In a race where tempers flared, Dale Jarrett kept his cool and finished the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in the 20th spot to remain in the top-10 in the point standings.
Indicative of short-track racing, the #88 UPS Ford Fusion sustained many bumps and bruises throughout the 500-lap race, including the front fenders, the rear television panel and the front nose.
In the waning laps as he began to make his move toward the front, Jarrett found himself sideways coming off turn four with less than 50 laps remaining. Although he was able to save the Fusion from any further damage, Jarrett lost several positions, falling from 17th to 21st.
"I just got a little impatient there with about 45 to go and with the car pushing I got under Jeremy," Jarrett said after the event. "When I got to the gas the car pushed up into him and I turned to stay off of him and about lost it. That cost us four or five spots. I thought we could run in the top-10 here, but that didn't happen."
After starting 15th, Jarrett kept the UPS Ford in the top-20 throughout the first half of the race. He moved into the top-10 after pit stops tightened up the chassis, making it easier to pass. Halfway through the race, he was in 10th position, but fell to 22nd after sustaining some left front damage during an accident on lap 287.
As the race continued, Jarrett fought for track position and moved back into the top 15 by lap 340. He held his ground and subsequent pit stops continued to improve the car's handling. Running 18th when a spin occurred in front of the #88 UPS Ford, Jarrett had nowhere to go and ran into the back of another competitor. Still running in the top-20, Jarrett was poised and ready to go when the green flag dropped with less than 50 laps to go. After the restart, Jarrett aggressively maneuvered through traffic but found himself settling for 20th after he couldn't regain the ground lost from the near spin.
Jarrett's RYR teammate, Elliott Sadler, had a solid day and completed the race in the 13th position. Running in the top-10 along with Jarrett for most of the day, Sadler's finish moved him to 11th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings, 197 points out of first.
Kurt Busch took the checkered flag, leading the final five laps after moving leader Matt Kenseth up the track. Although he finished third, Kenseth took over the points lead after previous point leader Jimmie Johnson encountered trouble early in the race. Jarrett lost one position in the standings and is now 10th. Jarrett is 189 points out of first place and eight points ahead of his teammate.
Kevin Harvick, Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Bobby Labonte rounded out the top five.
NASCAR Nextel Cup Series teams travel to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway next weekend for the DIRECTV 500. FOX will provide live television coverage of the event that will start at 1:30 p.m. EST.
