| |
 "There may have been a little miscommunication with our people."
|
|
Dale Jarrett
|
|
|
By Denise N. Maloof, CNNSI.com
INDIANAPOLIS -- It’s the small mistakes that hurt most -- a mantra Dale Jarrett and his crew may chant into the wee hours of Monday morning.
Poised with a shot at tracking down eventual Brickyard 400 winner Bill Elliott on Sunday, Jarrett lost it during his last pit stop. And he didn’t lose it alone.
During the seventh of eight cautions at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, what was supposed to be a two-tires-and-fuel service turned into painful blooper material.
At the time, Jarrett held second place behind Elliott. Most of the field pitted during the lap 128-133 caution period, and things were going as planned until Jarrett’s jack dropped, crew guys backed away and his foot hit the accelerator.
One problem: Gas was still going into his tank.
Gas man Barry Price flailed desperately for the catch can. He stumbled, nearly dumping the fuel can on his head, and Jarrett roared away with the red metal catch can still attached to the rear of his car.
“There may have been a little miscommunication with our people thinking that we needed a lot more fuel than what [crew chief] Todd [Parrott] thought we needed,” Jarrett said. “Todd was ready after the first can for me to go and that's when I took off, so it was just a miscommunication.”
Cars can’t leave pit road with equipment still attached, so NASCAR ordered Jarrett back to the pits even though he swerved enough to dislodge it on the track. The penalty dropped him all the way to 28th on the lap 134 restart, and gone was his chance to chase Elliott.
“Could we have held him off? I don't know,” said Jarrett, who thought he was strong enough to at least secure a second-place finish. “But we were in the position. We got out in front of the guys that counted and I would have liked to have seen that.”
After starting 17th, Jarrett see-sawed back and forth through the field. His serious surge began around lap 90, when he was eighth. He was third by lap 110, second by lap 120. Even after the gas mistake, he worked his way back toward the front, finally finishing 10th. The day’s result didn’t hurt Jarrett in the Winston Cup points standings. He began the day ranked 11th, and ended it in the same spot
But Sunday’s pit-road mistake did spoil an opportunity to gain on some folks. It also cost Jarrett a chance at a third Brickyard 400 title, after winning at Indy in 1996 and 1999. The 1999 win came the same season Jarrett won the Winston Cup championship, a victory that proved sweet for reasons other than points. In 1998, Jarrett had a shot at an Indy win, but ran out of gas on pit road, well short of his stall.
“That's just part of the game,” Jarrett said. “You like to think that it all evens out. The last time we had something like this happen, we came back the next year and won, so we'll look forward to that chance.”
