Robert Yates says there are several factors that have led to the problems within his race team. Credit: Autostock

Yates not giving up faith after team's departures

Pledges to rebuild organization, likely under son's command

LONG POND, Pa. -- Robert Yates was angered when FOX Sports analyst Darrell Waltrip recently said his Nextel Cup program is beyond repair after losing drivers Dale Jarrett and Elliott Sadler.

Neither Dale Jarrett nor Elliott Sadler will drive for Robert Yates next year. Credit: Autostock

YATES RACING HEADLINES •   Sadler leaving Robert Yates Racing at end of year •   Smithson: Sadler made right call by leaving Robert Yates •   D'Hondt fired as RYR restructuring takes form •   Jarrett joining Waltrip Racing to drive Toyotas in 2007 •   UPS sponsorship to follow Jarrett to Waltrip Racing NASCAR TodayElliott Sadler is out at RYR at season's end Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

"I lived in a Scottish Inn in Daytona Beach for a year because Darrell got me down there," said the owner of Robert Yates Racing.

"I helped him get his first 35 wins. He don't have to say that I'm never going to fix it. He can say I suck. He can report the facts. But he can bite my ass when he says I'll never get it fixed."

• The facts, Yates said Friday at Pocono Raceway, are the deal Jarrett got from Michael Waltrip Racing and Toyota was too good to pass up.

• The facts, he said, are Sadler began thinking about a change last year when Jamie McMurray told him how much money he got to move from Chip Ganassi Racing to Roush Racing.

• The facts, he said, are it was a mistake to allow former general manager Eddie D'Hondt to write a contract so poorly that Sadler had an easy out and that he offered Sadler more money to stay.

• The facts, he said, are he needs to be more involved in the engine program and allow son, Doug, to take over the day-to-day ownership duties.

• The facts, he said, are he never considered selling and can't wait for the day when RYR is on top again.

"You don't have to look around very far to see somebody less fortunate than we are," Yates said. "I cannot feel sorry for myself. Maybe sometimes I do. Sometimes I get down on myself and I'll walk around all slumped over, kicking the dirt and saying, 'Why me? Why me? I didn't sign up to be a car owner.'

"But you know what? I'm not broke. So it's not bad."

Yates recalled the tumultuous years after his split from legendary car owner Junior Johnson when describing how he feels when people say his organization is in ruins.

"That thing with Junior, not speaking for 15 years, that fired my ass up," he said.

	Elliott Sadler is 20th in the standings, while Dale Jarrett is 24th. Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Dale Jarrett and Elliott Sadler in 2005 and 2006   Jarrett Sadler Wins 1 0 Top-5s 4 2 Top-10s 9 16 Poles 1 5 Laps Led 8 420 Avg. Start 23.1 16.2 Avg. Finish 20.3 19.3 • Jarrett statistics, click here • Sadler's statistics, click here

Yates is fired up about the future of RYR. He's confident the organization that won a title in 1999 with Jarrett can return to the top the way Richard Childress Racing has this season after several lean years.

One solution is for him to become more involved in building cars and engines, something he got away from the past three years.

"I've been in a two-year deal with the sponsors," Yates said. "I was sweating out the M&Ms contract last year and the UPS contract this year. I've never done that.

"For two years I haven't been able to put my head on and participate as far as the engine program, just because I've always been sweating those deals."

He said that will change immediately.

"I feel like three years ago I went to the backseat," Yates said. "Then the last two years I've been in the trunk. I want to get back up front and try to steer the thing in the right direction."

Yates said this is the perfect time to surrender more control to his son because RYR basically is starting over with a clean slate.

"Doug is the generation that needs to be the owner and the guy that fights his butt off for it," Yates said. "I want to transition that to him."

Yates confirmed that Stephen Leicht, who is running his first Cup race this weekend, is in line for one of his rides. He said Ward Burton, who has been away from the sport for almost two years, is a candidate for the other.

Yates said the problem with Burton is that his sponsors -- M&Ms for sure and likely Citifinancial -- prefer a younger driver.

"We know 100 percent what we want to do," said Yates, saying he would sign Burton today if Burton had a sponsor. "Hopefully, we'll close on that quickly."

Yates said there's almost a sense of relief in the organization now that it's definite both Sadler and Jarrett won't return.

"At least they've quit telling me they want to go," he said. "It's like your wife wanting to leave you all the time, when she finally leaves it's final. You quit being wishy-washy about the deal."

Yates wasn't surprised when Sadler came to him this week and asked to be released from the final two years of his contract.

"When Jamie McMurray told him how much money he was going to make he's been strung out since then," Yates said. "It's got him so unfocused.

"That's just my opinion. I'm sure he doesn't feel that way, but that's when I noticed it."

Sadler said leaving had more to do with performance and the direction of the organization.

	Stephen Leicht qualified 36th for Sunday's Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono. Credit: Autostock
	SPEED OF LEICHT Stephen Leicht will make his Cup Series debut in the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono. Robert Yates confirmed Leicht is likely a candidate for a 2007 Cup ride.  •   Complete story, click here

One of the concerns he and Jarrett had were the lack of engineers. Jarrett said RYR has six full-time engineers compared to 15 to 20 for some of the more successful organizations.

"I just have a different opinion on which way the sport is going than those guys did," Sadler said. "I couldn't really make myself buy into the system and which way I think the company is going."

Sadler declined to speculate on reports that he's headed to the No. 19 Dodge at Evernham Motorsports.

"I know there's a lot of speculation and stuff, but as of right now I do not have a ride for next year," he said.

Yates said Sadler's contract was written too vague, referring to a clause that allowed either side to break the deal if the team didn't perform. Sadler, who hasn't won a race since 2004, is 20th in points.

"I didn't like the contract," Yates said. "It wasn't written by a professional."

Yates also didn't like the philosophical differences he had with the writer, who was fired a few months ago. One of the differences involved D'Hondt wanting to develop drivers in lower series.

"He wanted to pretty much follow Jack Roush's deal," Yates said. "The difference between Jack and myself is he could do numbers. I'm a one-track mind and he's a multiple-track deal. I can't focus on so many different things."

Yates isn't sure he wants to focus on NASCAR full time. He hinted there may be another job outside the sport, perhaps in Washington, that would allow him to develop better engines and fuel alternatives for the entire automotive industry.

"There is one other job that I would love to have other than what I do," he said. "I've got a great fallback. The other job, if I get it, you'll write about me a lot more than you do for this job.

"This sport can contribute so much to the whole world and the way we think and the way we use energy. We really need somebody pushing that deal."

Meanwhile, Yates will do his best to return RYR to the top.

"Everybody talks about a few bumps in the road," Yates said. "Well, I expected that. What kills you are those Waltrips."