|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NASCAR HALL-OF-FAME INDUCTION CEREMONYJanuary 29, 2014Ned JarrettDale JarrettCHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA KERRY THARP: Good evening, and welcome to our post‑Hall of Fame media session here tonight. Appreciate all the people from the news media being here this evening. Got a great crowd, and we appreciate everything that you folks do. It's my deep pleasure to introduce one of the newest members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and that's Dale Jarrett. He's got 32 Sprint Cup Series wins, three Daytona 500s, two Brickyard 400s. He always performed on the biggest stage, and he joins his father Ned as the fourth father‑son duo in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and Ned is kind enough to be up here with him this evening. Congratulations to the Jarrett family. I went to a function about a week ago out at Concord. It was a North Carolina Motorsports Industry Association event, and they honored the Jarrett family, and it was indeed a thrill to be out there that evening. Dale, congratulations on this award and this honor. Maybe just tell the folks here just your thoughts about being in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. DALE JARRETT: Well, you know, since May, it's obviously been a lot to think about when you know that you're going in. It just really kind of hit home as to what this is really about, and it's given me time to reflect on a lot of things, what it took, the hard work and efforts of myself and a lot of others to make this night happen. But I think the thing that struck me the most is I was able to for the first time really, since I quit driving, reflect on my career, how many people it took, all that it took, but just how close a few times, that this would never have happened and I wouldn't be sitting here in front of you tonight talking about that. But it was perseverance and hard work and effort, and I think that most every person and competitive person that you talk to would tell you the same thing, that they went through struggles at times. I was very fortunate to surround myself with a lot of good people. The last two days in particular as we did a little rehearsal yesterday, and at dinner last night, you realized the people that you're surrounded with that are a part of this, and it gave me even greater appreciation and understanding of what I'm a part of, and I'm very appreciative of that. KERRY THARP: Ned, certainly it's got to be a big moment here tonight for you, as well, having your son join you in the Hall of Fame. What does that mean knowing that one that you raised has joined you now in the NASCAR Hall of Fame? NED JARRETT: Well, it means a lot. You know, we all like to see our children do well and get honored for it. This is the ultimate. And to be the only pair living, a father‑son combination living, is very special to us, as well. And I understand that tonight I was the first dad to see his son inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and I can't tell you how special that is. Martha and I as parents, too, to be the first parents to see their son inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, that is very, very special to us. Q. Dale, you hit on this a little bit, but I know you rehearsed and I know you spoke, but when you got up there it was still extremely emotional for you. If you could just kind of tell us what that moment was like for you. DALE JARRETT: Yeah, you're right. Whenever I finally got my speech written, of course I could have talked a lot more. I knew everybody didn't want me to and I was on a time limit, but there was a lot that went in the trash can. But once I got it finalized, and whether I was at my office or at home alone going through it, I became very emotional with it because, especially with my family, but even with the Wood Brothers and the situation there, because literally without that phone call from Eddie Wood and having the opportunity that they gave me to get back in the Cup Series, who knows what may have happened. As I came here yesterday for rehearsal and I came back this morning, of course the seats weren't filled, they were just blue, but you could still see the banners on the wall. But I was able to get through it, read through, and we were trying to get it down, the timing right and everything, and I thought everything was pretty good, and I thought I had myself under control. I honestly started a little bit to get really emotional when Tony Stewart walked out on the stage. You've probably figured out for those of you that may listen to what we have to say. Hopefully you listen to some of it on ESPN. But I'm a huge fan of Tony Stewart. He is one of my best friends in the world. But I'm more of a huge fan. To know that he took the time to come here and say some very nice things and be a part of it meant a lot to me, and that kind of got me started on a downhill slide because I knew getting to my family part was probably going to be very difficult getting through that part. I think it all started hitting me that up until then, yeah, we had talked about it, but now the time was here. It does mean a lot to me because it's a situation that there are a lot of people that come through this sport, and I wish that all of them had this opportunity to know what this night feels like. None of us start out with this in mind. We do it as competitors, and you want to win, collect trophies, and someday make enough money to live on. Obviously it became much more than that, and I'm very appreciative of that. But this honor is tremendous. To have Tony and then Blake to lead in, I had no idea what Blake was going to say, so I was ready in a lot of different ways knowing him as a friend. That could have gone in a lot of different directions, and so the one that he chose, actually talking about his dad, who I had talked to on the phone, as he said, a few times, it got me more emotional then just knowing that he was talking about someone that's so special just like having my father and my hero here, too. It meant a lot to me for Blake to take the time and do that. That's what these friendships are about that this great sport has given us, a lot of us, that opportunity to make friends like that. Just to know, when it got to the point when you start thinking about sacrifices that other people made. Yeah, I missed a lot of my kids' things that they were doing at school and growing up, whether it was sports or academics or whatever it may be, but the sacrifices they made were just incredible. I probably won't be in front of an audience like that ever again for anything, and I'm glad that I had that opportunity, and I'm more than happy that I made it through it because it was getting difficult at times. Q. Your long answer sort of already answered my question. Blake's speech, it had a theme of father and son, and I think the first time you audibly got emotional on the stage was when you started to talk about your father and you started to thank him. Ned talked about what it was like for him in the audience to see. I'm just wondering your thoughts on what it was like to share this night with your dad, and Blake's speech kind of brought the whole thing together, this whole thing about family. DALE JARRETT: Yeah, you know, it's pretty amazing that Blake was able to kind of tie that in and get it kind of started. That just shows how much the country music industry and the good people in that industry like Blake and Miranda and others, they have that sense of family and the value that it is to them and what it means. And for him to start off like that really meant a lot. I honestly couldn't‑‑ I knew it was going to be difficult to look at my dad during that, so I couldn't look over there much.  My dad just talked about how proud you are of your kids, and I understand that feeling. I've had kids that I've watched play sports and do things and Jason always drove cars, and just to watch him do that, my girls compete on the basketball and soccer fields and gymnastics and everything and then my youngest son Zach, who's getting ready to start his baseball career here at UNC Charlotte, you just get so proud. I'm very appreciative of that. But I also know as a child and a 57‑year‑old one right now that there's not a lot that we can do that our parents will take for payment back for everything that they did for us in our lives to help us along our way, to give us that guidance that's needed. But in a small way, I feel like that this is something that I can give to them that they can be proud of just like dad said. That's kind of my present back to them. They'd never take money. That wouldn't mean anything. I can tell them all. But to have the opportunity on a night like this, for them to be here, be alive and be here and see it all happen means the world to me. Q. You followed probably in the footsteps of your father. I was wondering when you get the award if there's any chance to see one of your kids or the next generation of Jarrett carry on with the tradition in NASCAR racing. Is there a chance we'll see another Jarrett maybe coming in the future? DALE JARRETT: You know, there's a chance of that. I don't know what'll happen down the road, but obviously Jason, my oldest son, has ended his racing career a number of years ago. Still works in the sport. He's a spotter for Ryan Newman, works for me, does my scheduling and stuff. Really proud of Jason. He had a really good ARCA career, ran some Nationwide races and ran well, but decided to get out of that side. As I mentioned, Zach, who's 19, he's a baseball player, very good baseball player. He's on scholarship at UNC Charlotte. Before he actually started school when the draft was held in June for Major League Baseball we had a number of Major League Baseball teams at that point contact us about him going in the draft before he ever went to college, maybe not going to college, and he wanted to‑‑ we kind of all steered him away from that thinking he loves the idea of the college atmosphere, so I don't think he's going to drive. His mother would take him to any basketball court or baseball field or do anything he wanted, and it's not that she didn't appreciate what the sport has done for our family, but it's different when it's your son. Zach has never really shown the interest to do that. I do believe in my heart that I'll watch him play Major League Baseball in a couple years, and I look forward to that. And I have one grandson, and he's five years old so we don't know what he may do.  We'll have to see. Appropriate enough, though, his name is Ford Jarrett, so we'll see what comes along for Ford. Otherwise my girls aren't going to, I'll assure you. They work in New York City and have good jobs there. Could be the last time that you maybe see a Jarrett. Q. Ned, it's probably difficult if not impossible, but can you compare the afternoon you called Dale's win and how you felt tonight? Is there any way you could put that together? NED JARRETT: People ask many times, what was the highlight of your career. I said, are you talking about driving or you're talking about other career in broadcasting, too, and combining them together. And certainly that Daytona 500 in 1993 was one of certainly the top 5, probably top three. The situation tonight, this is the top of all of them. There's nothing to compare the feeling, the pride that I have as a dad and Martha and I have as parents for this here tonight. We've been so blessed in this sport to have things like this to happen to us, some great things happened in my career which allowed me to get inducted into the Hall of Fame, and then Dale's induction is another one of those great things. He's made us proud in a lot of ways, and this tops them all. Q. Dale, was just talking to Jason, and he talked about certainly some of the memories with you in victory lane, but he says some of the bigger memories are just riding home from the track with you, and he talked about just the conversations that took place in that car and maybe even stopping at home. Are there certain things that you remember about that or things that kind of stand out, those family bonding moments? And he also mentioned he wasn't sure if you remembered this story, was the morning of the '93 Daytona 500 when he forgot his pass as you were coming into the tunnel. Do you remember that story? DALE JARRETT: Oh, gosh, yeah. We have so many stories as a family and we don't mind talking about them. I get a little long‑winded as you may know at times. You know, it all goes back to the way we were brought up, and exactly what you were describing there could have been my childhood, too. Some of the most special times that I can remember as a kid was those opportunities that I had to travel to the races as my dad was possibly driving the tow truck or if I was just riding in a vehicle with him or if it was our entire family. But I can remember a number of times that it was just me going. That was just special times, to have that time with your dad. I knew that he traveled a lot. I didn't know that our life wasn't normal. I looked at everybody else and thought theirs was a little messed up. Just because my dad was gone a lot and did something different. It came full circle. Growing up I didn't intend to try to ever be what my dad was. Could never measure up to that anyway. But those were opportunities then that when you miss those times at home, you have a chance to talk, to get some life lessons because that's what I got a number of times in traveling with my dad, so I felt like that's the way I've been brought up and I needed to do that with Jason, and I had those opportunities. I do the same thing with Zach. I can tell you that the times with Jason with traveling, sometimes it was about mistakes I made driving the race car. These things I should have done different. And literally talking to him like one day that may be what he does. But there were things, too, that you could apply not only to driving a race car but whatever you did in life, and that's the things that I learned from my dad. The lessons that I learned from him were far more about life in general than they were about ever driving a race car and making a profession out of that. And so I felt like I needed to do that. I can tell you that just Monday night I had some of those same talks with Zach as we had dinner, went to a movie down here and I took him back to his dorm at UNC Charlotte and we had a chance to talk about things. That's things I enjoy as a dad but it's all because of this man sitting beside me because that's how I was brought up and that's what we did. I remember a little bit about that morning at Daytona of not having the pass, and of course it was always trying to get the kids where they needed to be and me trying to get to hospitalities and do all of that. But there was always something. When you have family and kids around, things are going to happen, and you just try to handle it. I tell people that the one reason that I'm pretty sure that Dale Earnhardt would agree with me on this, too, because he and I talked about it, I asked him when he first got a motor home why he did that, and I understood later, but it's almost like sometimes when you were staying in the hotels and had to get up so early and find somewhere for the kids to eat and get them breakfast and then you had to get to the track and then you were wanting to park somewhere and there was a guard with a gun for a day that didn't want you being there, a lot of times you were pissed off before you ever got to the race car part. A motor home took a lot of that away, but there were still things that happened to get you going through the day. It's great memories, and at the time it probably seemed like a big deal of going and trying to find Jason a pass and getting all that done, but it actually wasn't in the scheme of things, and my gosh, at the end of that day, what a thrilled to have my family there. I talk about the unique perspective that I had, especially with a lot of these Hall of Famers, and I could have literally talked on that for two or three minutes because it just goes so deep with that, with the relationships that I have and driving for and racing against and things, all the way back to when I was four years old around the racetrack. But it's those type of things that you really remember and you reflect back on and appreciate because that's really what life is about is being able to enjoy that, so the family time, that was our family time. I think back as a kid, what did you do on vacation, the July 4th race at Daytona. That was our vacation, we got to go to Daytona Beach. Q. I was going to ask this of Ned, but Dale, I'm going to ask you instead. I've known you for a long, long time, and I can remember a time in your racing where you almost didn't make it, okay. And your dad emotionally handled you in a way that kept you going. Can you talk about that a little bit? DALE JARRETT: Yeah, you're exactly right, and that goes a lot into what I say, that the lessons, the talks weren't necessarily in those times when things were difficult. I didn't have the money that I needed to race and sponsorship was going away and I was working 18, 20, 24 hours a day to try to make this happen. A lot of things weren't going well. I think I'm right about this, and I think I finished second like 11 times before I won. But there were a lot worse days than finishing second, too. The talks that we would have, the opportunities that I had to listen to him, again, were more about life and would apply to whatever. It wasn't pressure that you've got to get better, you've got to do this. I was successful, you can do this. It wasn't anything like that. It was lifting me up and helping me to understand, and he was the very first one when I decided‑‑ I can remember the first night when I drove in Hickory in 1977 that I was talking about, I started 24th in a 24‑car field because we didn't get there in time to qualify. I somehow in a 25‑lap race drove my way to ninth and had no idea what I was doing. I was fortunate as a kid to have some athletic ability. I won individual awards, I won team awards, I was very fortunate to experience all of that. But finishing 9th that night was the biggest thrill, and I said I don't know how I'm going to do this because we didn't have any money, we had nothing, and what money he may have had he wasn't going to spend on me to see if I could become a race driver. But it was those lessons and talking and not getting down and keeping a positive attitude because there's not a more positive person in the world than my dad, and that's been a huge influence on me throughout my career. I told him that night, this is what I want to do. I knew. But we had a short talk after that‑‑ it wasn't a short talk. We don't do those, as you can tell.  But he said, the reason I haven't pushed you maybe more to drive a race car is because of the pitfalls. The people, the very best in this, are on shaky ground all the time. You're only as good as your last race. The number of people that actually make a good living from this are very few. But he knew I was a competitor, and that's what I was. He knew that's what I wanted to do, so he helped in as many ways as he could. But it was those talks that got me through a lot of those difficult times. There were two people as my progression in the sport moved forward that I talked to, and obviously my dad was one of the first, and Kelly was the other. I could always know that I was going to get the honest answer from them. We talked after almost every single race until the day I quit driving. It wasn't always‑‑ there were some bad days in there, and he let me know that. Even on some pretty decent days as he was watching from the broadcast booth sometimes, he said, you know, if you would have done this, and it wasn't second‑guessing, it's just lessons. If you would try this or done this a little bit differently, that might have turned out in a little better way for you. So there were always lessons. It's continued on to when I broadcast, we talk about that, too. So I've been fortunate. I know not everyone is fortunate to have a father and maybe your father isn't still around if you had that, but I don't know that anybody has been more fortunate to have a life coach that is their dad and their hero and have all of that. Q. Dale, not everybody gets the speed genes. A lot of second generation, especially motorsports, and third generation, and not only that you've got communication genes, too. What traits do you think that you got from your dad that helped you in those fields? And Ned, what traits did you want to give him that would help him be a success? DALE JARRETT: We talk about it being a family sport, and you look at it and wonder because we do see so many father‑son combinations, and sometimes it's a tough act to live up to when your dad is Ned Jarrett or was Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt, whatever the case may be. You're taking a big chance of always being compared there. There are no guarantees, and I don't know‑‑ I think that what makes our sport different, and I could be totally wrong on this, but driving a race car is something you can't acquire the ability to do that through hard work, effort and some intelligence to do that. In other sports, we might not see as much as what we see in NASCAR because there's a certain ability that you have to have in your body to be a football player and a quarterback or a baseball player and an outstanding shortstop or whatever it may be. You have to have some of that, and you might not necessarily get that. Now, I don't know what the genes are that we get, but we get a competitive spirit, I can assure you of that, and that goes a long way. In a my case I got a lot of good teaching along the way that helped me to understand things. Not everybody gets that. Being very professional and one of the best ever at doing his job as an analyst, but to do it and watch your son, I can't even imagine how that would be. I've watched Jason race, but that was just basically being a spotter or something, not having to keep up with the rest of the race and do the job that he did. I don't know, we've been blessed to be able to talk‑‑ if I can tell you something aside from just the fact of the life lessons that I learned from him and the opportunity to listen to him and watching how he lived his life, he didn't require me to do a whole lot or insist on some things that I do it the way that he said, but there was one thing that he tells you, and he's told this story many times, that he took the Dale Carnegie course early on in the 60s because he saw the need to talk to sponsor and be able to speak in front of groups. He pretty much insisted that I go take that whenever I was starting my racing career, and it was money well spent and a lesson well learned. Maybe they taught us too well and they didn't tell us the part of when to shut up. I can assure you, I don't know the genes for driving and being able to communicate that, too, but I had a good teacher. NED JARRETT: Well, when I was growing up on the farm and working a sawmill 70‑some years ago, I'm 81 now, talking into a microphone would have been the farthest thing from my mind. No one could have done enough talking or anything to make me believe that that might happen some day. I was the most bashful kid in town‑‑ well, not in town, we lived in the country, but I was the most bashful guy in our country school. If I talked to you in those days I looked down at the ground. I didn't look you in the face like a person should. Then that Dale Carnegie course turned things around for me. After I won the championship in 1961 I vowed that I'd win that championship again, and I'd be better prepared the next time to represent my family and my sport in a better way than I did at the 1961. So we were fortunate enough to win it again, and I was better prepared. We have to take into consideration all the good things that he has said‑‑ he was only nine years old when I quit driving race cars. Now, I know he did go with me to races a lot, just he and I, and that's something that I treasure to this day. But I didn't realize that he was learning as much at that age as he was just going with me to the races and playing out in the infield with Larry Pearson and Kyle Petty and some of the others. He was a great student of the sport, and he certainly taught me things along the way after that. But for us to go down the same path, that's double meaningful as far as I'm concerned because not many dads can say that their son followed in their footsteps, period. I know there are a lot, but it's probably got a bigger percentage. And then to have two careers and having to go down the same path is very meaningful. He's better than I was, a lot better. He's got better equipment to work with. Back in those early days, I'm so thankful to have been there when radio broadcasting first began and was able to learn along with that and grow with it, and then television the same way. I've just been blessed in so many different ways to have a great family and some great careers. Even though there were a lot of struggles, it was all worthwhile. KERRY THARP: Congratulations to Dale Jarrett. Certainly a big moment tonight for the Jarrett family, Ned and both of y'all. Certainly not only Hall of Famers in NASCAR but Hall of Famers in life, and we appreciate you being here. DALE JARRETT: Before I go, I don't know if I'll address this group again or not because none of us know our path, but can I say that I appreciate the fairness that you all treated me with throughout the years. I know there were times that maybe I wasn't too cooperative, but I tried to be as much as possible, but you all have been very fair to me, and I certainly appreciate that. It has meant the world to me. I like being on this side kind of with you now, but I am very appreciative of you said a lot of nice things about myself and my family, and it's very much appreciated. You're all professionals, and I appreciate being a part of that with you. Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|