Challenging is the word to describe the Daimler Chrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Dale Jarrett and the #44 UPS Toyota Team. After starting the event in 43rd, Jarrett teetered on the brink of spinning out throughout the majority of the race. By the time the event concluded, Jarrett was four laps down, finishing the day in 33rd position.
The #44 UPS Toyota was visibly loose throughout the first half of the race, looking to be on the verge of spinning. It turned out that the culprit of the extremely bad handling condition was an issue with tire pressures due to a malfunction with the tire gauge.
After addressing the tire pressure miscalculation, the team was able to adjust the UPS Toyota to a more comfortable handling state for Jarrett, although it was far from being what he needed to be aggressive. More importantly, Jarrett was two laps down by the time the team diagnosed the tire issue. Adding insult to injury, Jarrett was tabbed with a speeding violation during a green-flag pit stop and was required to do a drive-through on pit road, resulting in the loss of another lap.
The end result of all the misfortunes was a difficult day for Jarrett and Team UPS. Despite all the bad luck, the team took advantage of opportunities to try different combinations in regards to the set-up of the car.
"We just had to try to make adjustments every stop to see what it was going to do to our car," Jarrett said. "We found some things today that will be a little better. But, we know the biggest thing is we have to go back and work on our bodies. We've got to get some more downforce in these cars. We are just not capable of doing the things that these other guys are doing with their cars. That will help us more than anything, then we can show how good the pit crew is and that we've got smart guys, but downforce will make a lot of difference. So, we've got to get back and work on our bodies."
Jimmie Johnson cruised to the win on Sunday, scoring his third consecutive win at Las Vegas. Mark Martin continues to lead the point standings in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. He owns a six-point margin ahead of Jeff Gordon.
Atlanta Motor Speedway plays host to all three of NASCAR's top touring series next weekend. The Craftsman Truck Series race takes place Friday night with the Busch Series event running on Saturday afternoon. The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series takes to the track for Sunday's 500-mile event beginning at 2 p.m. EDT. FOX is scheduled to provide live television coverage of Sunday's big event.
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