NASCAR WCUP: Jarrett resumes championship chase at Daytona
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
July 6, 2001DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Nearing the midway point of the 2001 NASCAR season, #88 UPS driver Dale Jarrett resumes his quest for a second Winston Cup Championship at Daytona International Speedway.
Items to consider heading into Saturday's Pepsi 400 (NBC; 8 p.m. EDT):
Jarrett won the pole position for this event last year before finishing second to fellow Ford driver Jeff Burton.
In the two points' events at Daytona last season, Jarrett paced all Winston Cup competitors by leading 145-of-360 laps (40%).
Jarrett's display of dominance at Daytona produced a near sweep of 2000 activities when he captured the Bud Pole for the Daytona 500 along with wins in the Bud Shootout Qualifier, Bud Shootout and the Daytona 500 before finishing second from the pole in the Pepsi 400.
In addition to being one of only four drivers to win three Daytona 500's in a career (along with Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison), Jarrett, a Coca-Cola Racing Family member, has also tasted victory in this summer event, in 1999.
This year's running of the Daytona 500, which Jarrett finished 22nd after a harrowing multi-car crash along the backstretch, was marred by the death of his close friend and NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt.
JARRETT ON HIS RETURN TO DAYTONA...
"For obvious reasons, it is different this time," Jarrett said. "Usually, I get real excited about going back to Daytona and competing, but I haven't really thought about it as much this time around. With everything that happened in February, it's gonna be hard to go back. But, once we're there, I'll try and think of all the good memories of racing there with (Dale Earnhardt). It's not going to ever be the same without him, but I think the best way we can honor him is to go out and race hard... just like he always did at Daytona, and everywhere else for that matter."
Text provided by Kris Johnson
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