Feb 14, 2005 2 min read

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Dale Jarrett has heard the talk. The three-time Daytona 500 winner, coming off his first winless season since 1992, knows some people figure that at 48 years old he is no longer one of the drivers to beat.

Don’t bet on it.

Jarrett, showing some of the flash that carried him to two previous poles at NASCAR’s biggest event, beat out 56 other drivers Sunday in qualifying to take the top spot for next Sunday’s season-opening Nextel Cup event.

“You sit and watch and read and listen to everything that’s talked about for the Daytona 500, and probably for good reason, you really haven’t seen the (No.) 88 car or my name and face for a while,” Jarrett said. “But we still know what it takes to win at this. We may be getting up there in age, but that doesn’t matter. I think we can be considered a car and team to beat on Sunday.”

Jimmie Johnson, coming off a victory Saturday night in the non-points Budweiser Shootout, will share the front row with Jarrett for the 500.

“We’re really looking forward to the race,” Johnson said. “We feel like we’ve got a better car for the 500 than we had last night.

“We’re definitely feeling momentum,” added Johnson, who narrowly missed the Cup title last year and is considered by many the favorite heading into 2005.

Jeff Gordon, Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, was fastest in Saturday practice at Daytona International Speedway and was the heavy favorite in the garage area to take the pole. It looked like a good prediction when the two-time 500 winner took the top spot early in Sunday’s qualifying with a lap of 188.155 mph.

But Jarrett, among the fastest drivers in preseason testing, topped Gordon’s Chevrolet with a lap of 188.312, grabbing his first Daytona pole since 2000, when he last won the big race.

Johnson, the 53rd driver to make a qualifying attempt, pushed his teammate to third with a lap of 188.170.

“This is really a good race car,” said Jarrett.