With the 2007 Daytona 500 firmly in the books, the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series turns its attention to the next 35 races on the 2007 schedule, starting with the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway this weekend. California Speedway is the first of what teams consider a "down force" or "intermediate" track. It is the first such track of the 11 down force tracks on the Nextel Cup Series schedule. With the down force tracks making up a large chunk of the schedule, crew chief Matt Borland considers this weekend's race a most important one for Team UPS and Michael Waltrip Racing.
"We've got four down force tracks in the first two months," Borland explained. "It's going to be really big because that's 18 of the 36 races where we'll compete this year. Last week was last week and even though it's the Daytona 500, we only do that kind of racing four times a year. Everyone wants to come out strong and run good at Daytona and think that's key to the whole season when in actuality it has very little to do with it. This weekend is when the performances really become important because this type of racing is the bulk of the schedule."
The Auto Club 500 is scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. PST start this Sunday in Fontana, Calif.
Jarrett Discusses Racing at California Speedway
What are your thoughts for this weekend's race in California?
"It's a great track for racing and we're obviously anxious to get there and see where we are with our down force program. Going into this year we knew we had a lot of work to get ready and that the down force program was going to be important for this team because it is a new team. We feel like we learned some things at the Las Vegas test that will help us. The biggest thing is that we came out of that test with a direction we felt like we needed to go down as far as setting up the cars for this type of racing. I know that Michael (Waltrip) and his team are trying a different direction and that is going to be good for us from an informational standpoint. If we or one of our other teams figures that maybe we need to change the way we're setting up our cars, we have the ability to do that as the season continues so that is another benefit I think we'll see with this three-car operation."
How has the relationship with Toyota and other Toyota teams been so far?
"It's gone well. Obviously this is a weekend where we're all probably going to see that working relationship become more of an asset. Daytona is such a different type of racing but we'll obviously be able to lean on our teammates at Michael Waltrip Racing as well as the other Toyota teams and the team that will be at the speedway from Toyota Racing D. It's been an open relationship so far with the testing we have done and I think it will prove to be a valuable tool as the season progresses."
UPS Racing Team Notes of Interest
- California Speedway is one of seven tracks at which Jarrett has yet to win on the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series circuit.
- Jarrett's best finish at California Speedway is fifth place - a finish he earned during the track's only Nextel Cup Series race in 1999.
- Jarrett is one of a handful of drivers who have competed in all 13 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races that have taken place at California Speedway since the series started racing at the two-mile track in 1997.
- Jarrett and UPS will make an announcement regarding a special program taking place in conjunction with the 133rd Kentucky Derby. The announcement will take place at California Speedway on Saturday, February 24, at 10 a.m. in the infield press conference room.
