Viewer's Guide: Texas

ATLANTA -- Dale Jarrett is quietly putting together a solid season. Heading into Sunday's Samsung/RadioShack 500, Jarrett finds himself 10th in the Nextel Cup Series, his highest ranking since after last year's Daytona 500.

	Inside the Numbers Dale Jarrett at Texas Year Start Finish Laps Led 1997 1 2 42 1998 13 11 51 1999 12 2 39 2000 5 33 18 2001 3 1 122 2002 5 24 134 2003 23 13 1 2004 11 18 0 Average 9.1 13 50.9

Look for Jarrett's good fortune to continue. Texas Motor Speedway, the site of Sunday's race, has been kind to Jarrett. He has three top-two finishes there in eight starts, including a win there in 2001. In all, Jarrett has led 407 laps at TMS.

"Texas is a 1.5-mile track with a good bit of banking so it is more like a Charlotte or Atlanta-type track," Jarrett said. "We ran well in Atlanta and it would have been interesting to see where we ended up if we hadn't been penalized for speeding. So, I am looking forward to Texas this weekend for that reason."

What's more, Jarrett's Robert Yates Racing teammate, Elliott Sadler is the defending race winner.

"Well, we've gone from a track that basically had one racing groove the first couple years to a track where you can now race side-by-side as we saw last year when my teammate won," he said.

"Obviously, there were some problems there in the beginning but Eddie Gossage and his staff have done a tremendous job making that track one where the fans have the opportunity to see good, quality races."

Does Jarrett have any Chase thoughts yet? After all, he is in the top 10.

"Well, we haven't been running quite like we were last summer and fall, but we aren't completely off. We've had some lucky breaks and we've had some unfortunate incidents like in Atlanta, so we're very happy to be in the top 10 and working to stay there rather than trying to fight our way into the top 10."

Jarrett will be featured during the pre-race show Sunday beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET. Also on the bill:

• Darrell Waltrip talks with Rick Hendrick
• Chris Myers takes 10 Laps with Jeff Gordon

Speaking of Gordon, he will also join Dave Despain to co-host Wind Tunnel on Sunday night at 9 ET on SPEED.

Last weekend's broadcast of the Advance Auto Parts 500 from Martinsville drew a 4.6 overnight rating and an 11 share. Last year's race, held a week later and not against CBS' coverage of the Masters, drew a 4.4/11 before the pothole that red-flagged the race and a 5.4/11 afterward.

Kyle Busch and Ricky Rudd are among the guests scheduled for "Trackside" on Friday from Bristol (7 p.m. ET) on SPEED.

In this week's "Ask The Producer," Michael Douglas from Stephen, Minn. wants to know if FOX will ever go "Through the Field" like NBC does.

NASCAR on FOX producer Neil Goldberg said they already do -- kind of.

"While 'Through the Field' is a nice feature on NBC, we find that is often interrupted by other action around the track. We do use the 'Through the Field' technique during the FOX races, we just do not lock into it.

NASCAR on FOX producer Neil Goldberg

"We also try to work from the back to the front of the field in many cases in order to keep the action in race context.

"NBC does a great job and both networks learn from each other blending coverage techniques."

Each week, we'll choose one fan's question to ask a NASCAR on FOX producer. Does something on the broadcast leave you shaking your head? Have you always wondered how or why the TV crew does something? Use the link to the right to e-mail your question and you just might read the answer right here.

In this week's version of "The Rant," Jeremy X of Hartford, Vt. has a suggestion for the FOX guys about time management.

"it irritates me that there is an hour-long pre-race show but there's only enough time after the race to interview the winner and maybe one or two other drivers.

EMAIL Send Mark your take for "The Rant" or your question for "Ask The Producer"

"Especially at a track like Bristol, it'd be nice to hear from some of the other drivers and follow up on things that happened during the race."

Maybe we can word that into an "Ask the Producer" question soon. In the meantime, come to NASCAR.COM after the race. We have plenty of post-race coverage.

Now to this weekend's schedule:

Track: Texas Motor Speedway

• 1.5-mile oval
• 24-degree banking in turns
• 5-degree banking on straights
• Length of frontstretch: 2,250 feet
• Length of backstretch: 1,330 feet

Thrilling finishSadler holds off Kahne to get the win last season Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Race length: 334 laps/501 miles

TV schedule (All times ET)

• NASCAR Live: Noon Fri., SPEED
• NASCAR Live: 1 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• NASCAR Live: 2 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• NASCAR Live: 3:15 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Bud Pole Qualifying: 4 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Trackside: 7 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• NASCAR Live: Noon Sat., SPEED
• Final Practice: 1 p.m. Sat., FX
• NASCAR Performance: 6:30 p.m. Sat., SPEED
• NASCAR Live: 7:30 p.m. Sat., SPEED
• NASCAR This Morning: 11 a.m. Sun., SPEED
• Pre-race: 12:30 p.m. Sun., FOX
• Race: 1:20 p.m. Sun., FOX

One year ago, Elliott Sadler barely held off then-rookie Kasey Kahne in an exciting finish. It would be the first of Sadler's two wins in 2004.

The most recent checkered flag went to Jeff Gordon, who battled back from three laps down to win the Advance Auto Parts 500 on Sunday at Martinsville.

Keep an eye on Evernham Motorsports. Kahne was second last weekend at Martinsville and teammate Jeremy Mayfield was 15th despite serving a penalty for speeding on pit road.

Track: Texas Motor Speedway

• 1.5-mile oval
• 24-degree banking in turns
• 5-degree banking on straights
• Length of frontstretch: 2,250 feet
• Length of backstretch: 1,330 feet

Shake it upA late-race caution sets up an interesting finish in '04 Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Race distance: 200 laps/300 miles

TV schedule (All times ET)

• Busch Pole Qualifying: 6 p.m. Thurs., SPEED
• Race: 2 p.m. Sat., FOX

One year ago, Matt Kenseth quickly pulled away from Bobby Hamilton Jr. on the final restart and cruised to the checkered flag.

The most recent checkered flag went to Kevin Harvick. Harvick held off Jeff Burton to win the rain-delayed Sharpie Professional 250 at Bristol on April 4.

Keep an eye on Mark Martin. Martin has won both Busch Series races that he's participated in this season.

Mark Spoor is an interactive producer for NASCAR.COM. The Domino's Viewer's Guide runs each Thursday during race weeks.