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DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. -ÊWhile some may think racecar drivers are enemies of one another on the racetrack, ML Motorsports crew chief Scott Eldridge said it was the lack of a friend Sunday at Daytona International Speedway that led to a 21st-place finish in the 38th annual Discount Auto Parts 200 presented by AC Delco.
He called it the "buddy system," and 25-year-old ML Motorsports driver Jason Jarrett didn't have it driving the No. 67 Mary Louise Miller-owned Pontiac in the 40-car field. Ryan Newman, Roger Penske's 22-year-old driver, won the race.
"It's Daytona, you make one wrong move and you go from a winning car to a 21st-place car," Eldridge said. "We couldn't seem to find a drafting partner."
Said Jarrett: "I'm not necessarily pleased with a 21st-place finish, but I got in some drafting situations I've never been in. The end result didn't really show, but for the first time out, I didn't think we did too bad."
Yesterday's race at Daytona International Speedway was the first for Jarrett, son of Winston cup driver Dale Jarrett, in the No. 67 Biomet/Damon RV machine after driving the 2000 NASCAR Busch Series for Ray-o-vac and Jarrett/Favre Motorsports. In his only other career ARCA start, Jarrett qualified third for last year's event at Charlotte and finished fourth.
The third-generation driver will drive all 25 races on the ARCA/Remax Series schedule this year, with the next stop coming in April at Nashville's 1.333-mile concrete oval.
Jarrett, grandson of two-time Winston Cup champion Ned Jarrett, qualified 12th Thursday for Sunday's race and then ran the third-fastest lap at the famed 2.5-mile tri-oval in Saturday's final practice session.
Jarrett was in 11th when Mark Voigt and Mark Stahl took each other out on the seventh lap. Less then 10 laps later, Chevy drivers Skip Smith, Ben Hess and Ron Cox were out of the race.
With the race leaders pitting, Jarrett found himself second on lap 27, but more yellow flags and the lack of a drafting partner kept Jarrett toward the back of the pack.
While Jarrett was trying to make a late-race charge, it was former South Bend driver Ryan Newman who ignited the charge.
On a restart late in the race, Newman passed Jeffersonville's Frank Kimmel and held on for the checkered flag.
Newman, coached by NASCAR legend Buddy Baker, has made just six career ARCA starts, winning four of them. He will attempt to drive seven Winston Cup races in the 2001 season.
Veteran driver Bob Strait took second, while Kimmel, Kirk Shelmerdine and 19-year-old Stuart Kirby rounded out the top five. The top five drivers all came from the Ford stable.
After starting second, Ricky Hendrick, son of Winston Cup car owner Rick Hendrick, finished ninth. Kerry Earnhardt, son of seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, finished 14th, while Justin Labonte, 19-year-old son of two-time Winston Cup champion Terry Labonte, wrecked on lap 35 and finished 34th.
With 12 laps remaining, Jarrett was 25th and the last car on the lead lap.
"You're only as good as the cars around you, you gotta be with good cars," Eldridge said. "We were slowly working our way to the front. We were working the bottom and then got passed like we were standing still."
Jarrett's ML Motorsports debut came at the track known as the "World Center of Racing," home of the Daytona 500, a race Dale Jarrett won in the 2000 Winston Cup season.
DISCOUNT AUTO PARTS 200
ARCA at Daytona International Speedway (2.5 miles)
Driver finish Car Laps miles/h
1. Ryan Newman Ford 80 108.445
2. Bob Strait Ford 80 108.442
3. Frank Kimmel Ford 80 108.439
4. Kirk Shelmerdine Ford 80 108.434
5. Stuart Kirby Ford 80 108.434
6. Bobby Gerhart Chevrolet 80 108.432
7. Shawna Robinson Ford 80 108.430
8. Blaise Alexander Chevrolet 80 108.428
9. Ricky Hendrick Chevrolet 80 108.427
10. Keith Segars Chevrolet 80 108.420
11. Ronnie Hornaday Chevrolet 80 108.413
12. Brad Baker Pontiac 80 108.327
13. Joe Cooksey Chevrolet 80 108.321
14. Kerry Earnhardt Chevrolet 80 108.308
15. Robby Benton Ford 80 108.304
16. Andy Belmont Ford 80 108.298
17. Andy Hillenburg Chevrolet 80 108.287
18. Dion Ciccarelli Ford 80 108.285
19. Jonny Hill Chevrolet 80 108.225
20. Chuck Weber Chevrolet 80 108.220
21. Jason Jarrett Pontiac 80 108.200
22. Donnie Morelock Ford 80 108.195
23. Billy Venturini Chevrolet 80 107.829
24. Dan Pardus Chevrolet 79 107.867
25. Jim Steele Ford 79 107.861
26. Todd Bowsher Ford 79 106.461
27. Mark Gibson Chevrolet 78 105.363
28. Mike Swaim Jr. Chevrolet 65 109.568
29. J.R. Robbs Chevrolet 55 103.281
30. Norm Benning Chevrolet 52 101.235
31. Robert Burroughs Chevrolet 39 104.942
32. Vern Slagh Ford 38 106.793
33. Ed Kennedy Chevrolet 37 103.454
34. Justin Labonte Chevrolet 35 110.514
35. Jon Herb Ford 29 81.213
36. Ron Cox Chevrolet 18 130.214
37. Ben Hess Chevrolet 18 129.976
38. Skp Smith Chevrolet 16 101.734
39. Mark Voigt Chevrolet 7 175.523
40. Mark Stahl Ford 7 174.932
