By Dick Mittman
allstate400atthebrickyard.com
Thursday, August 5, 2004
A total of 816 drivers have started in the Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400 and the United States Grand Prix races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Only 10 have won three or more races at the track.
Dale Jarrett, in the twilight of a brilliant NASCAR career, would like to become No. 11.
And if he can win his third Brickyard 400 on Aug. 8, it would go a long way toward him making the top 10 in the NEXTEL Cup Series standings when the season reaches the cutoff point for the final 10-race shootout for the championship.
"That's quite a special opportunity," said Jarrett, driver of the UPS Ford for Robert Yates racing.
"As I look at the people that have raced at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, whether it be in the Indy-style cars or stock cars, and the opportunities that have been there, and to know that I'm one of a very select group that has multiple wins there means a lot.
"Never thinking that I was going to have the opportunity to race there and knowing that this weekend I'm going back there with the opportunity to win a third race is pretty incredible. I don't know if I can express it in words as to how much it would mean to me for people to understand just how much I appreciate not only the opportunity that we have to race there but for the opportunity to be in such a select group."
There are seven Indy 500 drivers with either four or three victories - A.J. Foyt (1961, 1964, 1967, 1977), Al Unser (1970, 1971, 1978, 1987), Rick Mears (1979, 1984, 1988, 1981), Louie Meyer (1928, 1933, 1936), Wilbur Shaw (1937, 1939, 1940), Mauri Rose (1941, 1947, 1948), Bobby Unser (1968, 1975, 1981) and Johnny Rutherford (1974, 1976, 1980). Jeff Gordon is the NASCAR representative on the list with Brickyard victories in 1994, 1998 and 2001, and Michael Schumacher joined the select group on June 20 when he won his third United States Grand Prix. His previous wins came in 2000 and 2003.
Jarrett, winner of the Brickyard in 1996 and 1999, is the only NASCAR representative on the list of two-time winners. Two-time winners of the Indy 500 are Tommy Milton, Bill Vukovich, Rodger Ward, Gordon Johncock, Emerson Fittipaldi, Al Unser Jr. and Helio Castroneves. Overall, there have been a mere 18 drivers to win more than once in 103 major races since 1911.
Jarrett, closing in on his 48th birthday, is in the midst of a midseason renaissance that has brought him back into the fight for the 10th and final spot in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. The top 10 will battle it out for the first NEXTEL Cup championship starting with the Sylvania 300 on Sept. 19 at New Hampshire International Speedway.
He has recorded two third places and a ninth in the last five races after showing only one 10th-place finish over a stretch of 10 races. This has moved him up to 14th in the standings, 103 points behind last year's Brickyard 400 champion Kevin Harvick, who holds down the last qualifying position for the Chase.
"I think this weekend could be huge for anybody in that eighth position back through 15th that could take some momentum from Indy.
"We know what it's done for us in the past when we've won this race, and it could be huge for us."
Jarrett pointed out the Brickyard is a race where a lot of drivers finish on the lead lap. If any of the drivers positioned in the standings that he pinpointed should have a non-productive race, it could produce a major swing in the points, he said.
"So this weekend is going to be very big and, obviously, having won there in the past and having a good test a couple of weeks ago, I feel very good about our chances and what that could do for us to get us into the chase for those last 10," he said.
Jarrett and the Yates team are rebounding from a miserable 2003 season where they had only seven top-10 finishes and placed 26th in the final Cup standings. This followed seven consecutive seasons where he finished in the top 10, including the 1999 championship.
The Yates' team rebuilding began with the hiring of Mike Ford as crew chief last fall, Jarrett said. But it has been a huge undertaking for the entire crew, and progress has taken longer than either he or Ford expected.
"We haven't been to victory lane yet," he said, "but that's a tall order for a team that really is rebuilding."
Can Jarrett edge points leader Jimmie Johnson and the rest of the drivers if he does squeeze into the elite 10?
"I think we are a team that could be very dangerous in that type of situation because we haven't really been looked upon to this point as a team to be reckoned with," he said. "But I think that we're getting to a point where people now know that they do have to outrun us to have a good day."
Jarrett has won 31 races in his career, including the Daytona 500 three times and his two Brickyard victories. Yet he said none of that has made him as much of a recognizable public figure as his appearances in the UPS, Ford and Coca-Cola TV commercials. It's a phenomenon that wasn't there when he started his Cup career 20 years ago.
"Probably the biggest thing is that winning races - the Daytona 500s and even winning the championship - wasn't anything in comparison to what the new TV package and, in particular, my association with UPS and Coca-Cola has done to put my face out there and be more recognized than ever before," he said.
"It's opened up doors and opportunities for me in other areas. It's been a lot of fun to do those commercials, and it's just been a blast from my standpoint. But I do know that no matter where you go in the country that our faces are recognized."
But, no, he won't be trying to win his third Brickyard 400 driving the UPS "Brown Truck."
Brickyard 400 tickets: Tickets for the 11th annual Brickyard 400 on Aug. 8 are on sale.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com or by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area. Parking and camping information also can be obtained through the ticket office.
| Allstate 400 at the Brickyard Talkback | Post Comment |
|
|
|