Ford drivers remember Earnhardt at Daytona.

A statue of Dale Earnhardt was unveiled in front of Daytona USA last week to honour the seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion.

Ford drivers Dale Jarrett, Jeff Burton and Rusty Wallace spoke about their feelings for Earnhardt and what he still means to the sport.

Q:
Dale Jarrett [No. 88 UPS Taurus] - What kind of feeling did you get at the Earnhardt statue unveiling the other day?

Dale Jarrett:
Once again it shows who the true leader was of our sport and who brought recognition to our sport and to the Daytona Speedway for everything he did here. He was the absolute master here. I know people say, 'Well, he only won one Daytona 500,' but how many was he a part of at the end and how many other races did he win here? That was a very nice tribute to Dale and what he really stood for and what he really meant. So many people didn't see the whole side of Dale Earnhardt and what he was really about. Most people, obviously, knew the hard-charger or the Intimidator - what he was on the race track - but too many times we didn't know that other side of Dale, which was a perfect gentleman, a good father, and a guy that people would really liked to have gotten to know.

Q:
Do you think there could be another rules change before the race?

DJ:
I wouldn't be surprised if something came along because we want to insure the fans and the people out there watching that this is a good race. We need to make sure that when we start the Daytona 500 and everybody climbs in their car, that they feel like they had an equal shot to win the Daytona 500. I know that NASCAR is gonna work extremely hard in making that happen with what they see and the things that they can do, and, hopefully, that'll be the case.

Q:
What does it mean to be know as a Daytona 500 champ?

DJ:
It's huge. Like I said after I won the first one, I was amazed as the year went on that the way I was introduced wherever I went was as the Daytona 500 champion. It's a tremendous race and there's nothing like it. I don't care what you compare it to, whether it's other sporting events - the Super Bowl, the World Series, whatever it may be - this, to me, is bigger than any of that because not only does the Daytona 500 happen and you have the champion, but we have to continue on and our sport doesn't slow down from there. That tells you just how big this is and how big our sport has gotten, but to win the Daytona 500 is a huge thrill and it does more for your career than anything you could possibly do. That's why everybody puts so much emphasis on coming here and doing well and trying to give themselves a chance to win this race.

Q:
Is it good to have such a big race first rather than at the end?

DJ:
I think it definitely makes more sense for us because everybody is fresh. We've had the most time to prepare for our biggest race and our biggest event, and that's the way it should be. You should have the most time to get ready for that. We have the very best drivers here. No one is injured and everybody has had the entire off season to get ready for this. Everybody has new equipment, so you can't say, 'Well, my equipment was worn out or we didn't have our best stuff here.' Everybody has their best stuff and the drivers are in their best shape, so you know when you win this race you've beaten the best at their very best.

Q:
What about the way your season ended last year?

DJ:
We just didn't do our job the last part of it. It was great battling back and forth and having Ricky right there too. We thought it was gonna be a great battle to the end, but, unfortunately, Ricky and I kind of fell off. We did a little more than Ricky did, so that's what we have to look at this year. We have to be able to maintain that consistency and, again, that's what this series is about. Certainly you want to win races and you want to have top fives, but, really, what it comes down to when you look at it at the end of the year, you look back and say, 'Okay, the champion has the fewest amount of problems as anybody else out there.' That's really what it comes down to. You can't put yourself in that position of having problems and taking chances because that's when you start making mistakes.

Q:
The key is really following up a bad run with a good run, right?

DJ:
Yeah, you've got to buckle down and really, as much as anything, make sure that doesn't happen again. We put together back to back bad races a couple of times in the second half of the season and that's just a killer for you. You can't really recover from that. When you've got somebody like Jeff (Gordon) finishing in the top 10 every week, and a lot of times the top five, if you find yourself outside the top 30, it's just hard to make up those points because you realize they're not gonna make many mistakes up there and that makes it difficult to catch back up.
Q:
What are your thoughts on the sponsorship problems right now?

DJ:
Hopefully they're not gonna get worse. Hopefully, people are gonna still realize the value of a sponsorship here is still one of the best values that they have in spending their advertising dollars. Our economy is gonna get better. It's gonna be difficult and it's a difficult time for a lot of companies right now, but business is gonna continue and, hopefully, we can a part of that resurgence of these businesses and give them the opportunity to help their businesses grow. I hate it for Travis Carter and his people. He's got a lot of good people there and two very good race drivers and, hopefully, things will work out for them, but I think the sport is gonna continue to grow.

Q:
What makes the 24 Team so tough?

DJ:
It's a good organization. You have a talented race driver like Jeff Gordon and if you give him any kind of support at all, that's gonna be a very powerful team and that's what they have. Jeff has surrounded himself with good people. They have the sponsorship to go with everything to make everything happen, so you put someone of his talents in that type of situation and he's gonna be a contender, if not a leader, for a lot of years to come. We have to find a way to do things as good, if not better. You have to realize, I don't care who you are, there is a lot of talent that's gonna be in this 43-car field, but I'll sit and tell you right now that there's no race driver out there that's more talented than Jeff Gordon. So when you have that type of scenario, knowing that he has the equipment that he has, then you're gonna have to do everything a little bit better some how, some way to beat him.

Q:
Do you enjoy that challenge?

DJ:
That's the challenge that you have. That's what you always want to do is to look at what your challenge is to be the best. What is it gonna take? Is it equipment? Is it driver ability? Is it the whole combination of making it all work? That's what we have to sit down and realize and understand exactly what it's gonna take for us to beat them.

Q:
Rusty Wallace [No. 2 - Miller Lite Taurus] - What did you think about the Earnhardt statue unveilling?

Rusy Wallace:
I thought the statue was fabulous, I really did. His grin and his old mustache and his hand signal, it was always him. I knew the way he acted and looked and talked, and I'm just real happy that they've honoured him in that way so everybody can have a chance to come and look at it. I'm really impressed that it was the original penny that the little girl gave him that's imbedded in the wall. The trophy and all the different things they did was very impressive. I'm real proud for their family.

Q:
Do you feel if you get through this race that the Earnhardt tributes will slow down?

RW:
I don't know. I don't think this guy is like a normal guy. I mean, this is like Elvis. It really was, I think. They never forget him. They still commemorate him. We're going to Las Vegas this year commemorating Elvis Pressley's 25th anniversary with a silver and blue car. We've got guitars and piano keys and Elvis all over it, and here it is 25 years later and we're still commemorating Elvis Pressley and I think Dale is gonna be no different. I don't think he's just like a normal driver. I think he stands above and I still think you're gonna go all year long and this is gonna go on and on and on, I really do, and there's nothing wrong with that. But as far as getting through this race and having it over and done with, I don't agree with that. I think you're gonna see it for a long time.

Q:
Is this rules package safer?

RW:
Yes. There might be crashes, I hope not, but I know the cars won't draft as tight even though they should still maneuver good. I think where you just used to run up and were all over somebody's rear bumper, I think those days are gone and I think that's a good thing because none of the drivers really like it. I think the current rules are good enough that the people will really enjoy the drafting. I still think the cars are gonna run close. I don't think it's gonna be a runaway or any of that stuff.

Q:
Is there a happy mediumm between the 2000 Daytona 500 and last year's 500?

RW:
The 2000 500, that was with the old rules and that's where the Fords all finished first through fifth and I finished fifth in that race, but that was also the first race where NASCAR implemented a brand new shock absorber rule and that rule really hurt a lot of people as far as handling. The Fords that year seemed like they had more downforce and we were able to get the cars turning better, but the following race we went to Talladega and they gave us the shocks back which equalized everything again.

Q:
So you expect a decent race?

RW:
I do expect a good race. From the way we drafted down here I thought we all drafted real good. I didn't see anybody just drive away. Yeah, it's harder to just slingshot a guy. With the old rules you could do that. The fans loved that, but the drivers and teams hated it, so it's a happy medium I think.

Q:
How do you feel about Daytona?

RW:
I love Daytona. I used to come to this track and hate Daytona. I wrecked a lot and tore up a lot of stuff, but the last three or four years I've been in contention to win every race. In '98, the year that Dale won, we led the most laps and led all day long and finished fifth in the race. Then the following year I led almost every single lap and Jeff Gordon got past me at the very end of the race and I went from first to eighth I think. Then all of the 400's have been really good - all top-five finishes - so Daytona has been kind to me the last three or four years and I hope it is this year.

Q:
What were your impressions of this track the first time you raced?

RW:
The first time I came to race here I was just blown away because I watched it on television. I used to sit in the grandstands with my pop and watch it. I used to get on the fence and watch them come blowing by and they would blow your hair straight up in the air from all of the breeze. I never thought I'd be racing here and now this will be my 18th Daytona 500, I think. I had a legitimate shot to win the thing three or four times, but the later part of my career has been the very, very best. So I'm turned on every time I get to come here.

Q:
What was it like the first couple of times around the track?

RW:
It's breathtaking. The track is incredibly big from the outside looking in, but when you're in the race car going into the corners, you can't believe how narrow the track looks from the car. It's a real narrow-looking straightaway. When you go to Talladega, it feels gigantic, but when you go to Daytona, it feels real narrow and tight.

Q:
Jeff Burton [No. 99 - Citgo Taurus] - What did Dale Earnhardt mean to this race?

Jeff Burton:
For so long he won everything but the Daytona 500. He was gonna win the 125s, I mean he just won 'em. IROC races, Busch races and all those things, he came down here and he won. The story for a long time was 'Dale Earnhardt, will he retire before he's won a Daytona 500.' By the time he finally won the Daytona 500, then that got behind him, but you don't think about Daytona without thinking about Earnhardt because he was so good here.

Q:
How do you put his loss in perspective?

JB:
You don't lose a fellow competitor, no matter if it's Dale Earnhardt or Kenny Irwin or whomever it is, without him being missed. Earnhardt's loss is real broad because he meant so much to the sport for so many different reasons. He had a lot of influence on this sport that a lot of people probably didn't realize. He really had Bill France's ear because Bill respected him. He had a lot of corporate America listening. He did a wonderful job with souvenirs and making things better for fans and drivers. He had a lot of influence on this sport and none of that is lost. Everybody learned a lot from Dale and has taken advantage of that, but, as a person, you certainly still miss him today. There's no doubt about it.

Q:
What do you envision when you think of him?

JB:
Earnhardt was just such an influence. The thing that people don't understand about Earnhardt is that he was a tough guy, he really was. That wasn't just a persona, he was tough. But he could also put a coat and tie on and put his arm around a CEO of the largest company in the world and make that guy feel comfortable and Dale was comfortable doing it. Dale had a wonderful way of being tough as nails on the race track, but he could grasp corporate America and he did that better than anyone else in my opinion.

Q:
What's the snapshot you have of him?

JB:
That snapshot for me is that he did it better than anyone else had done it before. You could talk about his rough driving and he won a lot of races that perhaps today he wouldn't win because people wouldn't put up with it, but he's the greatest - it's that simple.''

Q:
What image do you have of him?

JB:
My image is him standing besides someone with his arms clinching their neck because once he started to like you, that's what he would do. He would walk up behind you and you would almost get knocked over by this arm grabbing you and pushing you, so that's my image of him. You would have to have an unknown person with him standing there with a hand around the back of his neck, he's kind of got his head turned, and he's telling you the way he was gonna do things. That's what he would do, he'd tell you the way things were.

Q:
Has someone filled Earnhardt's void as far as having the ear of Bill France or NASCAR?

JB:
I don't know who has filled that void, I really don't. I don't have the personal relationship that Earnhardt had. A lot of people teased Earnhardt because they said he kissed up to France, but that wasn't what happened. I think Earnhardt genuinely liked France and I think France genuinely liked Earnhardt and they related to each other, so because of that friendship, he had the opportunity to talk to Bill about several things. Dale truly wanted this sport to succeed. Obviously, he wanted to succeed as well, but he truly wanted this sport to succeed and I think Dale deserves some credit for how far this sport has come, I really do.

Q:
Is there anything you can do differently to get off to a good start this year?

JB:
You've just got to race. If you think too much about it, you're in trouble. We've just got to go out and do what it is we know how to do and that's race. You can't worry about a championship right now. You can't worry about where you're gonna finish at Darlington right now. We're at Daytona and we need to worry about how to do the best we can at Daytona, and then the minute we leave here it's over and we go on to Rockingham. That's how I approach the year and that's how I approach every year. I think if you start thinking about getting x-amount of points at this race, I don't think that's the right thing to do. I just think you've got to race the race for what it is.

Q:
How important is it to get off to a good start?

JB:
It's important to have a great year and if that means we've got to have a good start to have a great year, then it's real important. I think you can win the championship without winning the Daytona 500. We go into every race trying to get the best finish we can get. It's important to understand that this is the first race of the year and this race pays the same amount of points as all the other races after it, so, if you put too much emphasis on the Daytona 500, that's wrong, but you have to understand that it is a big race and it does pay the same amount of points as every other race.

Q:
Can you get too caught up in all the hype for this race?

JB:
I think you can, but we don't. We just don't let it happen to us. We work and we do the best we can for the Daytona 500, but we're also thinking about Rockingham and Vegas. Getting off to a good start is a great thing and a great feeling, but you don't have to have a great Daytona 500 to win the championship.

Q:
What makes this race so special?

JB:
It's the Daytona 500. There are big events. Horse racing has Churchill Downs. College basketball has Cameron Indoor Stadium and auto racing has Daytona. It's Daytona and Lemans and Indy and this is one of those places that is special because of the history and the heritage of what's built it to this point. It's not so much that it's just the Daytona 500, it's where it is. The event is so big. This was the first live Winston Cup race to be televised and it's just a big event. It always has been and it probably always will be.

Q:
How hard is it to come out of the gate with the biggest race of the year?

JB:
It's not that big of a deal. It is a little backwards, but once you get yourself into position where you're racing for championships and you're racing for a top spot in the points, you understand that this isn't the Super Bowl anymore. This is a big event determining who is gonna be in the Super Bowl, but the Super Bowl is racing for the championship. So, when you start thinking about it that way, it takes the pressure off of the Daytona 500 and makes it more, from a driver's feeling, just another race even though it's not just another race. We've won at Daytona in the Fourth of July race and that was a really, really good feeling, but it's probably 25 percent of the feeling you get for winning the Daytona 500. The greats of the sport have won the Daytona 500. We've been fortunate enough to win the Coca-Cola 600 and the Southern 500 - some really big events - so to add the Daytona 500 and Indy to that is something that means a whole lot to me.