Dale Jarrett will have to use the champion's provisional to start Sunday's Daytona 500, but he happily does so, as he will be joined in the 49th running of the "great American race" by both of his teammates at Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) - Michael Waltrip and rookie driver David Reutimann. Waltrip raced his way into the Daytona 500 during the first of Thursday's Gatorade Duel 150s, while Reutimann will start the race as a result of his lap time during Sunday's qualifying session.
Jarrett started the first of Thursday's duels from 25th place. Throughout the 60-lap race Jarrett battled a slight handling problem that made the UPS Toyota tight. The bigger issue of the day, however, was the fuel mileage problem. Jarrett made several pit stops during the first 30 laps in an effort to top off the fuel tank in order to make it to the end of the race. Combining that with the slight handling issue turned out to be a major challenge for the former NASCAR champion.
"We've got some work to do in a couple different areas," Jarrett said following the first of the two races. "The car didn't drive bad but we experienced awful fuel mileage and it kept making me come back in, which put me at the back of the pack again. We never did get the longer runs that we needed with our car and obviously the sun didn't shine either. There at the end I had myself in the position to drive up there if I could have gotten myself in the middle or the outside lane to get one of those two spots. But Michael was in the bottom lane and that was just not an option for me to go push somebody by him. We've got a little work to do, but we're not that far off."
Jarrett finished 18th in the first Duel while his car owner Waltrip finished eighth. Reutimann, who makes his first career start in the Daytona 500 this Sunday, was named as one of the starting field of drivers despite not finishing the second of the Gatorade Duels due to an electrical issue. As a result of cars that qualified in front of the #00 Domino's Toyota finishing high enough in the Duels, Reutimann became the next driver to make the Daytona 500 based on qualifying time.
"It is pretty phenomenal," Reutimann said of making the Daytona 500. "I've been dreaming about this my whole life. Just down the road here, an hour and forty-five minute drive, I grew up and we'd come up and watch these great races. Now, to be able to come out and be in the 500 for Domino's and Michael Waltrip Racing - that was our goal coming down here. There are a lot of good teams down here and this is a difficult race to make and I'm just blessed that we are in it."
The effort for MWR capped off a tumultuous week for the organization in which Waltrip and the #55 NAPA Team were levied with a hefty NASCAR fine that includes the loss of 100 driver and car owner points and a $100,000 fine for a suspicious substance found in the intake manifold of the car. Jarrett said the result of Thursday's race was a welcome event for the three-car team.
"As bleak as everything might have looked, right now we're on top of the world," Jarrett said. "I told Michael (Waltrip) before this race that if anybody could drive it in it would be him. He went out and did it. This is just huge for our entire race team. When the boss of your company isn't happy, things aren't looking too good for everybody else. He just took a tremendous load off of himself and everybody else now that all three of the Michael Waltrip Racing Toyotas are in the race."
FOX is carrying the live broadcast of the Daytona 500 this Sunday. The green flag for the race is scheduled to wave at 3:15 p.m. EST.
