Pocono 500 - Dale Jarrett Notes

�Pocono is a tough track, but it�s a track I enjoy and look forward to racing because it is so difficult and challenging. Each turn is different and requires the driver to drive each turns differently. It�s definitely a track where the driver�s role becomes essential in how he or she handles the equipment and the way the car gets in and out of the different turns. It�s real easy to wear out the brakes and transmission at Pocono so it certainly requires a little bit of finesse and a lot of patience.� - Dale Jarrett on Pocono Raceway

Jarrett to Defend Win in Pocono 500
Dale Jarrett �N Pocono Raceway �N June 8, 2003

Jarrett Looks Forward to Pocono Races . . . With this weekend�s race at Pocono, the #88 UPS Racing team is starting down a stretch of races where they and driver Dale Jarrett excel. Jarrett�s two wins in 2002 took place at Pocono and Michigan � the next two venues for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. With three wins at Pocono Raceway, Jarrett leaves for Pocono with a smile.

�Five hundred miles at Pocono can be a long day,� Jarrett said. �Going back to a place where you have won recently certainly offers up a little bit of confidence, but we have had a long year and not a lot to smile about in 2003. We�re definitely starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but we still have a long way to go. We�re going to a place this weekend where this team has been successful and knows what to do to win. That should give us a little bit of an advantage.�

Jarrett�s win at Pocono in June 2002 was his first win at the track during the spring race. Jarrett scored his first win at Pocono in July 1995, and his second win was at the July race in 1997.

? Jarrett�s record in the spring race at Pocono speaks for itself. His lowest finish in the last six spring races at Pocono is third. His results at Pocono in the spring race since 1997 include one win, a second and four thirds.

? Since joining the #88 Robert Yates Racing team in 1996, Jarrett�s average finish at Pocono is eighth.

? Jarrett�s overall record at Pocono includes three wins, 13 top fives and 18 top 10s.

Parker Prepares #88 UPS Ford for Tough Pocono . . . Pocono is an oval track with road course tendencies. Since 1992, crew chief Shawn Parker has been working with Winston Cup Series teams that have raced at Pocono, and he has become well-acquainted with the importance of good equipment and how that translates into success at the 2.5-mile track.

�It is a track that can be hard on equipment,� Parker said. �The transmission takes a lot of abuse there. Some guys will shift once there and some will shift twice depending on how they drive the track. You figure two shifts multiplied by 200 laps and that�s a lot of abuse, so you have to be prepared to handle that. The track does have road course tendencies because each corner is so different, but you basically set it up like an oval track.�

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