Last weekend Dale Jarrett and his #44 UPS Team competed in the 80-lap NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge. The race was an opportunity for the team to compete for bragging rights in their backyard and showcase their talents in front of many friends and family in attendance. Even though the team didn't come away with the win, they used the track time to collect additional data that can be used towards this weekend's Coca-Cola 600. With a 12th-place finish in the All Star race, Jarrett feels that what they took away from that race will certainly be beneficial for this weekend's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
"The All-Star Challenge was a learning experience for us and that was exactly what we needed," said Jarrett. "We needed to get out there and compete to get some ideas as to how to make the cars better. We've made tremendous gains and Saturday night helped a lot to get to run with those other fast cars. Now what we need to do is come here Thursday with a great qualifying package and get into the race. The run in the All-Star Challenge definitely gives us hope for this week."
The Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. EDT start this Sunday.
Dale Jarrett Discusses Racing at Lowe’s Motor Speedway
What do you expect to gain from the updated Toyota engine this weekend?
"All we can do is hope that what they are going to give us will perform on the race track the way they are telling us it should. We applaud them for making the changes and listening to us to try to give us what we feel like we need. Back earlier in the season when NASCAR did its dyno test of all the manufacturers I think that our car was labeled as producing the biggest number. What people don't understand is that we are at the high end of the RPM for only a short time during the course of a lap. Where we were lacking is when we go to get back in the gas. The number associated with an engine’s lower torque, that is where we have been lacking, in the 7500 to 7800 RPM range. From everything we've heard and seen with the updated engine, we should see an improvement in that area which should help us a lot when it comes to qualifying. Hopefully we'll be able to reap the benefits of that this weekend."
How has your team been adapting to the recent changes?
"It's just a matter of using all the tools that we have right now and getting more of those tools to where we can have more things at our disposal. Right now we're just not using all of that. Toyota is helping us a lot in that respect and that's what we have to utilize. Getting Jason Burdett in here and getting him acclimated with everything, I think we already see some good things happening by bringing in his philosophy and he sees that this team has a lot to offer. Now what we need to do is utilize all of that. What we want to see is continuous improvement. No matter how big or small the gains are, we just need to always be moving forward."
UPS Racing Team Notes of Interest
- Last year's 43rd-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 was Dale Jarrett’s first ever last-place finish of his career.
- In his 20 career starts in the Coca-Cola 600, Jarrett has finished 10 times in the top 10, with seven of those finishes in the top five.
- By leading 199 of 400 laps, Jarrett won the 1996 Coca-Cola 600.
- Including his victory in 1996, Jarrett has been running at the end of 10 of the last 11 Coca-Cola 600 races.
