California Matches Season Best Team Average

The guys matched last weeks effort in Daytona with a 13.99 average on the day. Daryl Lockyer had trouble on stop 1 when he over estimated DJ's position in the stall. Daryl positioned himself a little front of the stall and DJ stopped short resulting in a season worst 15.21 second stop. He bounced back after reviewing the film on that first stop and was solid the rest of the day, including a perfect stop on stop #4.

We worked on the car most of the day putting full rubbers in and full rubbers out of the RR. The guys on the rear had their work cut out for them. Jeff "T" Knight, Rear Carrier, had a career day averaging 0.82 and 0.92 per index on each side for a season best contribution of 1.72 seconds. That is 0.10 seconds better than his season best last year (1.82 seconds) in the Bass Pro Shops race in Atlanta.

Alex Smith, Front Carrier, matched his third best performance since 2004 with a 1.91 second contribution. He is picking up where he left off last year. He needs to be patient with the indexes and stay focused. When he is focused he is dangerous.

Kyle Roland dropped the car a little better this week averaging a 0.34 second drop on the left side, 0.09 seconds better than last week. That would have put our average over 14 seconds for the day. Good job there Kyle.

Our Rear Changer had an outstanding day. Ryan Pepe had 3 perfect stops (5 Off 5 On / Both Sides) and would have had 4 if his hose didn't get tangled up on his radio on stop #7. This breaks the old record set by Kyle Power in 2004 when he had 2 perfect stops in three different races. He continues to bring a steady work ethic and quiet leadership to the team. He leads by example and I really like that.

We are off to Vegas after a week off.

Team Member of the Race: Ryan Pepe (Rear Changer) - Had 3 perfect stops and did a great job working on the car all day long.

God Bless!!

Daytona was a Success for UPS Pit Crew

I take advice from John Wooden, one of the greatest basketball coaches in NCAA history, when it comes to coaching these guys. He stated that he has lost games on the scoreboard, but he felt like he still "won" them because his players made significant gains. My contention is that if my pit crew gets just a little better every week, that is success!

That is exactly what happened this weekend. I am proud of the way these guys handled themselves at the track in Daytona. We had a record 12 stops. Quite a few of those stops we were making adjustments and had a few splash stops. We NEVER lost Dale any track position. In fact, we gained him 12, 9, 8, 8 and 6 spots on five of the stops!

One word...Relaxed!!! The guys were very relaxed and focused on the task at hand and they got the job done well. Everyone from Eddie D'Hondt, Mike Ford and Robert Yates himself told me that they were "proud" of the job we did in the pits this weekend.

We know that we have another race ahead of us, so we are going to keep our blinders on and keep moving forward. Complacency can be a concern for teams that experience some success. But, if we remember that we define success by getting a "little" better everyday complacency shouldn't step in.

The Team Member of the Race: The Whole UPS CREW

Way to go guys!!!

Dale Wins Pole for Daytona 500

Congrats to all the 88 team members for making this the beginning of a succesful season. Although winning the pole doesn't guarantee a win, it sure is a confidence builder going into the Daytona 500. It is proof that hard work does pay off. Eddie D'Hondt and Mike Ford have done a great job rebuilding this team.

Watch out everyone...Dale is going to be the sleeper this year!

Look for great things out of these guys in 2005

2005 Pre-Season Preview

We have been working hard to get ready for Daytona and it will be here this weekend. I am excited about the new season and am looking forward to winning some races this year.

This year I am pleased to have 2 new members on our team. Ryan Pepe (Rear Changer) joins us this year after a successful season with Hendrick Motorsports where he changed tires for Jeff Gordon in 2004. He has a been a great asset to the team bringing experience and a calm, "lead by example" attitude to the team. Daryl Lockyer who changed for the #38 car last year, has spent a good bit of time in victory lane as well.

Team members Alex Smith (Front Carrier) and Jeff Knight (Rear Carrier) are getting back to there consistent ways. Both Carriers are working very well with their counterparts and I look for good things from them this year. Kyle Roland, our returning Jackman, is also a great story. He picked up and moved his family to Mooresville a few years ago in the hopes of working for a team in NASCAR. With plenty of hard work and determination he landed the starting Jackman job for the UPS Racing Team last year and will repeat this year as well. Look for good things out of this guy.



Handling the gas will be both Barry Price (Gasman) and Jason "Trooper" Turner (Catchcan). Barry is steady! I don't think he dropped an ounce of fuel last year. Trooper became our Catchcan man late in the season last year and is do a great job as well.

I am so proud of how quickly these guys are coming together. Keep checking this sight to stay on top of the "inside story" of UPS Racing. No, you will not find any confidential information here, but you will hopefully be able to experience what the team is going through throughout the season.

In Christ,
Russ Salerno