Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

NASCAR America: Dale Jarrett on restrictor plates at Indy -- ‘An awful idea’

ZVMfQFCxn0pn
After NASCAR made the decision to use restrictor plates for an Xfinity Series race in July, Dale Jarrett discusses why he thinks it is a terrible idea for the sport and the racers.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett makes no bones about his feelings that NASCAR is expected to use restrictor plates in July’s Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“It’s an awful idea, in my opinion,” Jarrett said on Monday’s edition of NASCAR America.

Jarrett knows what he’s talking about. He’s a two-time winner (1996, 1999) of the Brickyard 400 at Indy and a seven time top-10 finisher at the 2.5-mile IMS in 13 career Cup starts.

MORE: NASCAR will use restrictor plates at Indy, could Michigan and Pocono be on the horizon?

However, if NASCAR likes how plates work in the Xfinity race at Indy, don’t be surprised if NASCAR also uses them in the Cup race there in 2018.

Again, Jarrett disagrees.

“Taking horsepower away, that’s the one thing a driver can utilize to make passes at a racetrack that is so flat,” Jarrett said. “We tried restrictor plates one time at New Hampshire. Jeff Burton led every single lap of that race and went on to win.

“It was a terrible race except for Jeff Burton. He was the only one that thought it was good that day.”

Jarrett is definitely a proponent of keeping cars plate-free at Indy.

“Taking power away, I think is a bad idea,” he said. “There are other options, I think. Open the aerodynamic rules some, that’s where you’re going to get more passing involved. But let them have the horsepower trying to do it.

“I just don’t like this idea, as you can tell.”