The team overcorrected a tight-handling condition on the UPS Ford Fusion early in the 400-mile race at Las Vegas, creating a loose-handling issue. After starting from the 15th position, Jarrett competed in the 16th to 20th positions for much of the event, climbing to 11th place with a two-tire stop in the first half of the race.
The UPS Ford fell to 24th place due to a pit stop problem during the fourth caution period on lap 155 but was able to move the UPS Ford back into the top-20. The final caution of the race came out on lap 264, requiring another green, white, checkered flag finish. The UPS Team was one of a handful that stayed out, putting the UPS Ford Fusion in 11th place for the restart. Cars with fresher tires took advantage and Jarrett was shuffled back to 19th place at the finale.
"We ran right around there all day," Jarrett said of the 19th-place finish. "It's what we've done for the last, well, all this year and about the last six months of last year, so we've got to find something. We're getting our tails kicked and you can't continue to do that."
Elliott Sadler and the #38 M&M's® Chocolate Candies Racing Team experienced much of the same as they struggled to climb through the field. Sadler battled loose-handling issues throughout the duration of the race, nearly losing a lap in the early stages of the event. Sadler was one of the drivers to stop for tires before the final race restart and made the most of them by climbing to 14th place by the drop of the checkered flag.
"We just made a call to get tires at the end," Sadler said. "We were a 23rd- or 24th-place car, and, I don't know, I think some of the guys got caught up up there on the restart, got to spinning their tires or something like that, and some of us on new tires got to come through, and I just went through on the inside. I followed Robby Gordon up through there. We didn't run like we think the M&M's Ford team should run. But, you know what? We're finishing laps, we're seeing the checkered flags, and until we can get this thing fixed and turn around where we can run in the top-10, we're doing the right thing by finishing."
Sadler was able to move up two positions in the point standings as a result of his finish and is now eighth. Jarrett, meanwhile, dropped two positions to 13th place.
NASCAR Nextel Cup Series point leader Jimmie Johnson took advantage of the overtime laps to make a pass by Matt Kenseth on the final lap to pick up the win at Las Vegas. It was back-to-back wins for Johnson and his second win of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season.
Atlanta Motor Speedway hosts the Nextel Cup Series next weekend for the Golden Corral 500. FOX will once again provide live television coverage of the Nextel Cup race beginning at 1 p.m. EST with the green flag dropping at 1:30 p.m. EST.
