Dale Jarrett #88 Quality Care/Ford Credit Thunderbird
"The last lap was close to 500 miles in itself. I tell you. I think I'd rather look in the mirror and see anybody but that 3 car back there knowing his history not only here, but Talladega and everywhere. I knew kind of where he'd try to make the move, but I knew he'd have help, and that was my biggets concern and he had a helping Chevrolet behind him. What he didn't have was a Robert Yates engine, and that was on my side. Make it perfectly clear that it wasn't the driver that won this race today. There's no better than Dale Ernhardt. I had a better race car than Dale Earnhardt today and that's what allowed me to stay out front.
What was more diificult, the first one of this one?
I think this one one was more difficult, even though I was able to stay out front. I don't know how many laps it was, but it seemed like it was an eternity. This was hard, because not knowing exactly what Dale was going to do, and where he was going to try to make his move, and knowing that hed help, and especially with all the Ford-Chevrolet talk and everything, knowing they wanted to be in victory lane and knowing I wanted to put a Ford in victory lane. It was difficult playing cat-and-mouse with him. I knew that he would drop down coming through the tri-oval here, and he tried to get me set up on the outside a couple of times and he tried to get me loose getting into the corner a couple of times to see if that was goinf to work -- but my car was so good that I was able to keep it wide open all the time. It was just a matter of on the last lap that I got a good run off of two and I decided I was going to the middle of the race track and that would give me room to manuever to either side. I think he started high then dove back to low and I was able to block both of those. I don't know how many times it was, but I tried to make my Thunderbird as wide as I possibly could. The key was the Robert Yates engine that didn't allow him to get a good run on me, that I had enough horsepower to stay just in front of him.
Earnhardt struck a deal with Schrader, were you aware of where Mark Martin was in case they made their move too early?
"I asked with about five laps to go, I believe because I couldn't see Marks's car behind Schrader but I knew Earnhardt and Schrader were there. I asked the question if there was anybody behind Schrader or if I just had to race those two guys, in case something started. First, was I going to have any help, Second off, knowing how many cars were going to be coming. I was sure that Schrader was going to work with Earnhardt and try to get a Chevrolet in victory lane. It was good to know that Mark was there, that if we did get side-by-side, that I was going to have some help, too.
Were there people helping you out early?
"I had quite a bit of help most of the day. I like to think that I didn't really hang anybody out that helpd me today. A number of people worked with me and I tried to work with them to pull them on through. I have to give a big pat on the back to Wally Dallenbach, who did a great job. I don't know where he ended up finishing (6th), but when I passed Earnhardt -- I don't know if it was for the final time -- but I went to the outside here and Wally actually gave me abump down the back staraightaway that knocked me past Earnhardt. We might have raced sisde-by-side forever there without that. I tried to pull him on past past, too, but I saw he had some damage on the front end, but did a great job today.
Does this victory go a long way toward vindicating you from last year?
I haven't really thought about that in that way. I know all the circumstances and not everybody knows all of that from last year year. But I was vindicated when Robert and Doug Yates and Larry McReynolds asked me to drive a car for them, if they were going to start a second team. That was good enough for me, that they had the confidence in me, even if we hadn't had the greatest of seasons, and certainly not what we were looking for and not what they were used to -- that they enough confidence in Dale Jarrett wasn't the problem that we were having. That was vindication enough for me. This is only icing on the cake, and this shows how good a group Robert Yates was able to put together with Todd Parrott as a crew chief, and all the other guys.
Talk about your relationship with Todd
"We'll probably have to speak for him. I don't think he can speak much. We knew when we started talking last year about crew chiefs and had the opportunity to get Todd that we were all in favor of it, because we knew his background of being around racing and what he was going to bring to us. Obviously the dividends are paying off already in a very short period of time. His working with people and getting the most out of them and his calling the race today was just fantastic. We knew he could do that, so it's just been great. We've hit it off and we look for the same things in the cars. That was the key, being able to run wide open, and he gave me a car I could run wide open. On top of that, he's a great guy.
Talk about the last lap of both the '93 victory and today's: Any difference?
"Yeah, the two races were really way different, because in '93 I really didn't pass Dale until turn one there on the last lap, and all I had to do was hold him off down the back stretch and coming through three and four. I don't know how many laps we were in the lead there at the end, but I knew every single lap he was trying to think of a way to pass me. So this was definitely more nerve-wracking, but I had a good car and I knew all I had to do was keep an eye on the mirror and see where he was going to put his car and try and figure out exactly where he was going to try and pass me. I thought I had it figured out, what he wanted to do. But I could see if I really kept my car on the bottom in turns one and two that I could get a run off of turn two and no matter how much help he had, he really couldn't get to me down the back stretch. I just wanted to position myself there. I'm telling you, those last 15 laps or whatever were the longest -- it felt like it took a minute and a half or two minutes to run every single lap, because you were doing so much just trying to watch and keep him behind.
Do you think the Fords and Chevys are still far apart?
Absolutely. It's superior driving that got all those Fords up there (10 in the top-12). Nah, here, I mean certainly we were better than we were last year but as we go to other places, we really don't know until we get to Rockingham and Atlanta to se what exactly what's going to be there. But we do know that there is still a discrepancy in the down force of the two cars in the wind tunnel and that's something that we can't do anything about. All we can do is work harder on what we have and NASCAR will decide when and if anything else is going to be done. So we have to work harder on what we've got.
Usually the guy in front is a sitting duck. What was the difference this year?
"They didn't have a Robert Yates engine. That's the biggest thing and that is the key.
Do you have any sympathy for Earnhardt?
"Yeah, I do. I think I said in '93 you feel sorry for him. You don't feel sorry for him, you think down deep, the guy's won everything and he's the best driver that's come along in this sport since I've been around it, but on the other hand, we come here to win the race. Plus, if he won, y'all wouldn't have anything to talk about next year, so this gives you something to talk about come '97" will Earnhardt be able to win?
Did Ernie's accident change the team strategy?
"Yeah, as far as my feeling, I hated to see that because I knew there went somebody I could count on in a late race situation. And not only that, but what Ernie's been through to come back, I hates to see that, because I knew he had a car capable of winning. I don't have any idea of what happened whenever it happenedm but I hated to see it for him. We talk about teamwork: you've heard me say it this week: we have one team with two cars and two drivers. And that is the honest to God truth and people can say and write what they want, but we are all in this together. The guys that helped build this car from the 28 had as much to do with us being in victory lane as anything.
Your father Ned sat upstairs and said it was tough because he thought you were a sitting duck
I knew I had the toughest guy in the business behind me and I was going to have to keep him there. But I knew I had the best race car out there, too. So that was a lot of confidence for me knowing that you have that. I was glad to be there, and I was going to make him win the race. I didn't want to be behind. I wanted to be in front. If he was going to win, he was going to have to earn it.
Robert Yates Car owner of #88 Thunderbird
"I tell you this business can go up and down real quick. It was a shame what happened with Ernie (Irvan) -- we really felt like that team could win, but also the 88 car. That's the advantage of having two teams, I guess. (On No. 28's accident.) Somebody nailed Ernie from behind when Earnhardt had a problem and Ernie lifted. Ernie will be at Rockingham next week and will kick that 3 team's (Richard Childress Racing) butt. This is what it's all about and what it always has been in my career -- Ford racing Chevy. I know Chrysler was in there for a while, too. I guess our deal, Quality Care, is better than GM Goodwrench.
