Starting on the front row next to pole sitter and teammate David Gilliland, Dale Jarrett fought hard during the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway after leading the first lap, going a lap down mid-way through the race and then rebounding to finish 12th on Sunday afternoon.
Jarrett and the #88 UPS Racing Team knew their Ford Fusion was strong as it moved through the field at ease during the start of the 188-lap race. He remained in the top five for the first 20 laps before settling into the back of the pack. Staying out of harms way, Jarrett was able to move back into the main draft at will and took off when he wanted to.
Following a caution on lap 75, Jarrett restarted in the 32nd position when the 19 car lost control momentarily, but just enough to slow the #88 UPS Ford. Losing the lead draft, he continued to lose ground on the leader and went a lap down during the 124th circuit.
"There wasn't much I could do when the 19 car started to spin," said Jarrett. "I had to check up and that slowed my momentum. Riding around without drafting help really hurt us during the middle of the race."
Hoping to be the first car one lap down to earn the "Lucky Dog" pass, Jarrett quickly moved toward the front on the restart on lap 134. When the caution occurred 14 laps later, he earned his spot back on the lead lap and was poised for another top Talladega finish.
With 38 laps remaining, the UPS crew serviced the Ford Fusion for the final time, packing the car with gas knowing it would be another close fuel mileage race. Restarting in the 26th position, Jarrett wasted no time moving through the field and was back into the top-10 by lap 165. Another late caution closed the field back up and with 10 laps to go the race restarted with Jarrett running in the 11th position. From this point, it was a matter of finding a drafting partner and taking the chance of falling out of line.
As the leaders took the white flag, Jarrett had dropped to the inside and was forcing his way to the front before an accident involving the leaders on turn three brought out the yellow and checkered flag which froze the field in their current positions.
"I waited just a second too late to make my final move," said Jarrett. "The No. 7 car went to my inside as I was planning on making my move and blocked me. Then cars started spinning in front of us and the race ended before I could charge toward the front. We had a strong car all day and it was a matter of putting myself in the right position late in the race."
Gilliland and the #38 M&M'S® Team kept themselves in the mix during the entire race to finish in the 15th position. In a race that saw six cautions for a total of 22 laps, Gilliland was positioned in the top 25 for most of the afternoon before making his move toward the front late in the race where he was posted as high as third with only 38 laps remaining.
Brian Vickers scored his first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory as he missed his spinning teammate in the #48 car and the fan-favorite #8 car heading to the checkered flag. He was followed by Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr.
As far as the Chase for the Championship goes, Jeff Burton holds onto a slim lead in the point standings after late race trouble relegated him to a 27th-place finish. With many of the other "Chasers" experiencing trouble, Kenseth moved into the second spot followed closely by teammate Mark Martin in third. A total of 51 points separate the top five drivers with six races remaining in the season.
The points picture for Robert Yates Racing improved following good runs this weekend as Jarrett moved into the 23rd spot in the point standings while Gilliland jumped one to 43rd.
The only night race scheduled during the "Chase for the Championship," the Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte, N.C., is scheduled to begin Saturday night at 7 p.m. NBC is providing live network television broadcast of the event with PRN broadcasting the radio coverage.
