Dale Jarrett: “I’m excited to put 100 percent effort into the rest of this season”
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Oct 16, 2007
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Dale Jarrett, No. 44 UPS Toyota Camry
Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway
UPS Racing Team Notes of Interest
Dale Jarrett’s best year at Martinsville was during the 2001 season in which he scored a win in the spring race and a second-place finish in the fall.
Since his win in the spring of 2001, Jarrett has four top-10 finishes, with his most recent one coming in the spring of 2004.
Jarrett has been running at the end of every Nextel Cup race at Martinsville since 1999, a period spanning 17 races. During that span, he has completed an incredible 98.66 percent of the laps run.
This weekend’s Subway 500 marks Jarrett’s 42nd consecutive start at Martinsville Speedway.
Jarrett Discusses Racing at Martinsville Speedway
Has the announcement last week of your retirement really sunk in yet?
“Yeah, a little bit. It’s definitely going to take some getting used to though. It probably won’t hit me until after the season and then of course a lot more next year. You know, it’s weird. I think when you have a job – whether it’s as a race car driver or whatever you do – if you do it for a long time, you start to envision how it will come to an end, and how and when you might walk away. I think everyone wants to be able to go out on their own terms and have some input into the whole process. But it doesn’t always work out the way you want it to. As I said last week, this was something I had really put a lot of thought into for the last couple months. But then actually coming out and saying it and putting those wheels in motion, so to speak, was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. I’m comfortable with the decision and I’m happy that I was able to go out on my own terms. That made a big difference to me. And now I’m excited to put 100 percent effort into the rest of this season and into those final races going into next year. ”
What’s your strategy going into this weekend at Martinsville?
“Well, it hasn’t changed much since we’ve started racing here what seems like a lifetime ago. If you want a good finish, your best bet is to start the race up front. So qualifying is important, but more important is maintaining your track position near the front. You have to earn every single pass at this track and sometimes it can take you five laps or more to pass one guy. To be able to make those passes and keep that track position you have to have a well-balanced car that rolls through the center and also lets you get back in the gas hard on exit without breaking loose. That’s going to help you save your brakes for the end where you can be more aggressive and go for the win. So like I said it hasn’t changed much since the first time we raced here. Track position, brakes and a good car are all important. ”
