BGN: Darlington notes

• Dave Rodman
• MNI - Motorsport News International
• Sun Sep 1 14:21:44 EDT 1996

ONLY IN AMERICA

DALE JARRETT, who'll compete in this weekend's races at Darlington Raceway,
Thursday participated in a pair of local events. In a national contest,
Hartsville, S.C., located about 10 miles west of Darlington, was named one
of 10 "All America Cities" for 1996. Hartsville paid tribute to NASCAR
racing, an "All America sport;" Darlington Raceway, an "All America track;"
and Jarrett, an "All America athlete," at a breakfast at Hartsville Country
Club. Mayor Flossie Hopkins presented awards to each.

MIKE HELTON (NASCAR Vice President for Competition) -- You can't look at me
and tell, but I'm just a little tiny part of NASCAR. There are a lot of
people who travel to the race tracks from week to week, or are back in
Daytona Beach, who make NASCAR great. But if (NASCAR President) Bill France
were here he'd tell you that NASCAR has got to have three things: Race
tracks, race cars and race car drivers. That's why I'm delighted to be here
to receive this recognition with Dale Jarrett and Jim Hunter. I have
experience running race tracks (Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega
Superspeedway) so I thank Hartsville and congratulate Hartsville for being
so interested and involved in Darlington Raceway and NASCAR. It means a lot.
In this business, some days are a lot of fun and some days are not as much
fun, but at the end of the day or the end of the season it's a pretty neat
deal. People like Hunter and Dale Jarrett and communities like Hartsville
are what make it work. On behalf of all of NASCAR, thank you!

DALE JARRETT (No. 88 Quality Care/Ford Credit Ford) -- (Received a key to
the city of Hartsville from Mayor Hopkins.) Hickory, N.C., the town I live
in, is also an All America City and I understand the pride you feel in that
honor. You have a lot to be proud of.

JIM HUNTER (Darlington Raceway President) -- When I grew up in South
Carolina this was THE race track. There was no Daytona or Talladega. My goal
for the rest of my years is to make people realize Darlington is where
NASCAR got started. We sincerely appreciate Hartsville recognizing NASCAR
and Darlington Raceway. Being an All America City is an honor that will last
for years. 

LATER, Jarrett participated in the dedication of the Darlington County
Economic Development Office in downtown Darlington, with S.C. Governor David
M. Beasley of Darlington and Robert Royall Jr., secretary of the S.C.
Department of Commerce. "Darlington is like a second home to me," said
Jarrett. "I spent a lot of my younger years in Camden, S.C., about 30 miles
from here and the people in Darlington have always been special to me. I
look forward to coming here each and every year and seeing the growth of the
community. As I say, Darlington has always been special to me and I hope
that, after Sunday, I have a million more reasons to feel that way!"
DALE JARRETT ON HIS RUN FOR THE WINSTON SELECT MILLION

DALE JARRETT (No. 88 Quality Care/Ford Credit Ford) -- (ON EVENT QUALIFYING
RECORD HE BROKE IN TESTING.) We have got such a good race tire and the track
is in good shape for this time of year, with a lot of grip. I think the main
reason, though, that the track record will be broken is the tire that
Goodyear has here. Normally between the spring and this race there's five or
six tenths difference between the poles. If you equate that it's going to
take like a 28.90 or something to win the pole. We ran a 29 flat in testing
so we're close. We'll run the same car we ran here in the spring (TranSouth
Financial 400). We won at Charlotte (Coca-Cola 600) and Michigan (GM
Goodwrench Dealer 400) with it. That is my favorite car and it seems to work
well wherever we go in response to changes we make. It works well at a race
track of this type where handling is of utmost importance. We also tested
the car we won the Brickyard 400 with.

(REGARDING SUPERSTITIONS.) It's hard to believe it was 31 years ago that my
dad (broadcaster Ned Jarrett) won this race, but here we are. It was a great
day. We lived in Camden, S.C., which is about 30 miles from here. The Camden
High School band was playing that day and there were a lot of (local) people
here. When we went back to Camden it seemed like most of the people from the
town were in the front yard or in the street in front of the house. That's
when I realized what my dad was really involved in and just how big it was.
It was pretty neat. I don't know how much I believe in numbers and things,
but it seems like the number 11 has kind of been something special. It was
my dad's number and he won two championships and 50 races with it. When I
won my first (NASCAR Winston Cup) race, at Michigan in 1991, I started 11th.
The next week I started 11th and won the Busch race at Bristol. When I won
my first Daytona 500 in 1993 we were in garage No. 11. I started 11th a
couple weeks ago at Michigan (and won). My wife (Kelley) brought up just
this week that it's been 11 years since this million dollars (Winston Select
Million) has been won. Maybe that'll work because we're gonna need all the
help we can get to make it happen. Not only is it very difficult to win
every week in Winston Cup racing but to bring it to Darlington, have to go
around here for 500 miles and stay out of trouble and have a good race car
at the end with a chance to win is a job in itself.

(WILL HE TRY TO QUALIFY 11TH?) I'm going to try to qualify first (Busch
Pole) -- maybe we'll pick pit No. 11 or something. Eleventh is a little bit
further back than I'd like to be because this is such a tough track to pass
on. If there's hardly any cars in front of you at the start it looks like
there's a hundred in front of you. There's a lot of asphalt around this race
track but there's so very little of it that's usable that it makes it so
tough. To get around it yourself you need every little bit of asphalt, so
when you put 40 other cars around you it's quite a challenge.

(WITH A MILLION ON THE LINE, WILL HE BE PATIENT IF HE DOES NOT QUALIFY UP
FRONT?) It'll be interesting to see. I'm going to try to be patient, but
what I'm really going to try to do is get a 14-lap lead like my dad had in
'65 -- I think I could bring that thing home, then. You have to be patient
here, even with a good race car. It gets to feeling good and it only takes a
split second to miss the line -- we're only talking about six or eight
inches -- and you're into the wall. I'll probably be a little more patient
than I normally am. We've said it millions of times. You're probably sick of
us talking about racing the race track at Darlington, then you see us go out
and crash and you're wondering why in the hell we weren't racing the race
track -- we were racing the other cars -- at that time. But that's what I'm
going to try to do.

(IS IT TIME TO ALTER WINSTON SELECT MILLION PROGRAM, EITHER WITH MORE MONEY
OR INCLUDING THE BRICKYARD 400?) I don't know. These are four tough races,
and that's the way it's (program) been over the years (since its inception
in 1985). We can award the money now if you like (Jarrett has won at
Daytona, Charlotte and Indy this year)! It think it's a great idea to go
back to when it was won and let it accumulate -- that would make this worth
$11 million! A million dollars is a substantial amount of money but the
accomplishment is what means more than anything. But, if they want to throw
the Brickyard in there, well, we've already got it done. I don't think we
need to get into making it four out of five -- three out of four is hard enough!

(WITH NO MONEY ON THE LINE WOULD THE WEEKEND BE AS IMPORTANT?) Just as
important! We're in the battle for the championship right now. As much as we
appreciate Winston and the million dollar bonus, that's exactly what it is
-- a bonus. We have to look at the championship right now and we're in a
stretch and at a place that could be very pivotal in winning this
championship. This is a place where someone can get in trouble in a hurry
through no fault of their own. If that happens to the leader of the points
and he finishes 35th and me or Jeff (Gordon) runs in the top five -- we're
right there. We're thinking about the championship first but this bonus is
nice and we'll do whatever we can to win the race. But, the ultimate goal is
the season-long championship. (IF HE HAD TO MAKE A CHOICE BETWEEN THE
TWO...) It would have to be the championship. That's something, as a driver,
that I set out to do. The opportunity of winning a million dollars in a
single race is great, but the championship is what it's all about and that
would be the ultimate for our race team. That's what we're going to look at
in the big picture.

(WHAT WOULD A DARLINGTON VICTORY MEAN?) As drivers we look at this as a
driver's race track. Obviously the reason why Dale Earnhardt has done as
well as he has here over the years is because he's the driver he is. It
takes that type of driver to get around here time and time again. It would
mean a lot to me to add a Darlington victory and a Southern 500 victory at
that because it is our oldest race. We've got kind of a streak going this
year with those kind of races. We've won the biggest, longest and
best-paying. Now, if we can win the oldest it would be pretty special.

(IS ONE TURN AT DARLINGTON TOUGHER THAN ANOTHER?) They're so totally
different is what makes it hard. Turns one and two have a narrow groove and
when you get in there the car wants to slide up the race track. You come
very, very close to the wall, especially as the race goes on. Getting off
turn two is extremely tight and you feel like you're going to hit the wall
exiting there every lap. Turns three and four are probably the most
difficult turns we have anywhere. You're on such a high line to run fast
through there... Getting off of turn four is better than it used to be. It
used to move you about two car widths out -- now it only moves you one. You
just have to give yourself room, which I experienced by not giving myself
enough room back in the spring when I got into the wall. With the turns
being so different you have to decide where you're going to give up, because
you're going to give up on one end or another. You have to decide where you
can make the most time and set your car for that.

(WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IF YOU AND TEAMMATE ERNIE IRVAN ARE SIDE BY SIDE ON
THE LAST TWO LAPS?) I hope I'm on the inside! Ernie is a good teammate in a
lot of respects but he's a racer at heart. It's been talked about, but first
of all, (team owner) Robert (Yates) wouldn't do that (tell Irvan to pull
over) and second, Ernie wouldn't listen! I'd probably turn my radio off!
That's just not gonna happen but we have joked about it a lot. Ernie's there
to win the race for Texaco Havoline and I wouldn't want it any other way. If
we're going to win this million dollars we don't want it to be through any
kind of teamwork -- we want to win it! Last weekend was a Busch Grand
National race. If the same thing had happened Saturday night (NASCAR Winston
Cup race) that poor guy on the outside (winner Jeff Fuller) wouldn't have
been quite as fortunate.

(STATUS OF CREW CHIEF TODD PARROTT.) Todd injured his knee Saturday night
at Bristol. They opened a hospital up for him Sunday in Charlotte so he
could have surgery. He's on crutches and he's at the shop today (Thursday)
for the first time. He went by there for a few minutes Tuesday. He didn't
injure his mind that I know of -- it couldn't have been much worse than it
was! He's certainly been THE reason we are where we are this season. We're
going to put a chair up on the pit box for him and let him sit back and
enjoy himself.

PRE-RACE NOTES

JIM HUNTER (Darlington Raceway President) -- (At the All Sport Golf Classic
that kicks off the Mountain Dew Southern 500 race weekend, Hunter and Dale
Jarrett presented NASCAR registrar Carl Hill, who is retiring at the end of
the season, with a pair of golf shoes.) One of the toughest jobs in NASCAR
is signing everybody in to the race tracks. This is Carl's last Southern
500. He has meant an awful lot to NASCAR, and to tracks like Darlington,
over the years.

We know he's going to be able to play more golf than he ever has, but we
hope we still see a lot of him.

MORE DALE JARRETT ON THE WINSTON SELECT MILLION -- It has been an awful lot
of fun anticipating this. Everyone involved, from Darlington, NASCAR and
R.J. Reynolds, has made it special, which it should be. We'd like to think
we'd have a chance to do it again -- win a million dollars -- but if we
don't have that it's been a special time. It's been great for us, our
sponsors and we hope, for the sport. Ford Quality Care and Ford Credit put a
lot into this sport and it's good to see them get something back. You know,
people have said you could've already won this if you won Talledega (Winston
Select 500) instead of finishing second to Sterling Marlin by about two car
lengths. But, we wouldn't have had near as much fun! It all works out for
the best, but I'm glad it's finally here. People have been saying for weeks,
'Are you thinking about the million dollars?' How do you not think about a
million dollars? Maybe some of y'all don't but I certainly do!

MICHAEL WALTRIP (No. 21 Citgo Ford) -- (ON ACCIDENT IN Friday MORNING
PRACTICE.) I cut a tire or something went wrong. I got to the corner (turns
three and four) running a normal line and all of a sudden it just went
straight (with eyes getting very wide). (The team was preparing its back-up
car for Busch Pole Qualifying.) I really don't know the last place we ran
it...Loudon (New Hampshire) maybe? It's all right.

BUSCH POLE AWARD QUALIFYING

WARD BURTON (No. 22 MBNA America Pontiac) -- (ON CRASH COMING OFF TURN
FOUR.) The car was a little bit loose on that run. We were trying to get
everything out of it -- we got a little bit more than we wanted. I got out
of the thing pretty quick because I didn't want to get burned. We had a
pretty good lap going.

DURA LUBE 200 PRESENTED BY AUTOZONE PRE-RACE NOTES

RANDY LAJOIE (#74 Fina Chevrolet) -- I'm looking forward to Saturday's race.
I like this track a lot. I got my first Busch Series pole here. I seem to
run well here. My first time here was in the mid-eighties. I was in my own
car, and we were running well. I was behind Jack Ingram, and we were faster
than he was. I was all over him, and I finally got around him. But when I
got around him, all of a sudden he was all over me. It was because I didn't
know the line as well as he did. So I let him get back around me and I just
followed him the rest of the day. I was faster than he was, but we were
getting around the track better with him in front because he knew what to do
and what line to take. We wound up in the top 10, like seventh and eighth.
Back then, I didn't do a lot of things that were very smart, but that was
one time I used my head and I learned an awful lot about how to get around
this place.

DAVID GREEN (#95 Caterpillar Chevrolet)  -- This points race has fluctuated
all season, I led Randy (LaJoie) by 188 points going into Milwaukee, but got
into a tangle -- with Randy as a matter of fact -- and dropped a bunch of
points. He returned the favor by having trouble at Bristol and we gained
some back, but I'm a little disapponted that we didn't gain any more than we
did. The points race has been a good clean race, and we are good friends. We
both use the same engine builder (Katech), and we have two good teams.  I'd
like for it to be decided on the track in the last race, not because someone
had some sort of problem that knocked them out.
Some folks believe I may have an advantage because of my previous
championship runs, but that's not necessarily the case. I do remember my
first title run in 1993. We led the points for a long time, and were second
for a while, but Steve Grissom came on at the end and beat us. I'm sure that
my inexperience cost me that year.  We got smarter in '94 and won it all
that year, driving for Bobby Labonte. On the other hand, Randy has been the
Busch North champion, and that's a big plus for him.

I'm comfortable here at Darlington. We've had some good runs here,
including top 10s, and that's not a bad finish for a Busch Series regular
when so many Winston Cup drivers race here.

DENNIS SETZER (#48 Unifirst Uniforms Ford) -- This is a new team for me, and
we are running fairly decent. Making the field is a little more difficult
here and at other tracks when a bunch of the Winston Cup guys are entered,
but if you can't compete with them in Busch Series races, then you are not
likely to compete with them in Winston Cup either. This car is real
driveable, and there's a good bunch of guys working on it. Randy Porter (who
had driven the car in previous races this year) had some things he needed to
do this weekend, and I was just sitting around, so it worked out well for
me.  Right now, it's for this race only (Porter was in the Busch garage
Friday afternoon, in his UniFirst apparel.)

PRACTICE NOTES

KELLER TOURNAMENT SUCCESSFUL -- This past Monday (Aug. 26), the second
annual Jason Keller Cystic Fibrosis Charity Golf Outing in Greenville, S.C.,
raised more than $17,000 to fight the killer disease. The tournament,
presented by Slim Jim, featured several NASCAR drivers including Derrike
Cope, Larry Pearson, Randy LaJoie, Glenn Allen, Elliott Sadler, Jeff Fuller,
Mike Dillon, Doug Heveron, Randy Porter, Shane Hall, Mike Cope, Mardy
Lindley and Stevie Reeves.

PETER GIBBONS (No. 09 NTN Bearings Chevrolet) -- (ON CRASH IN FINAL
PRACTICE.) We had just taped the front end off and went out on old tires.
We're a new team that's just trying to get going and we just don't have the
money to keep throwing the tires at it that we need. As we came off the
corner (turn four) the back end just kicked around on us and that was it.
There was smoke everywhere, I couldn't see a thing. There's not much you can
do -- just lock it up. I smacked the fence on the left side. (The team tried
to repair the car for qualifying but the effort fell short.) This is the
first time we've been here. We were running pretty good and hoping to
qualify in the top 20. We gambled and it didn't go our way.

DURA LUBE 200 BUSCH POLE QUALIFYING NOTES

MARK MARTIN (No. 60 Winn-Dixie Ford) -- (Going for fourth straight victory
in the Dura Lube 200 by AutoZone.) That was a real good lap. I'm satisfied
with that. The car was capable of that if the driver could do his job. We
are pleased to be up front. That's always a big plus at Darlington, but
winning the race is more important. We like to start at the front but
winning these races is where it's at. There's some good race cars here.
That's the way racing is getting to be. There's a lot of good sponsors,
drivers and teams. It all comes down to who puts it together the best.

TERRY LABONTE (No. 5 Actron Chevrolet) -- That was about as good as we hoped
for -- actually a bit better than we practiced. We're not on the pole, but
at least we can see it.

CHAD LITTLE (No. 23 John Deere Pontiac) -- Considering what happened here
last year, this was a great way to start the weekend. The car was good from
the time we unloaded it and it really qualified good. We should be a
contender in the race. We've had mixed results here. We've had a couple top
fives but a couple of the worst wrecks of my career have come here, also.

RICKY CRAVEN (No. 2 DuPont Teflon/Krytox Chevrolet) -- Darlington is one of
my favorites -- I just like this track! I knew we were a threat for the
pole, but Mark (Martin) ran a great lap. We had a good lap. The car got a
little loose coming off of turn four or we might've done even better.

DAVID GREEN (#95 Caterpillar Chevrolet) -- That wasn't what we wanted, but
it was about what we practiced.  We were just a little off, but everybody is
pretty close, so we should be okay in the race on Saturday.

RANDY LAJOIE (#74 Fina Chevrolet) -- We can see the front from where we are.
There are a lot more cars behind us than there are ahead of us, and that's a
big plus here at Darlington.  I may have left a little on the plate, but
overall it was a good lap.

JEFF GREEN (#3 Goodwrench Service Chevrolet) -- That was a little better
than we ran in practice.  We're pleased.  It looks like everyone else will
be racing for second place tomorrow, the way Mark (Martin) ran.

RON BARFIELD (#94 New Holland Tractors Ford) -- That's not too bad for my
first time here.  We've got a good race car, but I'm sure I didn't get
everything out of it.  I just don't have the experience to know exactly what
to do.  I think we'll be okay in the race.  There's a lot of real good
drivers in this field.  If everyone will race the race track, we'll be okay.
This is really special for me, growing up right here in this area
(Florence).  I've dreamed of racing at Darlington, but I really didn't think
it would happen that soon.  I can thank Bill Elliott for that.  I'm really
looking forward to the race tomorrow.

LARRY PEARSON, (#92 Stanley Tools Chevrolet) -- We practiced a lot better
than that.  It was a disappointing lap.

JASON KELLER (#57 Slim Jim Chevrolet) -- In both practice sessions this
morning, we were 10th-11th quickest.  We were fifth after the first 25 cars
went out, then a cloud cover came in, and 13 of the next 20 cars ran faster
than we did.  But that's the breaks.  The car runs good on old tires, so we
are hoping for long stretches of green flag racing on Saturday.  Darlington
is a good race track for us.  We finished seventh and 10th here last year.

NMPA HALL OF FAME INDUCTION PREVIEW NOTES

On Saturday night former driver and current race car builder Edwin "Banjo"
Matthews and the late Davey Allison will be inducted into the National
Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame.

DAVID PEARSON (Hall of Fame member) -- Banjo really deserves it and I
actually thought he should've been put in a long time ago. Banjo is one of a
kind -- anyone would tell you that. He's a real smart car builder -- I guess
about the smartest that there ever was. He could walk around a car and tell
you more about it and what's been done to it than most people can that
builds 'em. I think Banjo was the first one to go out and start building
cars to sell. In fact, he was the one who got me started running on asphalt.
Back when I started I was running weekends on dirt tracks around home. Down
at Columbia (Ralph) Earnhardt and (Bobby) Isaac was winning a bunch of
races. Of course they got me to go over there and run and I was winning a
bunch of races down there. They got Banjo to come down there to out-run me
and of course, he didn't. After the race I was talking to him and he wanted
me to come to Asheville and run on asphalt. I told him I'd never run
asphalt. He said 'Now's a good time to start.' I went to Asheville (N.C.)
and Banjo and a buddy of his got together and wrecked and I won. I always
accused him of thinking it was me, so he tried to wreck ME. Banjo was the
kind of guy who would help anybody -- even if he knew they would out-run him
I believe he'd help 'em. Lord, it would be hard to say the one biggest thing
that he's brought to the sport -- he's done so much.

ROBERT YATES (NASCAR Winston Cup team owner) -- (ON DAVEY ALLISON.) We all
miss Davey. We miss Davey not having the opportunity to live his life out to
its fullest length. I was talking to my son this morning about how much fun
it was racing with Davey Allison. How much we enjoyed this, like when we
were here with a shot at winning the million dollars ('92 Winston Select
Million) -- how easygoing and how much fun it was. It was just winning a
race, and we had fun whether we won or lost. From all my memories and
dealings with him he was a person who supported Robert Yates. He was the guy
who shoved me into the car owner's position. He made me do it and he
supported me, not financially, but in every other way. And, he didn't quiver
when we didn't do so good. When you talk about a team effort that was what
he was about. Same as with Banjo, he always had more than a business
interest, he had a personal interest. Both those individuals were quite
close to my life. Davey showed that you can have fun, you can win and lose
and you don't have to get distraught over it. He never forgot who helped him
up the ladder -- an Allison trait that I think he refined a bit.

(ON BANJO MATTHEWS.) From the time I first started coming around race
tracks, in the early 60s, Banjo Matthews had a great involvement with the
sport. When I went to work for Holman & Moody in '67 we did all their
engines. Then I went to Junior's (Johnson) to start the Chevrolet program
and Banjo would call me just about every day about 10 o'clock in the
morning. Now, Junior would always go coon hunting so he'd only be getting up
about 10. Banjo would call for Junior but most of the time he'd end up
getting me. We'd talk about racing and I got to know him well and understand
him. At  Holman & Moody there was a thing that you couldn't do anything to
please Banjo. He was really  a fanatic -- a perfectionist -- in his work.
Working with Junior and understanding how he raced and Banjo...they were
quite different individuals. Banjo probably cared more about what the cars
looked like than if they won. 

BOBBY ALLISON (NASCAR Winston Cup team owner and Hall of Fame Member) -- (ON
DAVEY ALLISON) The thing (induction of his son) certainly is a bittersweet
situation. Davey would've gone into everybody's hall of fame anyway. To go
in at this particular time, as a result of losing him (in a helicopter
accident in 1993), creates an agony associated with the compliment. I guess
my whole life, my whole career, has been a series of ups and downs --
high-high highs and low-low lows. There's been very little even ground in my
career and in my life. Right now the idea of this...pleasure isn't the right
word...the satisfaction of knowing that he did earn that honor helps me have
an upswing on the day. Yeah, there's an awful lot of pride involved. I've
said, and I'll repeat, that an awful lot of fathers would like to have 10
minutes a day that I had 24 hours a day with Davey. He wasn't perfect but he
was really, really good. There will be things that will come along, other
honors that his memory will receive, but this is from people in the
business. They do know a little bit more than the daily press. The National
Motorsports Press Association lives with us, and they see the highs and the
lows and the agony and the ecstasy. To have those people salute him is a
special deal.

(ON BANJO MATTHEWS) I was never a real close friend or even companion of
Banjo Matthews. But I knew him, I think, pretty well, and I admired him and
I admired his effort to make the sport bigger and better for all of us. For
Banjo to be going into the hall on the same night as Davey is going to be
pretty neat. The first time I ever saw Banjo I was probably about 14 years
old. He was big and burly and he was really rough in the car. He succeeded
at other people's expense some -- I mean he ran over 'em if they got in the
way! He got involved in Grand National, before it became Winston Cup, and
Banjo became THE Winston Cup car builder. He really insisted the piece be
100 percent quality, exactly to the blueprint and he became the standard for
that part of the business.