Aaron's 499 - Dale Jarrett Notes

Dale Jarrett
Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway
May 1, 2005

CHARLOTTE, N.C., (April 26, 2005) ----- The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series turns its attention toward the second superspeedway event of 2005 with this weekend’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. Dale Jarrett and the #88 UPS Racing Team travel to Talladega this weekend with the same car they raced in the 2005 Daytona 500. Jarrett started and finished third at Talladega when the NEXTEL Cup Series visited the 2.66-mile superspeedway last fall. Jarrett says a fast race car is what a driver needs to be successful, but what tends to be even more important is positioning for the last 50 miles of the 500-mile event.

“I know I get accused of dropping to the back and driving around but that isn’t always by choice,” Jarrett said. “The race usually dictates my strategy. If I was able to stay out front and lead for the majority of the race then we absolutely would do that. I look at it as saving my equipment for that last 50 miles and getting myself in position to be able to race for the win in the final laps. That’s hard to do if you have a wrecked race car, so I try to miss all the action that tends to take place at Talladega.”

Dale Jarrett Discusses Talladega Superspeedway

How comparable are Talladega and Daytona?
“Obviously they are our biggest tracks and the tracks where we have to contend with the restrictor plates. But I have always felt that Talladega is a lot different than Daytona. Handling is a big thing at Daytona and you’re looking for a lot of down force. Talladega is almost the opposite in that what you’re concerned with as far as set up is sheer speed. At Daytona, you see the cars get more spread out because maybe some cars aren’t handling as well as others but at Talladega you’ll see a tight pack of cars pretty much all day long.”

How nerve-racking is this type of racing?
“It’s literally a crap shoot and about getting yourself in position for the end of the race. Even when there aren’t multiple wrecks and everything looks calm on the race track it’s still very wild, especially when you’re right in the middle of everything. Because Talladega is a speed track you can’t get away from anyone at anytime. There’s a lot of breath-holding going on and you almost look forward to a pit stop because that’s a time when you can get a break from that close-quarter racing.”

After winning the pole at Daytona, do you feel confident about qualifying this weekend?
“We did win the pole in Daytona, but the car didn’t handle as well in race trim. We’re looking forward to this weekend because Talladega is more of a speed track but we’ve also worked on our race package for the superspeedway tracks too so I’m eager to see how that work turns out. I’m sure everyone agrees that where you qualify, especially at a track like this, doesn’t matter because I’ve said that for Talladega too. I’m not sure how much it matters, but, certainly, what it tells you is that you have a good car aerodynamically and that’s important. It’s important to know that you can be the leader of a pack, instead of if you have a car that doesn't run very fast, you're going to have a hard time leading a group and being able to stay out front - they're going to go by you. We have a great engine package and it's going to be a matter, as it always is, of being in the right place at the right time.”

Notes of Interest