NASCAR Cup

Phoenix: Dale Jarrett preview

DJ and 88 Team to Honor Winston at Phoenix Phoenix is a lot of fun to race at with plenty for room for passing and it's very competitive. I know they've made some changes to the track since last year -- widening turn two and taking out the ...

Edited: Oct 31, 2003, 12:38 AM

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DJ and 88 Team to Honor Winston at Phoenix

Phoenix is a lot of fun to race at with plenty for room for passing and it's very competitive. I know they've made some changes to the track since last year -- widening turn two and taking out the pedestrian bridge. The bridge won't really make much of a difference to the competition on the track, but I hear that they put a patch of asphalt over that area and that may help us out with grip getting off of turn three. I always enjoy visiting the Phoenix area and look forward to this weekend's race."
Dale Jarrett on Racing at Phoenix

UPS Car to Display Past Champion Paint Scheme . . . Dale Jarrett gets his turn to pay tribute to outgoing title sponsor R.J. Reynolds during this weekend's Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Since the Winston Cup race at Bristol in August, NASCAR's Winston Cup champions have taken center stage at several races running special paint schemes in honor of Winston. Jarrett, the 1999 Winston Cup champion, will run the special paint scheme that has been run by several other past champs already.

"Obviously, as a result of the success we had during the 1999 Winston Cup Series season we get to really be part of this tribute to Winston and R.J. Reynolds," Jarrett said. "This is an opportunity for us to pay tribute to them and all they have done to get our sport to where it is today, and what they have done for me personally. The people at Winston have been great friends and they will be missed."

* Jarrett is one of the 13 drivers that have visited victory lane at PIR since the NASCAR Winston Cup Series started racing at the one-mile track in 1988. Jarrett picked up the win at PIR during the 1997 Checker Auto Parts 500.

* Jarrett is riding a streak of four consecutive top-10 finishes at PIR heading into this weekend's Winston Cup race.

* In 15 starts at PIR, Jarrett has finished in the top 10 eight times in addition to his win in 1997 and two top-five finishes.

* Since joining the #88 Robert Yates Racing team in 1996, Jarrett only has one finish outside the top 10 at Phoenix and that was in 1998 when he was caught up in an accident and was only able to finish the race in 32nd place.

Track Changes Could Make for a Faster PIR . . . While the additional twelve feet in turn two at PIR is going to provide for more side-by-side racing, Shawn Parker, crew chief for the UPS Racing Team, believes it will also make for faster qualifying times.

"When the guys go into the corners they'll be able to race the car out further through the turn and not have to cut the corner so suddenly like they did before," Parker explained. "That should translate into faster time. We're taking our car to Phoenix set up pretty close to what we had for New Hampshire. They're both flat, one-mile tracks, and we should be able to use some of what we had in our car for New Hampshire."

UPS Team to Race Chassis 116 at Phoenix . . . The UPS Racing Team will be using a brand new racecar for this weekend's Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Chassis 116 has been used at various tests the team has participated in during the 2003 NASCAR season, but has yet to make a lap in competition.

-ryr/ups-

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