Jarrett to drive Toyota for Waltrip in 2007

[dalejrfan]

Former Cup Series champ ends 12-year relationship with Yates


DARLINGTON, S.C. -- When Michael Waltrip went shopping for a driver for his Toyota-backed program in 2007, he looked at the list of those who would be contractually available, and his search stopped when he found that Dale Jarrett was willing to talk.

Jarrett, 49, was officially named as one of Waltrip's drivers for next season when the Toyota Camry makes its debut in the Nextel Cup Series. Waltrip and Jarrett will be teammates on the two-car team of Michael Waltrip Racing.

The move ends Jarrett's 12-year relationship with Robert Yates Racing, where 29 of his 32 career Cup victories came.

Jarrett, who is 12th in points heading into Saturday's Dodge Charger 500 at Darlington, denied published reports that suggested that he was lured with an eight-figure salary and the promise of Toyota dealership options.

"[There is] a lot of stuff out there that I came here because I was getting paid millions and millions of dollars and Toyota dealerships here and there, it is just funny to see what people think and how things get started," Jarrett said. "I know there is a value for some things that I have being a former champion, so all of those things added up to a lot.

"The reason I am doing this is not about money. This is to help Michael. I told my wife that this was going to be one of the biggest things to happen in NASCAR, for a driver with a new manufacturer to start his own organization."

Waltrip also said it had nothing to do with money.

"I never asked Toyota to subsidize any of that," Waltrip said. "My job is to run my team. I knew if I got [Jarrett], [Toyota] would smile."

Jarrett already has said that 2008 will be his final season behind the wheel, and last week at Richmond confirmed he has had discussions with ESPN about joining the network as a television analyst. ESPN will take a leading role in Cup coverage beginning in 2007. Jarrett has also reportedly expressed interest in team ownership or managment.

A sponsor and a car number were not immediately announced, but Waltrip said that he had funding in place for his programs. Waltrip did not say whether Jarrett's current sponsor, UPS, would go along with him.

"One of those sponsors is not UPS," Waltrip said. "Our team has sponsorship for our cars in '07, '08 and beyond that. This isn't about UPS, this is about Michael Waltrip Racing signing Dale Jarrett to drive our cars. We have a sponsor for Dale's car, but that is as far as that is going right now."

Waltrip said he has already started the car-building process and will use Bill Elliott to run five Nextel Cup races later this season. Elliott will drive Chevrolets, which will be reskinned over the winter as Toyotas.

The move gives Waltrip a much-needed veteran presence for his new two-car team, which announced its alliance with Toyota in January. The hiring of Jarrett gives Waltrip a near-guarantee that Jarrett will make the Daytona 500 field next February. Since Jarrett's team will have no car owner points, his status as a past champion gives him a guaranteed spot in the field each week.

"Dale will grow this team at a faster rate than we could have done any other way," Waltrip said. "I knew he was a champion and I knew he had all those credentials, but what I put the most value in -- I didn't pay him because he had that provisional, I had paid him because of how smart he is and how much he knows about racecars. That is why I wanted him on my team."

The move opens up a coveted spot with Robert Yates Racing's No. 88 program, which Yates created specifically for Jarrett in 1996. Jarrett went on to win the Daytona 500 that year, a race he won again in 2000.

Jarrett made his Cup debut April 29, 1984, at Martinsville, and his first victory came Aug. 18, 1991, at Michigan.

Jarrett has 32 victories in 613 starts, including a streak of 11 consecutive years with at least one win between 1993 and 2003. His career peaked in the late 1990s, as he won 18 times from 1996 to 1999, including a seven-win season in 1997.

He won the 1999 championship by 201 points over Bobby Labonte. That season Jarrett had four victories, 24 top-five finishes and 29 top-10s in 34 starts to give owner Robert Yates his only Cup title.

His father, Ned Jarrett, was the series' champ in 1961 and '65.

[dalejrfan]

Jarrett's move to Toyota jarring for some NASCAR fans, Ford loyalists


DARLINGTON, S.C. - Butch Meyer walked outside Darlington Raceway in his No. 88 hat and UPS racing jersey, testament to a 14-year allegiance to Dale Jarrett, one of NASCAR's most popular drivers.

But what Jarrett did last weekend in moving from his Ford team to one fielded by Japanese automaker Toyota in 2007 was enough to have Meyer cutting his longtime ties with DJ.

"That's it, he's done with me," said Meyer, a fan from Clearwater, Fla.

It's a sentiment Jarrett figures to hear often as he finishes his run at Robert Yates Racing, his home for the past 12 seasons. Jarrett said last Saturday he was joining Michael Waltrip Racing as a second Toyota entry.

Jarrett spoke with his father, championship driver Ned; and wife, Kelley, about the coming storm of change and "what impact it was going to have as far as the way I would be looked at in the circles here, what I had accomplished to this point."

Jarrett is well aware Ford and Robert Yates Racing helped him win 29 of his 32 races, two of his three Daytona 500s and the 1999 Nextel Cup championship. It also made Jarrett one of Ford's most popular racers, his good looks, wide smile and easy demeanor a hit with fans.

There have "already been people talking about the loyalty side of it, and I think I've been very loyal" to both Ford and RYR, Jarrett said.

Ford Racing Technology public affairs manager Kevin Kennedy said the company is seeing some "very negative reactions among our loyalists" to Jarrett's move, partly because it involves a Japanese company.

"The Toyota thing is a factor," he said. "If he had gone back to Joe Gibbs Racing, I'm not sure the backlash would have been the same."

And current NASCAR teams are concerned about the money they expect Toyota to spend on the Nextel Cup. RYR co-owner Doug Yates said his company matched Jarrett's first offer, so he could stay until retirement, but Jarrett chose to go.

"They made him an offer he couldn't refuse," Yates said. "Toyota's history and background is throwing a lot of money around, and here is one of those examples."

Car owner Jack Roush, whose five Nextel Cup entries all made the Chase for the championship last season, talked with his manufacturer, Ford, and NASCAR about the imbalance he believes is coming because of Toyota's money.

"Their fingerprints are all over what's happening. They are, in fact, raiding the garage," Roush says, "and that's going to have an impact.

"I'm going to be one of the organizations out there trying to frustrate them," Roush said. "But certainly the money is a big challenge right now."

For the 49-year-old Jarrett, the move solidified his future _ he's been promised a role when his racing days end. But the change jarred Jarrett fans who proudly wear their loyalty on their sleeves _ and caps and T-shirts.

"I know what he said, but I hope he changes his mind," said Eddie Lambert, a 26-year-old construction worker from Anderson, S.C. "I'm a Ford man and I want DJ to be with Ford."

Other Jarrett fans such as Dave Kreischer of Van Wert, Ohio, wish their favorite driver well with his new venture and expect to pull for him just as hard when he takes the track next season in a Toyota Camry.

NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter points out that race fans followed Bill Elliott when he switched from Ford to Dodge late in his career.

Meyer said he might have stuck with DJ if he'd moved to U.S. brands Chevrolet or Dodge. "It might have made a difference," he said. "I don't know."

Jarrett says he gets shouts, letters and e-mails from fans _ some of whom have paid $104.99 for a Dale Jarrett jacket or $29.99 for a Jarrett BBQ grill cover, and can't fathom the racer's decision.

"They all think they know what you should do with your future," he said, chuckling.

When he wisecracked recently at Richmond about consulting his dog over the Toyota offer, fans shot back that he should talk to his wife.

"They didn't understand it was a joke," Jarrett said.

[nascarnutz2]

Man it's hard to belive he is going to make this move. And it's even harder to belive that Toyota is going to be in the cup!!! It will be pretty interesting to see how this all goes down next year. I am not sure if this is going to hurt nascar or help them but I guess only time will tell.

[dalejrfan]

i dont really like the ideal of them being in nascar but here is what Jack Roush thinks about it


Local papers contributing: Winston-Salem Journal, The Kansas City Star, The Tennessean

Toyota gives Roush a different kind of feeling

The deal: Jack Roush thinks there is parity in the Nextel Cup Series. He's not so sure that will last once Toyota joins the fray, writes Mike Mulhern of the Winston-Salem Journal.

It's another change on the horizon, along with the Car of Tomorrow, that has the 19-year Cup owner hesitant about the future.

"As far as Toyota ... if it does what it's done historically, it will bring a new dimension of manufacturer involvement," said Roush, who estimates Toyota will bring a larger revenue percentage to its teams.

If they do that here, they will put Ford, GM and Chrysler in a situation where they either may choose not to or may not be able to match the money that Toyota is bringing in. And that could upset parity that has been the basis for the competition among manufacturers that has been good for the series and really good for NASCAR and its fans."

Roush said it will be up to NASCAR to keep Toyota in line.

Why we care: Jim Aust, Toyota's racing boss, says the manufacturer won't use any economic advantage, but Roush isn't so sure.

"Toyota has a lot of money right now, and a great opportunity to become a bigger player in the American economy, to the detriment of the traditional player," Roush said. "So I see an economic problem."

Which is where NASCAR comes in.

"If NASCAR lets them spend the money and change the model and upset the parity, NASCAR has to stop and think about what all that means," Roush said. "Is NASCAR willing to let this become a Toyota series?

"If NASCAR manages to get in front of Toyota, it will be the first time NASCAR has ever gotten in front of an engine manufacturer who has brought something new into this sport, and that goes back more than 50 years. Whatever somebody brings in, NASCAR has reacted to, but they've yielded to it, allowed the obsolescence of much of the technology that already existed. And I expect that will happen with Toyota in the Cup Series, too."