That's the pits

Crew's mistake costs Jarrett shot at another Brickyard win

Dale Jarrett was assessed a stop-and-go penalty for his pit crew's gaffe on lap 127. AP

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Dale Jarrett's chances at a third victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway were crippled Sunday by yet another mistake in the pits.

Jarrett, the 1996 and 1999 winner of the Brickyard 400, had one of the few cars capable of running with race winner Bill Elliott.

But during a pit stop on lap 127, the catch-can got stuck in the gas tank of his Ford as he roared away and NASCAR forced him back into the pits for a stop-and-go penalty that ended any shot he had at victory.

"I don't know what happened, go ask the crew," he angrily said after his 10th place finish. "I'm just the driver, all I can do is get the car to the front. Anything else, talk to them."

Crew chief Todd Parrott declined to comment after the race about the late gaffe.

It's the second time here that Jarrett has been hurt by mistakes involving gasoline.

He had a 4-second lead at the midway point of the 1998 race and knew he needed to pit for fuel. But his crew, hoping to put a bit more distance on Jeff Gordon, kept him on the track one more lap.

But the Ford ran dry as Jarrett made his way through the first turn and he had to coast all the way around the rest of the 2 1/2-mile track.

He stopped just inside the entrance to the pits, and by the time his crew sprinted the several hundred yards to the car, then pushed it back to his pit for fuel, he was four laps behind the leader and in 37th place.

That error also cost him a chance at a $1 million bonus he was eligible for if he had won that race.

There was no monetary incentive in this race, just pride of winning on the most storied track in history.

He looked like he had a chance Sunday, moving up from the 17th starting position and challenging Elliott for the lead through stretches of the race. He was in second when the cars went in to pit, and his crew took on just two tires in a stop that took under 9 seconds.

But as he pulled away, the gas man had not fully pulled the tank out of the car and he frantically tried to get the catch-can out. The crew member fell down as Jarrett sped off and took over the lead on the race track.

He wiggled his Ford to get the catch-can to fall off onto the race track, then reported back to the pits for the mandatory stop-and-go penalty.

When he got back onto the race track he had fallen to 28th and never got close enough to the front to challenge again.

"I said the other day you have to have a perfect day to win here," Jarrett said. "And that means perfect pit stops. All I can do is work with what they give me, my job is just to drive the car."

He took little consolation in rallying for the top-10 finish.

"Not right now, not when you've got a car that should have finished at the worst second," he said. "Could we have beaten him? We'll never know. You just can't make any mistakes."

 

Related information

Stories

Hoosier Stewart takes pole with Brickyard record Elliott dominates in Brickyard win Stewart punches photographer after race

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video