natural, that it's going to take a little bit of time for those things to happen. We have had a very good relationship. We've been very patient with each other, realizing that when you have a team that had dropped down to 26th in the points, you're not going to rebuild that in a couple of months or a few races. It's going to take some time. We know now that we're headed in the right direction. We still have work to do. We're not there by any means of where we want to be. But we have come a long way, and I give Mike a lot of credit for that by working with our people and assembling the right people.

TSN: Are you thanking your lucky stars for the new points system?

D.J.: (Laughs.) Yes. It's given me the possibility of having a second life in a year that we wouldn't have a shot at winning the championship. This gives us the opportunity. I was one of the first to say that I didn't think the system was very good. That was before I really knew what the system was and what was behind us making this change. Once I realized that, I saw the potential of it. I don't think we had any idea of how big it could be. It's brought so much interest to our sport for the guys that are running sixth to 15th in the points right now. We'll see how it ends up. I'm sure that there's going to be some controversy before this season is over, and some people will like it, and some people won't. But I think it is something worth giving a chance.

TSN: Do you expect to see a lot more beating and banging than usual at Richmond, the final race before the Chase?

D.J.: (Laughs.) I'm not sure what to expect from Richmond yet. I think that everybody is going to be professional about it, but it has the potential to be one of the greatest races that there ever was. If it means a lot of beating and banging, then that's what we're going to have.

TSNumber

Races out of the last five at Bristol in which Tony Stewart has finished 15th or worse.

The WIX Filters 2004 LAP LEADER Award

For each event within
the three racing divisions--NASCAR
NEXTEL Cup Series.
NASCAR Busch Series and
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
--WIX Filters will present the
driver who leads the most laps
of each race with the WIX Filters
Lap Leader Award.

2004 NASCAR
NEXTEL
CUP SERIES

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (#8 Chevy)
Sharpie 500
Bristol Motor Speedway
LAPS LED: 295

SEASON LEADERS

1. Jeff Gordon (#24 Chevy)          6 pts.

2. Tony Stewart (#20 Chevy)         4 pts.

3. Kurt Busch (#97 Ford),
   Dale Earnhardt Jr. (#8 Chevy),
   Jimmie Johnson (#48 Chevy)       3 pts.

2004 NASCAR
BUSCH
SERIES

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (#81 Chevy)
Food City 250
Bristol Motor Speedway
LAPS LED: 125

SEASON LEADERS

1. Martin Truex (#8 Chevy)          5 pts.

2. Kyle Busch (#5 Chevy)            4 pts.

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (#81 Chevy)   3 pts.

2004 NASCAR
CRAFTSMAN
TRUCK SERIES

Mike Skinner (#42 Toyota)
O'Reilly 200 by Valvoline Maxlife
Bristol Motor Speedway
LAPS LED: 127

SEASON LEADERS

1. Bobby Hamilton (#4 Dodge)       4 pts.

2. Jack Sprague (#16 Chevrolet),
   Mike Skinner (#42 Toyota)       3 pts.

4. Carl Edwards (#99 Ford),
   Ted Musgrave (#1 Dodge)         2 pts.

To see how Dale Jarrett and others are faring in the race for the Chase, watch Totally NASCAR on Fox Sports Net weekdays at 5:30 p.m. local time. For show information, go to msn.foxsports.com, keywords: Totally NASCAR.

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