The UPS Ford started the weekend in Kansas out slow, but the UPS Team tweaked the machine and found a handling package that allowed driver Dale Jarrett to compete in the top 15 to top-20 positions throughout the majority of the Banquet 400. In addition to a decent run, the team gambled on their fuel mileage during the closing stages of the race and secured a fourth-place finish as a result of the effort.
Jarrett and the #88 UPS Racing Team put together an atypical performance at a track where finishing the race has been anything but typical. The team has failed to finish three out of the previous five races run at Kansas Speedway.
Starting the race in 32nd position, Jarrett remarked early on that the car had a different "feel" than he had experienced behind the wheel of the UPS Ford Fusion all weekend. The car teetered between loose and tight handling throughout much of the event with the handling being a tick tight, but also free enough to be able to get through the corners at a decent rate. A perfect balance between the two handling situations never developed throughout the 267-lap event, but Jarrett was able to maneuver the UPS Ford through the field throughout the event.
As the laps wound down in the race, crew chief Butch Hylton elected to make a gamble: that Jarrett had enough fuel for the nearly 68 laps left in the race. A gutsy call and a smooth foot enabled Jarrett to cover the odds on the gamble and deliver a fourth-place finish for Team UPS.
"The car probably drove better than it had all weekend," Jarrett said. "We had a top-15 car which is a nice change of pace. We didn't have anything to lose there at the end and decided to gamble on the fuel so we were able to take a finish that was going to be all right and turn it into a really good finish. We'll take it anyway we can at this point but it was a good day."
David Gilliland and the #38 M&M'S® Team started the event in 20th position and Gilliland found the early going of the race tough as he slid through the field. A loose-handling race car resulted in Gilliland bringing out the fifth caution on lap 67 when he spun. Gilliland kept the #38 M&M'S Fusion away from the wall and was able to continue in the race. He finished the day with a 22nd-place effort.
Tony Stewart avoided the several cautions that plagued the 267-lap event and coasted to the victory as he ran out of gas on the last lap to score the win. As far as the Chase for the Championship goes, Jeff Burton continues to lead the point standings and has increased the margin by 69 points over rookie Denny Hamlin who sits second in the point standings. The points picture for Robert Yates Racing remains the same as Jarrett continues to hold down the 24th-place spot in the point standings while Gilliland moves to 44th.
The "wild card" in the Chase for the Championship takes place next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway where Jarrett and the #88 UPS Racing Team are the reigning race winners of the UAW-Ford 500. The final restrictor-plate race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season takes place next Sunday at 1:10 p.m. CDT. NBC is providing the live network television broadcast of the event that begins at 12:30 p.m. CDT with their pre-race show.
