'We saw a 48.30 come up on the screen and we knew that was fast,' Parrott said. Polesitter David Gilliland's crew chief Todd Parrott could see the plate change coming from a mile away. 'I saw those speeds and I told my coach driver, 'We'll not be using those restrictor plates in the race,'' Jarrett said. That all changed when Jeff Gordon ripped off a 198.689-mph lap during Friday's practice session here at Talladega.Īt the end of the day on Friday, it seemed everyone in the Cup garage knew there was a change coming – even though NASCAR officials told reporters that they weren't planning one.ĭefending race winner Dale Jarrett had his suspicions.
This was supposed to be just another edge-of-your-seat restrictor plate race for the Cup teams. – Between Juan Pablo Montoya's stock car debut, Mark Martin's announced defection from Ford to Chevy, NASCAR changing the restrictor plate for Sunday's UAW-Ford 500, Richard Childress announcing a major change in primary sponsors and David Gilliland winning the pole for Sunday's race, it's quite possible to forget that there still is a Chase going on.
