NASCAR WCUP: Brickyard beckons Jarrett as he aims for 3rd Indy win
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
August 1, 2001INDIANAPOLIS - Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mere mention of those words, infused with tradition and prestige, conjures up images of legendary drivers from the past, Gasoline Alley and of course those famous bricks.
NASCAR Winston Cup racing debuted at Indy in 1994 and #88 UPS driver Dale Jarrett occupies a large spot in its brief history of competition.
Items of note heading into Sunday's Brickyard 400 (NBC; 2:30 EDT):
Jarrett has two victories in NASCAR's newest crown jewel race after taking the checkered flag in 1996 and 1999, the year he captured his first Winston Cup crown.
He is one of only two drivers to win the Brickyard 400 twice. His rival in the championship chase, Jeff Gordon, is the other competitor to accomplish that feat.
Jarrett's performance at Indy speaks for itself: four top 5's and five top-10 finishes in 7 career starts (overall record appears below).
Recently, Jarrett spoke on the significance of competing and winning at Indy:
"It's a special place," Jarrett said. "Just to be able to race there it's really an honor, and then to be able to visit Victory Lane...there's nothing quite like it. Daytona is one thing, because that's obviously our biggest race, but the Brickyard is something that all of us grew up watching, the Indy 500. To visit Victory Lane was something that was really special to us. As much as we enjoyed it in '96, when we won it again, it was even more special to us. It put us in a different category. Always being associated with winning at IMS is something that brings you a lot of opportunity, not only for myself, but for our race team as well."
Text provided by Kris Johnson
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