NASCAR WCUP: Jarrett seeks first career road course victory at the Glen
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
August 8, 2001WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - Skill and serendipity. Two invaluable things a driver must have on his side to succeed on a road course.
Dale Jarrett certainly has the first, but he'll have to wait until this weekend to see if serendipity comes along for the ride in his #88 UPS Ford Taurus.
Items of note heading into Sunday's event at Watkins Glen International:
Jarrett will try to capture the first road course victory of his stellar, 28-win Winston Cup career in Sunday's Global Crossing @ The Glen (NBC; 1 p.m. EDT).
His team's performance at "The Glen" is on the upswing in recent years. Since 1998, Jarrett has finished in the top 10 three straight times with finishes of 5th, 4th and 7th, respectively (see overall record on back).
Jarrett had reeled of five consecutive top-10 finishes on road courses entering the 2001 season before getting banged around at Sears Point in June. He finished that event 26th.
After a productive test at "The Glen" last week, Jarrett assessed his own road course abilities and the chance for ultimate success on Sunday:
"We were there on Monday and Tuesday of last week and it was a really good test," Jarrett said. "I feel like my skills as a road racer are better now than they've been in the past. Certainly, I'm not the best one out there, but excluding the specialists that come in for these races, I think I can hold my own in running in the top-5 or 6 with the regular Winston Cup guys. I honestly believe we can challenge for a win at Watkins Glen this weekend."
Text provided by Kris Johnson
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