Jarrett, Wallace Look for Another Phoenix Win

Phoenix International Raceway, the next stop on the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, has been good to Ford teams since its inaugural race in 1988 when Alan Kulwicki took the checkered flag. Ford has captured eight of the 11 races run at the one-mile facility, including the last two by Dale Jarrett (1997) and Rusty Wallace (1998). Those two drivers talked about returning to Phoenix and their hopes for extending that streak.

When Dale Jarrett posted his Phoenix victory in 1997 he did it in dramatic fashion by coming back from a lap down under the green flag. However, Jarrett's fortunes took a turn in the other direction last year as he was forced to get out of the car during the race due to gallstones.

DALE JARRETT --88-- Quality Care Service/Ford Credit Taurus -- THE LAST TWO SEASONS PHOENIX HAS BEEN A STARK CONTRAST FOR YOU HASN'T IT? "In '97 it was just an incredible race for us. We had a great racecar and it was just incredible what we were able to do. And then last year, there was so much of it I remember and then a lot of it I don't remember. It doesn't seem like it was a year ago that it happened, but I'm just glad that part of my life is over with and we can move on. Phoenix is a race track I enjoy racing at a lot and, unfortunately, I didn't get to enjoy that part last year."

IS PIR SIMILAR TO LOUDON IN THAT IT'S A ONE-MILE FLAT OVAL? "Maybe a little bit, but it's a lot more racey than that. Loudon is pretty much one groove and you wait for somebody to slip and at Phoenix there are a couple of grooves you can run there. You can try some different things, so I think it's a fun challenge for the driver there, more so than Loudon. To me, it's a challenging racetrack. There are different ways to go through turns three and four. In turn one the best way is around the bottom, but you'll see guys get their cars good to where they can pass people on the top, so to me it's just a lot of fun."

IT'S NICE TO GO BACK OUT WEST WHERE IT'S A LITTLE WARMER THIS TIME OF YEAR, RIGHT? "It'll be nice to get back to the warm weather. We seem to perform pretty good in that type of situation where the track may get a little slick, so we'll look forward to that."

When Rusty Wallace got to Phoenix last year he only had three more chances to extend his streak of consecutive seasons with at least one win to 13. By the time Wallace departed the Valley of the Sun, his streak was intact after a dominating performance which saw him lead 196 of the 257-lap event, which was shortened due to rain.

RUSTY WALLACE --2-- Miller Lite Taurus -- YOU HAD A GREAT CAR LAST YEAR AT PHOENIX DIDN'T YOU? "Phoenix was really good for me last year. We had a great handling car, the pit stops were wonderful, the car handled perfect. Everything you've gotta have was just right there and it was just awesome. We've got new rules this year. We've got lower front air dams and higher rear spoilers and I just hope when I go back this time that the same setup I had will work real close to what it did last year. I don't expect that's gonna be the case, though. I think there are gonna be some changes that will have to happen in the chassis, I just hope it's not much. We'll start practice with that same setup, you've got to because it was so awesome, but then we'll start making some adjustments if we have to."

YOU LED 196 OF THE 257 LAPS LAST YEAR. IS THAT THE KIND OF CAR AND RACE YOU DREAM ABOUT? "It really is. I remember in that race we started off and were running second, third, fourth -- in that area when we first started -- and I came in and made a left side air pressure change. When I went back out, man, the car just took off and we didn't change anything the rest of the day, it was just picture perfect. Every time the sun would go in and out or the track would change a little bit, my car just ate up all the mistakes. I remember after it was all done they said there were a lot of guys complaining about the track changing so much and I didn't feel any big changes in my car. You've got to get your setup just right to eat those types of problems up. That was a Cinderella race, that was awesome. I hope I can go back and do that again."

YOU NEEDED THAT RACE WIN TOO, DIDN'T YOU? "Yeah. We hadn't won all year long until that run, so it was important to get that win. We only had one more shot to do it and we finally got it there at the end."

HOW DOES THIS TRACK COMPARE TO LOUDON? "The track at Loudon has some problems with the surface and Phoenix doesn't have any of those problems. Phoenix is a great racetrack. It's fun to go out there because you can pass in the straight-aways, you can pass off of turn two, you can pass in the corners. Unfortunately, the way the surface is at Loudon the place gets so much rubber built up that it's absolutely like running through gravel pits racing there."

DO YOU THINK ABOUT WINNING THAT 50TH RACE EVERY WEEK? "Yeah, I do think about it and I just hope I get it. It's just a goal of my own that I set to try and achieve. It's a good solid number. It doesn't have any real significance. I'm not gonna retire when I get 50 wins and I'm not gonna get a two million dollar bonus or anything different except some self-satisfaction."

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR YEAR? "We started out the year with a bang right off the bat. At Daytona we ran really good and four races later we're at victory lane at Bristol. We led a lot of laps, but then after that we kind of got into a rut where it seemed like every race we were seventh or eighth. I couldn't get back into what I call that coveted top three. It's easy to say top five, but I'm used to running top three all the time and it seemed like I was top seven. I wanted to get out of that top seven and get back up to the very, very top. Then as the year went on we're getting better it seems like. Our qualifying has been really, really good. We've got four poles and are seldom out of the top 10, so I'm real proud of that. We've led a bunch of laps, we're eighth in the points and, barring any problems, it looks like we're gonna have a top 10 finish this season. I had one setback that we've still yet to work out that's upsetting. We were gonna build a brand new facility to build all the chassis and hang all the bodies for the 2 car and the 12 car. We were gonna start immediately on it and everybody was excited about it and at the last minute the 12 car decided they didn't want to participate in it. They felt as though their cars were better than our cars and that was a real letdown because we really thought that thing was gonna be a neat deal. We would both have the same cars, the same bodies and all that. I'm really excited about my cars and they like their cars, so, until we come to some common ground, unfortunately, the teams are operating independently. They're really not teammate cars."

THAT'S A BIG DEPARTURE FROM LAST YEAR. "It's a big departure and it's something that we're not done with. I'm gonna try to fix it and get it back on track, but it really took a permanent stance on what they like and that's unfortunate."

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR MOTOR SITUATION? "Now that's been really good. That's all good stuff there. I've only had one failure all year long and, unfortunately, it came at Dover where I was flying. I had a new track record, on the pole, running first through third all day and broke a piston. We still ran and finished the race 18th on seven cylinders. Usually when you blow up your 30th or 40th, but I was able to keep on going limping around on seven cylinders, but that's been the only problem I'm aware of this year. The 12 car hasn't had a problem either, so purchasing Larry Wallace's engine deal and renaming it under Penske Racing has been a huge success."

YOU AND JEFF GORDON HAVE ONE OF THE MOST ENTERTAINING RIVALRIES IN MOTORSPORTS. IS THERE A LITTLE EXTRA INTENSITY WITH BOTH OF YOU HAVING 49 WINS RIGHT NOW? "Yeah, I'd be lying to you if I told you it's no big deal, but it is a big deal. I'd like to get my 50th before he does, but, then again, I've got to think -- if he gets 50 before me or vice versa, what effect will it have on my goal. I don't know if it'll have any effect on my goal. Every time I go to a race I think that's the one."