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Friday notebook 88 team not upset about going to backup
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Todd Parrott could barely contain a smile Friday as talked about the backup car Dale Jarrett will drive in the Coca-Cola 600. Jarrett, who wrecked his primary car in qualifying, turns now to the same Ford Taurus he's already driven to two victories and a fourth-place finish this season. After readying it for Sunday's race, Parrott said it was unfortunate the car would have to be used again. When pressed on what he meant, the crew chief smiled. "It's unfortunate for 42 other cars," he said. "Remember what happened last week?" All of NASCAR remembers what happened last week -- Jeff Gordon wrecked his car on the first lap of The Winston on the rain-slicked track at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Because a full lap had not been completed, Gordon and three others were allowed to get their backup cars out and Gordon drove his to victory. Now Jarrett will try to do the same, except he'll be starting 37th in the Coca-Cola 600. Parrott doesn't think that will be a problem for this car. It came from 20th place to win at Texas and 25th to win at Darlington. So over the course of a 600-mile race, the longest on NASCAR's circuit, Parrott thinks Jarrett can drive the car to the front. Jarrett already has some experience coming from the back of the field here -- he came from 22nd to win the race in 1994. Parrott was a little bothered that Jarrett needed to use a provisional to make the race for the first time in the team's five-year history. But he took solace that the provisional was not needed because they failed to make the race on speed. "This is the first provisional since the inception of the team in 1996 and that's something we've been pretty proud of," Parrott said. "We're still proud of it. We could have sat on the pole here if we had completed the lap and everyone knows that." Since Friday was an off day for Winston Cup drivers, Jarrett spent the day away from the track resting from the qualifying wreck he was in the night before. Jarrett's car bottomed out coming out of Turn 3, spun around on the track and banged into the Turn 4 wall. "The main thing is the driver is OK," Parrott said. "His knees a little sore, but he'll be fine."
Still healingJoe Nemechek, sidelined since a test session crash last week, could miss 4-to-6 weeks because of his injuries. Nemechek fractured his right shoulder, broke his right elbow and bruised his lungs in the wreck in Dover, Del. He missed The Winston last week and will sit out the Coca-Cola 600, with Bobby Hamilton Jr. replacing him in his Winston Cup car. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is driving Nemechek's Busch Grand National car in Saturday's Busch race. Andy Petree, who owns Nemechek's Cup car, said Hamilton Jr. would likely drive the No. 33 at Dover on June 3. Nothing has been set beyond that. "Joe's got a cast on his arm, he's still in some pain, he's got the shoulder injury and the ligaments in his neck are really sore, but they're getting better," Petree said. "He's going to be fine, it's just going to take time.'
TeamworkSteve Park's pit crew won a $7,000 prize by beating 10 other crews in the Coca-Cola Racing Family Pit Crew Challenge. The Pit Crew Challenge invited the crews from 11 teams to compete for the fastest pit stop. Participants completed a stationary four-tire stop on a car, then raced across the finish line to stop the clock. Park's team beat Dale Jarrett's team for the top prize. "I can only hope our pit stops will be this good on Sunday," crew chief Paul Andrews said. "Getting to victory lane twice would make this a great weekend." Park starts 38th on Sunday.
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