NASCAR WCUP: Jarrett's driver for points lead continues at Darlington

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

March 13, 2001 DARLINGTON, S.C.,- Upward mobility has been a continuing theme for #88 UPS driver Dale Jarrett during the early portion of the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. With each passing week, Jarrett has made significant gains in his ongoing quest for a second Winston Cup Championship, ascending from 21st to 12th to 4th to 2nd in the point standings.

This weekend Jarrett and the #88 UPS/Robert Yates Racing team will try to culminate that climb to the top spot during Sunday's running of the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway (FOX, 1 p.m. EDT). Items of note include:

Jarrett owns two Winston Cup career victories at "the track too tough to tame," with both checkered flags coming in Darlington's spring event (1997 and 1998).

Since that first win in 1997, Jarrett's average finish in the Darlington spring race is a remarkable 2.0 including a runner-up finish in last year's Mall.com 400.

Jarrett's 2000 spring success followed in the fall when he notched another top- 5 finish in the Pepsi Southern 500, finishing 5th after starting 9th.

Dating back to 1997, Jarrett has found a near permanent presence in the top-5 category at Darlington, finishing fifth or better in seven of eight events including the aforementioned victories in 1997 and 1998.

Jarrett shared his thoughts on Darlington and keys to succeeding on Sunday:

"I look forward to it every year," Jarrett said. "It's a challenge. And I think especially with the new tire we'll be taking there, it's really going to put a premium on handling. It's a little bit harder than the tire we've had in years past but I think, as always, tire management will be one of the keys to performing well next Sunday."

Jarrett added, "I really love going to Darlington and look forward to its challenge again. We've got a little momentum on our side with a pair of top 5's and three straight top 10's since Rockingham, so hopefully we'll maintain that level of consistency at Darlington."

Text provided by Kris Johnson

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