Jarrett Finishes 29th After Blown Tire Causes Crash

SPARTA, Ky. - Like a roller coaster, Jason Jarrett's experience in Saturday's ARCA RE/MAX Series Kentucky 150 went from extreme high to low in just a matter of time.

After his Warsaw-based ML Motorsports team pulled off its best pit stop of the year, a blown right front tire on lap 50 sent the 25-year-old third-generation driver into the outside retaining wall.

Jarrett started the 40-car field fourth and finished 29th.

"I must have run over something to cut the tire down," Jarrett, a Hickory, N.C., native, said. "It doesn't take but the smallest thing to blow a tire."

Riding in seventh place, Jarrett pitted with the leaders on lap 41. Of the seven cars that entered pit road, Jarrett's No. 67 Mary Louise Miller-owned Pontiac came out second.

"There's no doubt the guys pulled off a great stop," Jarrett said. "They made it a lot easier for me to move up the field. It was a great stop."

Before the mishap on lap 50, Jarrett ran as high as third and no lower than seventh.

Jeffersonville driver Frank Kimmel, the 2000 ARCA champion, sat on the pole for the fourth time this season and won his third consecutive race. Tim Steele came in second, followed by Mike Swaim Jr, Phillip Kranefuss, Willie Green, Darrell Lanigan, Robert Burroughs, Andy Belmont, John Metcalf and former Atlanta Falcons coach Jerry Glanville.

Despite the power steering pump of his No. 46 Ford failing on lap 10, showering the windshields of Steele and Jarrett, who were running second and third at the time, Kimmel dominated by leading 96 of the 100 laps. John Metcalf was the only other leader of the race, running the point only when Kimmel came down pit road for service.

Jarrett and the ML Motorsports team are fourth in the season points standings with 1,285. Kimmel leads the championship chase with 1,705 points, followed by Steele (1530) and Belmont (1290).

The next stop for the ARCA RE/MAX Series is Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C., May 19, a race run right before The Winston, NASCAR's all-star race.

"I've been ready to go to Charlotte for a month," Jarrett said. "It's as close to home as we'll come. I know my way around the place."

ARCA RE/MAX SERIES

Kentucky 150 (100 laps, 1.5-mile)

Saturday in Sparta, Ky.

Top 10

1. Frank Kimmel (Jeffersonville, Ind.) Ford

2. Tim Steele (Coopersville, Mich.) Ford

3. Mike Swaim Jr. (High Point, N.C.) Chevy

4. Phillip Kranefuss (Moorseville, N.C.) Ford

5. Willie Green (Walton, Ky.) Ford

6. Darrell Lanigan (Union, Ky.) Ford

7. Robert Burroughs (Laurel, Miss.) Pontiac

8. Andy Belmont (Penndel, Pa.) Ford

9. John Metcalf (Englewood, Colo.) Chevy

10. Jerry Glanville (Roswell, Ga.) Ford

29. Jason Jarrett (Hickory, N.C.) Pontiac

Lap Leaders - Frank Kimmel 1-43, 48-100 (96); John Metcalf 44-47 (4)

Cautions - 5 for 23 laps

Season Points Standings

1. Frank Kimmel 1705, 2. Tim Steele 1530, 3. Andy Belmont 1290, 4. Jason Jarrett 1285, 5. Ron Cox 1185, 6. Joe Cooksey 1160, 7. Billy Venturini 1145, 8. Chuck Weber 1075, 9. Todd Bowsher 1070, 10. Donny Morelock 1040