TODAY: Friday, May 12
	Yates takes restrictions off Jarrett, Rudd By Bill Weber Special to ESPN.com
	There are two names that should come up in a lot of the pre-race conversations as we close in on the Diehard 500 this weekend in Talladega, Ala. Two teammates that could deliver quite a punch in the race to the checkered flag on Sunday -- Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd. Both are talented drivers surrounded by quality teams, and both will race in cars powered by muscle-bound engines from car owner Robert Yates. Jarrett will be one of the favorites at the restrictor-plate superspeedway. He should be. He has won at Talladega before, taking home an extra $1 million bonus when he won the Winston 500 in the fall of 1998. Talladega should give Dale Jarrett a needed lift this weekend. Jarrett also has four wins at "restricted" Daytona, including one just two months ago to start the season, where again he took home a $1 million bonus in the Daytona 500. In fact, Jarrett is a three-time Daytona 500 winner, an honor that somehow seems to get lost in his growing list of accomplishments. Rudd has never won more than two races in a season, but he has 20 career wins. He has never won at Talladega, or Daytona. But he could change all that Sunday afternoon. Jarrett and Rudd have the coveted Yates power in common. But they have something else in common, something that is just as important as those space shuttle engines that Robert and Doug Yates produce. It's hard to get any driver to admit that they like restrictor-plate racing, but both of these drivers will confess that with a good car, on a good day, it can be an excillerating challenge. "I kind of enjoy it," said Rudd. "But, in the big picture, as far as the points are concerned and the season is concerned, were you're back there in a pack and all those cars are moving around, the only thing your thinking about is trying to avoid any trouble and finish the race with the car in one piece." Rudd has some extra pieces left over from Sunday's run in Martinsville, a race that I believe the team, and the driver, felt they could win. I think Rudd's confidence is climbing, and he should have a shot on Sunday. But, even if he runs well without winning, as long as he brings the car home in one piece, it's another step closer to winning, and maybe a few steps higher in the points. Jarrett has said that the difference in his performance in the past, and his performance in recent restrictor-plate races is, simply, the car. The better the car, the better the performance. The better the car, the better the confidence. Jarrett has come to Talladega for many years and only won once. But now, every race, if you're going to win at Talladega, you're going to have to beat the 88 car. Sunday's race in Jarrett's 27th start at the 2.66-mile track, and he will be looking to go 2-for-2 in the 2000 "plate" races. He finished second in both races at this track last year -- behind that other Dale both times. In 1998 he finished third, and won the Winston 500. That's a pretty good record. Those are pretty good cars! "Talladega is probably one of the best races we have every year," said Jarrett, the reigning Winston Cup champion. "It seems that there are always 15 or 20 cars that can win, and ours is usually one of those. We've been fortunate to not only win there, but also challenge for victories in a number of races. We did finished second to Earnhardt in both races last year. It is always a good track for Robert Yates and his cars." That's the past, now how about the future? "Now that they have changed the rules a little bit from Daytona, it will be interesting to see how that changes the competition," Jarrett said. "But I can't imagine it will be much different from years past when we've had a pack of 30 or 35 cars and it basically comes down to positioning yourself for the end of the race. "Really the first 400, 425 miles are just basically for getting your car set up and getting in position to race those last 75 miles. You've got to then out-smart everyone or out-think and out-guess everyone in what you need to do to find yourself in the front in the end. "The guy in front knows that's a good place to be. The guy in second is probably in the second-best spot. But behind them, you've got to try and make something happen, because you're not going to pull out and pass those guys all by yourself." “ Talladega is probably one of the best races we have every year. It seems that there are always 15 or 20 cars that can win, and ours is usually one of those. We've been fortunate to not only win there, but also challenge for victories in a number of races. ” — Dale Jarrett Jarrett's win at Daytona looked like a peaceful Sunday afternoon drive with two minor exceptions -- no CD player and it was at nearly 200 mph. "I have had people tell me that the win at Daytona looked easy," Jarrett told me earlier this year. "But, I was really working hard to keep those guys behind me because I knew if they did get around me it was going to be extremely difficult to pass them back. "Even though there are some handling issues you face at Talladega, they are not magnified nearly as much as they are at Daytona. The corners are much wider and you have a lot more room at Talladega to race two- and three- and sometimes four-wide. It is a place that if you are off just a little bit with your set-up you can be okay. You can still race. At Daytona, if the car starts to lose one end or the other it is hard to make up that difference, where at Talladega you stay pretty much wide-open all the time." Restrictor-plate racing at Talladega is as much about style as it is about speed. It is a track where tight racing overshadows an underplayed tradition -- this is a track where winners win. In the last 22 races at the Talladega Superspeedway, there have been 11 different winners. Jimmy Spencer has two career victories, Sterling Marlin has five career wins. Nine of the 11 winners have posted at least a dozen career Winston cup victories. This place is all about experience because Talladega is a track where mind is just as important as your motor. The schedule says you have to race there, your head better tell you that you want to race there, because when the competition is this close. And losers are often beaten before the race even starts. Both Rudd and Jarrett have the car, the crew and the confidence to get the big job done this weekend. One more thing. For Jarrett, his big weekend at this big track also includes being honored as "Driver of the Year" at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame induction ceremony. That means he had to bring along a tuxedo on this trip. He hopes to bring home a trophy from Victory Lane and become the first two-time race winner in 2000.		ALSO SEE Kernan: Talladega should be good show Smaller plates mean bigger challenges for teams at Talladega Weber's mailbag: April 27 Ask Bill Weber Diehard 500 Breakdown Furr: Talladega is no Martinsville