Jason Jarrett Climbs In Point Standings With Runner-Up Finish
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SALEM - A track that has left both cars and drivers battered over the years, historic Salem Speedway was just what the doctor ordered for Jason Jarrett and his Warsaw-based ML Motorsports team Sunday.
Looking for a momentum swing after an engine failure led to a disapointing 36th-place finish at Nashville, Jarrett and the rest of the Gladiator GarageWorks-Bennigan's team found it Sunday in the form of a runner-up finish at the high-banked, half-mile oval in the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200.
The runner-up finish, Jarrett's second straight at the famed southern Indiana track affectionately known as "the Bristol of the north", catapulted him from 24th to fifth in ARCA RE/MAX Series points after three races.
"I don't know what it is," the third-generation driver said when asked why he enjoys racing at Salem so much. "I can't point to one thing, but we always run good here. It's the kind of place where you have to get in a rhythm, and I had confidence we'd run good here after we tested."
Jarrett, crew chief Tom Sokoloski and and a number of crew members worked hard during a testing session at Salem last week to find a strong race setup for Sunday's 200-lapper.
They appeared to have found one, and Jarrett was the only driver in Sunday's 34-car field to give five-time ARCA RE/MAX Series champion Frank Kimmel a legitimate challenge.
Jarrett took the lead on lap 103 and led the next 24 circuits before pitting for fuel and four fresh tires.
Kimmel reclaimed the lead and led laps 127-138, and then Jarrett found his way back to the point on lap 139 after easily picking his way through the field with fresh tires on his black and orange No. 67 Monte Carlo.
Kimmel found his way to the front again on lap 162 and led the rest of the 200-lapper, beating Jarrett to the line by two car lengths for his eighth win in the last 12 races at Salem.
While Jarrett was the only driver other than Kimmel to lead a lap, his getting back to second place didn't come without excitement.
On a restart with three laps to go, Jarrett sat in the fourth position and moved into second when Andy Belmont and Billy Venturini collided while fighting for position directly in front of Jarrett.
Jarrett, who had pitted not long before, worked his way past the spinning cars of Belmont and Venturini and began chasing down Kimmel, closing the gap to two car lengths before he ran out of laps.
"I think we're right there," Jarrett said when asked of his new program, which includes the hiring of new crew chief Sokoloski this year. "We had an unfortunate brake at Nashville, but we were there, I wish we could have finished that race. We're gonna test Kentucky (Monday) and then go from there. I wouldn't be surprised to see us finish in the top two the next two or three races."
After a test today at the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway, Jarrett and Co. will race there May 8 before another short-track war at Toledo Speedway on May 16 and a race at Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 27.
Following Kimmel and Jarrett in the top five Sunday were Venturini, Ohio driver Brandon Knupp and Illinois driver Brent Sherman, who finished one lap down.
In seven career races at Salem Speedway, Jarrett has four runner-up finishes. He has finished out of the top six just once, coming home 14th once after dropping a cylinder.
Sokoloski, who won 30-plus races and crew chiefed Tim Steele to multiple ARCA championships, has four wins and four poles at Salem as a crew chief. [[In-content Ad]]
SALEM - A track that has left both cars and drivers battered over the years, historic Salem Speedway was just what the doctor ordered for Jason Jarrett and his Warsaw-based ML Motorsports team Sunday.
Looking for a momentum swing after an engine failure led to a disapointing 36th-place finish at Nashville, Jarrett and the rest of the Gladiator GarageWorks-Bennigan's team found it Sunday in the form of a runner-up finish at the high-banked, half-mile oval in the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200.
The runner-up finish, Jarrett's second straight at the famed southern Indiana track affectionately known as "the Bristol of the north", catapulted him from 24th to fifth in ARCA RE/MAX Series points after three races.
"I don't know what it is," the third-generation driver said when asked why he enjoys racing at Salem so much. "I can't point to one thing, but we always run good here. It's the kind of place where you have to get in a rhythm, and I had confidence we'd run good here after we tested."
Jarrett, crew chief Tom Sokoloski and and a number of crew members worked hard during a testing session at Salem last week to find a strong race setup for Sunday's 200-lapper.
They appeared to have found one, and Jarrett was the only driver in Sunday's 34-car field to give five-time ARCA RE/MAX Series champion Frank Kimmel a legitimate challenge.
Jarrett took the lead on lap 103 and led the next 24 circuits before pitting for fuel and four fresh tires.
Kimmel reclaimed the lead and led laps 127-138, and then Jarrett found his way back to the point on lap 139 after easily picking his way through the field with fresh tires on his black and orange No. 67 Monte Carlo.
Kimmel found his way to the front again on lap 162 and led the rest of the 200-lapper, beating Jarrett to the line by two car lengths for his eighth win in the last 12 races at Salem.
While Jarrett was the only driver other than Kimmel to lead a lap, his getting back to second place didn't come without excitement.
On a restart with three laps to go, Jarrett sat in the fourth position and moved into second when Andy Belmont and Billy Venturini collided while fighting for position directly in front of Jarrett.
Jarrett, who had pitted not long before, worked his way past the spinning cars of Belmont and Venturini and began chasing down Kimmel, closing the gap to two car lengths before he ran out of laps.
"I think we're right there," Jarrett said when asked of his new program, which includes the hiring of new crew chief Sokoloski this year. "We had an unfortunate brake at Nashville, but we were there, I wish we could have finished that race. We're gonna test Kentucky (Monday) and then go from there. I wouldn't be surprised to see us finish in the top two the next two or three races."
After a test today at the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway, Jarrett and Co. will race there May 8 before another short-track war at Toledo Speedway on May 16 and a race at Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 27.
Following Kimmel and Jarrett in the top five Sunday were Venturini, Ohio driver Brandon Knupp and Illinois driver Brent Sherman, who finished one lap down.
In seven career races at Salem Speedway, Jarrett has four runner-up finishes. He has finished out of the top six just once, coming home 14th once after dropping a cylinder.
Sokoloski, who won 30-plus races and crew chiefed Tim Steele to multiple ARCA championships, has four wins and four poles at Salem as a crew chief. [[In-content Ad]]