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Notebook Jarrett wants talk of safety measures to continue
Updated: Saturday October 20, 2001 9:06 PM
TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) -- Dale Jarrett says NASCAR's decision to mandate head-and-neck restraints is another step toward making the cars as safe as possible for the drivers. "I'm not sure where they need to go, but I've seen a lot of changes," said the 1999 Winston Cup series champion. "I think the thing that we have to do now, and I think I heard Jeff Burton talk about this, is that we don't want to stop with mandating these head-and-neck restraints. "We don't want this to be the end of it. We want it to be a way that others continue to work and develop something new that would be even better." Jarrett said he has been particularly pleased to see the car manufacturers involved in NASCAR racing getting deeply involved in the safety development process.
"That's probably been the most impressive thing I've seen take place this year," he said. "It didn't matter if it were Chevrolet, Pontiac, Dodge or Ford, everybody gave out the information that they were finding to make this a safer sport." Jarrett also has been impressed with NASCAR's approach. "Information is there," he said. "It's your fault if you don't get it. They have it there and they're willing to discuss it with you, give you everything that they have, what they've learned."
Craven feeling like a winnerRicky Craven is still basking in the glow of the first victory of his career. Craven, who beat Jarrett in a door-to-door battle last Monday in Martinsville, Va., knows he will have to put that behind him Sunday when he starts 12th in the EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Meanwhile, though, he's just enjoying all the attention and congratulations. "The great thing about what happened last Monday is that the Tide team earned it," said Craven, who also gave former CART team owner Cal Wells his first Winston Cup win. "We went toe-to-toe all through the race, on the racetrack, on pit road, the decisions that were made from the pit stands -- we really earned that win." Craven, who had gone 173 races without a victory, now believes the next win will come soon. "I feel like we could win any one of the last six races," he said. "But that's not going to come because we wish for it or we try to talk ourselves into it. We're going to have to go out Sunday and earn it, like we did last week." Crew chief Mike Beam, who had won twice before with driver Bill Elliott -- in 1990 and 1994 -- was just as excited as Craven. "The thing about being in Victory Lane, I was surrounded by 20-some people, none of which had won a Winston Cup race before," Beam said. "That was pretty cool."
Changing timesRichard Brickhouse, who raced stock cars in a different era and won the Talladega 500 in 1969, says drivers have changed from his day. "It looks to me like racing has turned into a young man's game," said Brickhouse, a 63-year-old farmer-truck driver from Rocky Point, N.C. "They're getting younger and younger. "The profile is like Casey Atwood: a small, young guy. They don't have to have the stamina we used to have." Brickhouse, whose career ended in the early 1970s, said the cars were a lot more difficult to drive back then. "Sometimes you had to drive with both hands, and you don't have to do that anymore," he said. "I drove a lot like Dale Earnhardt. I was very competitive. When I got in a race car, I was a different person. I wasn't evil, but I had a competitive spirit. "Now, they have to keep a balance with the drivers. They have to be good in front of a TV camera. Sponsors have to be pleased."
Qualified effortStarting up front doesn't seem to matter much anymore at Talladega Superspeedway. While only 10 of the first 59 races here were won from outside the top 10, the last five Winston Cup events on the 2.66-mile oval have been won from a starting position of 14th or worse. Bobby Hamilton, who won in April, started 14th. The late Dale Earnhardt, who won this race a year ago, started 20th, while Jeff Gordon won the spring race in 2000 from 36th. Earnhardt won both races in 1999, starting the spring race from 17th and the then-summer event from 27th.
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