Luck is one of the most commonly used words in the Las Vegas vocabulary but for Sprint Cup driver Dale Jarrett and the UPS Team it was not needed during Friday's qualifying session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS). Jarrett will start from the 16th position in Sunday's UAW-Dodge 400 after a strong qualifying run at the 1.5-mile speedway located just a stone's throw north of the famous Las Vegas Strip.
Friday's Sprint Cup practice session at LVMS had its fair share of on-track excitement as six cars made contact with the wall, with two teams forced to pull out their back-up cars. For the #44 Team and Jarrett, the practice session saw a different type of excitement as the team worked diligently on a variety of changes to improve the car's set-up. At the close of practice, Jarrett was 40th on the speed chart with the team searching for answers prior to qualifying.
Jarrett was one of 12 cars forced to qualify in via his lap time to earn a starting spot in Sunday's race. With last weekend's qualifying session cancelled due to rain, Friday marked the first time that the Sprint Cup teams outside of the top 35 in point standings were scheduled to make their attempts grouped together at the end of the session. This rule was put in place for the 2008 season to put the teams who must qualify for the race based on speed on an even playing field.
The #44 Toyota was the ninth of the 12 cars, who were forced to make the race on time, to take the track on Friday. On the first lap, Jarrett posted a 29.955 second lap time, locking the #44 into the race without the use of a past-champions provisional.
"We're very happy with that lap after this morning's practice," said Jarrett following his qualifying run. "The car was pretty good. It only got a little loose at one point during the lap, but the track had enough grip where I could stay with it. Overall, I think the car is pretty good and that lap will put us in a good starting spot for Sunday."
It was another successful qualifying outing for Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) as all three teammates are in the starting field for Sunday's race. David Reutimann took home top qualifying honors for MWR by posting the 14th quickest time of the session at 29.937 seconds. Waltrip also put up a strong effort in qualifying as the #55 Toyota will start from the 22nd position on Sunday.
Las Vegas native Kyle Busch posted his first pole of the 2008 season in the #18 Toyota with a fast lap of 29.613 seconds. Last week's Sprint Cup race winner Carl Edwards will join Busch on the front row in the second starting position with a fast lap time of 29.738 seconds. Mark Martin will start from the third position followed by drivers Jeff Gordon and Greg Biffle to round out the top-five.
Television coverage of the UAW-Dodge 400 is scheduled to broadcast live on the FOX Television Network on Sunday, March 2nd. The green flag is scheduled to fall at 4:30 p.m. EST. Radio coverage will be provided by the Performance Racing Network (PRN).
