INDIANAPOLIS -- He's won the Brickyard 400 two times, so he knows what it takes to succeed at Indy. He's current ESPN race analyst Dale Jarrett, and he'll be chatting live with FanHouse.
NASCAR's 1999 Cup champion joined us for a live chat from Indianapolis. Ask Dale any question you want, from his pick to win the Allstate 400 to ... well, that's up to you.
Join FanHouse for a NASCAR "Chat with Champions" on Friday from the world famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway, site of this week's AllState 400 at the Brickyard.
While he didn't race it, Dale Jarrett finally hopped into the big, brown UPS truck Saturday prior to the Sprint All-Star Race XXIV during driver introductions.
Watch below as Jarrett takes the mammoth vehicle for a low-speed lap around the speedway:
I suppose you could say this is my way of honoring the former Sprint Cup champion who finished his career with an impressive 32 race wins in NASCAR's top series. Among those, were wins at Daytona, Charlotte, Darlington, and Indianapolis -- some of the sport's crown jewels.
Frankly, I know for a fact that I just simply couldn't write a a story about Jarrett that matches with some of the best stories that NASCAR writers can do, so I'll take my humble dose and let them tell the story of his incredible career.
With Dale Jarrett racing in his final points-paying NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway, plenty of memories come flooding back about his storied NASCAR career.
The top of that list? The "Dale and Dale Show" from the 1993 Daytona 500. Watch below as his father, Ned Jarrett, calls his son (Green No. 18 car) to victory past Dale Earnhardt and others -- and try not to smile as he crosses the finish line.
That moment, with Ken Squier stepping out of his role in CBS booth in play-by-play to allow Ned to seemingly instruct his son to victory in the sport's biggest event, is definitely one of the tops in Daytona 500.
Defending two-time champion Jimmie Johnson was just horrendous all day.
The highest-finishing past champ was Bobby Labonte in the 17th-position. The rest are counted down by their finishing position: 20th - Matt Kenseth, No. 17 USG Sheetrock Ford
Kenseth had a very decent run going Sunday and looked to be the more-dominant of the Roush Fenway group through the middle parts of the race. His trouble came after contact with Gordon off of turn 2 with four laps remaining.
Last season, a number of drivers were burned by the combination of the Top-35 rule and rain on the day of qualifying for several NASCAR Sprint Cup events.
Case in point? Boris Said.
The road course ace has tried to gather together sponsorship and a quality team together to compete in a handful of races every year, and his current situation has No Fear Energy Drink as the sponsor with support from Roush Fenway Racing.
That combination had Boris on the pole for last year's Pepsi 400 at Daytona in July -- until a rain storm canceled qualifying midway through the session, sending Boris home instead of into a race on the following night.
The top 35 in owners points from 2007 are locked into the field. If qualifying is canceled, the first 35 positions are allocated by owners points from last year for the first five races of the season.
Barring any teams having missed the entry list deadline, the remaining eight spots would be allocated like this:
Check out all of the NASCAR Fanhouse Daytona Speedweeks Coverage. On Sunday, stop by for the live blog of the 50th Daytona 500 at 3:00pm/ET.
Last year, Michael Waltrip and his race team, Michael Waltrip Racing, faced one of most-publicized cheating scandals in NASCAR history. An illegal additive in Waltrip's No. 55 had set his team on its collective ear, and proved to be a barometer of the season MWR would have.
2008, though, is a much different story.
Waltrip put his No. 55 NAPA Toyota on the outside of the front row for Sunday's 50th-running of the Daytona 500 and his teammates, David Reutimann and Dale Jarrett, secured starting positions in the event.
The team has sported silver wheels for the past year and in all on-track activities during the 2008 Daytona Speedweeks. Sunday though, that will change.
Michael Waltrip and his three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will pay tribute to the golden anniversary of the Daytona 500 on Sunday by starting the 50th running of The Great American Race sporting specially-designed gold wheels.
Following the 200-lap event, the wheels will be autographed and sold to raise money for charities supported by the France family.
[...]
The Waltrip teams will run the gold wheels only for the start of the race, moving back to their traditional chrome wheels after the first round of pit stops.
I don't think I can remember too many cars in history that have sported gold wheels, but if anyone in the NASCAR garage would do this, it'd be Waltrip.
With only 12 of these wheels available for auction, I'd imagine the price will be pretty steep, and if one of the MWR cars wins on Sunday -- it wouldn't be as surprising as you'd think -- expect that price to raise ten-fold.
It's been a long time in the NASCAR world since we've seen two Dales lead at the top of any list statistically.
The second round of preseason Sprint Cup testing at Daytona International Speedway changed that Monday morning as soon-to-be-retired Dale Jarrett topped all drivers on the speed chart. Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s new Hendrick ride was second fastest.
Jarrett's lap time of 184.987mph not only paced the Monday morning single-lap session, but also bested Jimmie Johnson's best single-lap time from the first round of testing a week ago at DIS.
Running fast in qualifying trim for Jarrett is going to be especially crucial for Daytona and the four remaining races he plans to race into this season. The No. 44 Michael Waltrip Racing entry failed to make 12 races.
Jarrett, despite being a past champion, will not always be able to fall back on the guaranteed spot in a race for a past champ because of an owner points swap at Penske racing that allowed Kurt Busch's points from a year ago to be transferred to Sam Hornish Jr.'s new ride.
Guess what, fans? ESPN really does listen to us! Or ... maybe they just listen to their own broadcasts and realize how painful they are all on their own.
Rusty Wallace is out! Out I say! Done deal. My source actually used the word "fired!"
I'll tell ya what ... I don't care if he was fired, quit or otherwise. I'd just like to wish him good riddance. One Answer this... reader suggests that ESPN will shift Wallace back to the IRL booth. Good for him--they can have him.
Wallace will be replaced by the retiring Dale Jarrett, who drove circles around his fellow former champion in the booth this season.
Never thought I'd say it .. Thank you, ESPN!
Update: Daly Planet has also received a confirmation that Rusty is out.
Update: Official Comment from ESPN
"Rusty Wallace is our guy. We have a long-term contract with him. He's the voice of NASCAR on ESPN." NORBY WILLIAMSON – ESPN Executive Vice President, Studio and Remote Production
That's disappointing. I should like to withdrawal my thanks and hope that Mr. Williamson is just saying that 'cause he has to and that he'll be telling us something different at a later date.
1999 Winston Cup Champion Dale Jarrett is expected to announce later this week that he will run six races in 2008. Or ... uh ... as many as he can get in before running out of championship provisionals
Part of me wishes that Jarrett had retired in the #88 rather than having such a dismal last full-time season with Michael Waltrip Racing. But it was cool he postponed his retirement to race awhile longer and help his good friends The Waltrips get their team up and running.
In making a decision about his future, Jarrett considered the advice he received earlier this year from Hall of Fame quarterback and former NASCAR team owner Terry Bradshaw:
"He said, 'Look, make sure you drive as long as you want to and as long as you can, because once you're out, nobody has ever gone back and done anything good, whether it's your sport or his sport or football.' I took that into consideration. I thought that was pretty good advice."
Good advice indeed. Where was Bradshaw when Michael Jordan retired the first time? And second ...
All the free time Jarrett had on his hands this season afforded him the opportunity to test his skills in the broadcast booth. Fans loved him. We would like to see him spend the rest of his semi-retirement there. You listening, ESPN? Bump Rusty. Give us some DJ.
Dale Jarrett Career Stats / Accomplishments 1999 Winston Cup Championship 1998 Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers 1996 Daytona 500 Winner First Race: 1984 Sovran Bank 500 (Martinsville) First Win: 1991 Champion Spark Plug 400 (Michigan) Last Win: 2005 UAW Ford 500 (Talladega) Career: 32 Wins, 163 Top 5s, 260 Top 10s, 16 Poles in 659 starts
INDIANAPOLIS -- He's won the Brickyard 400 two times, so he knows what it takes to succeed at Indy. He's current ESPN race analyst Dale Jarrett, and he'll be chatting live with FanHouse.
It wasn't a particularly good weekend at Las Vegas for former champions of the Sprint Cup series in the UAW-Dodge 400.
Last season, a number of drivers were burned by the combination of the Top-35 rule and rain on the day of qualifying for several NASCAR Sprint Cup events.
Last year, Michael Waltrip and his race team, Michael Waltrip Racing, faced one of most-publicized cheating scandals in NASCAR history. An illegal additive in Waltrip's No. 55 had set his team on its collective ear, and proved to be a barometer of the season MWR would have.
It's been a long time in the NASCAR world since we've seen two Dales lead at the top of any list statistically.
Guess what, fans? ESPN really does listen to us! Or ... maybe they just listen to their own broadcasts and realize how painful they are all on their own.
1999 Winston Cup Champion Dale Jarrett is expected to announce later this week that he will run six races in 2008. Or ... uh ... as many as he can get in before running out of championship provisionals
