After a 30th-place finish at Texas, the #44 UPS Toyota Team heads to Phoenix to compete at the first one-mile track for the Car of Tomorrow (COT). The team is expecting to learn a lot about how the car will behave with more down force on it from the faster speeds. Recent testing at Kentucky Speedway has already helped driver Dale Jarrett and crew chief Matt Borland assemble more notes and a direction to take with the car's setup when they arrive at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR).
"The test at Kentucky was good," Jarrett said. "More than anything it just gave us more time together as a team. There's been plenty of talk about the reasons we haven't been successful this season. But the biggest reason really is simply the fact that we're a new team and a new organization. So any extra time we can have to communicate and work together is going to be beneficial."
The Subway Fresh Fit 500 is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday night.
Dale Jarrett Discusses Racing at Phoenix International Raceway
What differences do you expect from the COT at Phoenix?
"In some ways the car is going to be similar to what we've seen at the first two tracks we've raced it. But it will also be different as well. I don't think we'll be dealing with some of the handling problems we had at Bristol. There we were concerned more about hitting the front splitter on the track and disrupting the front end. So I don't think we'll see that in Phoenix. Also we won't have to deal with the brake cooling issues like what we had at Martinsville. This weekend we'll see the aerodynamic issue come into play. I think our main focus will be what it always has been in Phoenix, and that's making sure we have a good entry into the corner and have the car rotate through the center. If we can do that then we'll have good exit speed to carry us down the straightaways. As for aero, I predict we'll see the car behave much like it did at Bristol. We'll be carrying similar speeds. I think we'll see the biggest aero influence on the car when we get to Darlington."
Any extracurricular plans in Phoenix before Saturday night's race?
"I really like Phoenix a lot. I've said before that I'd love to live there if I didn't live in North Carolina. They have some of the most beautiful golf courses, so I plan to play some golf while I'm out there. We've got a round set up on Wednesday afternoon. I haven't played a full round in a while so I hope I can just make contact with the ball again. Plus I'm doing the Busch race again on ESPN2 Friday night. I had my first broadcasting gig in Texas last week and that was a lot of fun. Not only was it great to be able to hang out with old friends like Andy (Petree), but I was able to learn a few things about how the track was behaving and gain some strategy for the Cup race. It just provides a different perspective for the race."
UPS Racing Team Notes of Interest
- Jarrett is one of the 10 former Phoenix winners that will compete in Saturday night's race. Jarrett scored his win at Phoenix in 1997, improving on a ninth-place starting position and leading 73 laps.
- In two Phoenix spring races, Jarrett has averaged an improvement of five spots from his starting position to his finishing position.
- Jarrett has been running at the end of 18 of 21 races run at Phoenix since 1988, while completing 95.24 percent of the laps run.
- Jarrett has lead laps in five starts at Phoenix International Raceway.
