Dale Jarrett and the #44 UPS Team have started all four races of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season, but this Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway will mark the first time the team has made the race on qualifying time as opposed to the past champion's provisional. Jarrett turned in a qualifying time of 15.559 seconds and 123.324 mph to pick up the 30th starting position for Sunday's race. Although it isn't a stellar starting spot, the team considers the qualifying effort to be progress.
Jarrett was 44th at the conclusion of this morning's practice session with his fastest lap being a time of 15.787 seconds and 121.543 mph. He attributed the increase of more than two-tenths of a second in speed to the hard work and effort of the #44 UPS Team.
"The guys are working hard and haven't had the results we'd like to see," Jarrett said. "Everyone put their heads together after practice and the car drove a lot better during that lap. It was loose but I was able to stay in the gas and it seemed like the car rolled through the center better, whereas in practice it didn't want to turn at all."
"It's not super but it's a start," Jarrett said of the team's effort today. "I'm really proud of the effort and hard work these guys are putting forth and it was good to be able to get in on time today."
While it was a better day for Jarrett and Team UPS, the struggles continued for Jarrett's teammates, as neither David Reutimann nor Michael Waltrip will be part of the starting lineup for Sunday's event. Reutimann turned in the 40th fastest qualifying time with his lap of 15.653 seconds and 122.584 mph, while Waltrip was 44th at the conclusion with his lap time of 15.681 seconds and 122.365 mph. Of the cars that had to make the race on time, Reutimann was 10th out of 14 while Waltrip was 11th. This marks the fourth straight race that Waltrip has missed.
For the second time in 2007 Jeff Gordon will start from the top spot after winning the Bud Pole award with his qualifying time of 15.295 seconds and 125.453 mph. Kasey Kahne will start second.
Fans will be able to catch the first ever Car of Tomorrow race this Sunday when FOX provides live television coverage of the Food City 500. The green flag will drop at 2 p.m. EDT.
