It's no secret that the first two weeks of the 2007 season haven't been the kindest to Dale Jarrett and his #44 UPS Toyota Team. They have battled through 'growing pains' of being a new team with a new manufacturer in NASCAR's premiere series. A tough Daytona 500 week and mechanical issues in California have provided a few setbacks, but the team isn't discouraged and looks to the Las Vegas race for a bit of good fortune to get their season pointed in the right direction.
"It's great to see everyone's upbeat attitude around the shop," said Dale Jarrett, driver of the #44 UPS Toyota Camry. "I think everyone has the same feeling. It is very early in the season and we have so much potential with this team. Our goal for the first part of the season is to make sure that we're in the top 35 in points by Atlanta, and we're definitely capable of doing that with our current 27th-place position."
The UAW Daimler-Chrysler 400 is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. PDT start this Sunday.
Dale Jarrett Discusses Racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
What do you expect to see with the new changes to the banking at the track?
"Everything is good. There were a few bumps here and there for our test back in January. That's just what you learn about the racetrack. You learn to either negotiate around those or work on your car to maneuver over them. With the new banking, the track is extremely fast. As Michael (Waltrip) said before, there are already multiple grooves out there. That's a really good thing. They should be very beneficial to good racing this weekend."
How do you feel about your team's chances this weekend?
"I feel pretty good. You know, with the new banking on the track, all the teams are going to have to work off new notes for this weekend. Most of the teams got to test in January, and that definitely helped us learn a lot. But no one has actually raced on the new banking. Plus, Goodyear is bringing a new tire to this race and NASCAR has us running smaller fuel cells. So I think the learning curve between the teams is going to be a little tighter. Matt (Borland) has the car ready to unload with some changes from our January test. I think if we can just keep our nose clean all weekend and have some fast pit stops, we should have a car to get us up toward the front and come away with a nice finish."
UPS Racing Team Notes of Interest
- Las Vegas Motor Speedway is one of the seven tracks at which Jarrett has yet to win in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.
- Jarrett's best finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a second-place result in 2001, the same year he earned his second of two Bud Pole Awards at the track.
- Jarrett has completed 91% of the laps run in the past nine Nextel Cup races at Las Vegas.
