For the second week in a row Dale Jarrett paced the UPS Toyota to a solid starting spot in NASCAR Nextel Cup Series competition, picking up the 22nd starting position. For the first time since the Daytona 500, Jarrett's teammate and car owner, Michael Waltrip, will join the starting lineup after qualifying 23rd for Sunday's Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway in 23rd place.
Jarrett and the UPS Team enjoyed a solid practice session making improvements each time they went out onto the track. By the time the 1.5-hour practice session concluded, Jarrett was 18th with his fastest lap time being a time of 23.940 seconds and 150.376 mph. Jarrett nearly duplicated his best practice lap in qualifying with his lap time of 23.951 seconds and 150.037 mph.
"It was a good lap - probably a little conservative," Jarrett said. "Experience kept telling me that this track tends to get pretty loose in the middle of a hot afternoon so we were a little conservative but this has been a good day for the UPS Team. We've been pretty decent since unloading the car. We tested at Nashville a couple weeks ago and learned a lot of things that have obviously helped us here today. We're obviously looking forward to racing on Sunday."
Waltrip, who turned in a qualifying time of 23.953 seconds and 150.294 mph, was 35th at the end of practice with his fastest lap at 24.106 seconds and 149.340 mph. The pickup in time from practice to qualifying was less than a full tenth but it meant the difference between making the race and going home for Waltrip.
"This has obviously been a very tough time for Michael," Jarrett said of his teammate and car owner. "But I believe he's handled it better than most people could have and I am very happy for him and the entire team that they'll be racing again on Sunday."
While it was a happy day for Waltrip, it wasn't quite the same for David Reutimann whose qualifying time of 24.271 seconds and 143.325 mph prevented him from making the starting lineup for Sunday's Nextel Cup Series race.
Ryan Newman scored the top starting spot, winning the Bud Pole award with a qualifying time of 23.541 seconds and 152.925 mph. He'll be joined on the front row by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. who secured the outside starting spot on the front row with his lap time of 23.624 seconds and 152.387 mph.
The Autism Speaks 400 is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. EDT start on Sunday. FOX will provide live television coverage of the racing action beginning with its pre-race show at 1 p.m.
