Jarrett 1st Quarter Driver of the Year: Dale Jarrett, driver of the #88 UPS Ford Taurus, won first-quarter Driver of the Year balloting honors this week, as he was selected by a national panel of motorsports media and viewers of ESPN for the honor. Jarrett easily outdistanced the Indy Racing League’s Sam Hornish, Jr., piling up 13 first-place votes and 141 points to the latter’s two first-place nods and 85 points. Jarrett won three of the final four Winston Cup races of the first quarter, while Hornish won two IRL events. Both drivers are leading their series. Points are awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis in voting for six drivers by the panel and ESPN viewers. Third-place went to Winston Cup driver Kevin Harvick, a popular winner of the Atlanta race as he drove for the late Dale Earnhardt. Harvick had the other two first-place votes and 71 points. The CART/FedEx series Cristiano da Matta finished fourth with 38 points, while Winston Cup’s Jeff Gordon and the Craftsman Truck series Ted Musgrave would up tied for fifth and rounded out the top six with 15 points each. Gordon is a three-time Driver of the Year. Meanwhile, NASCAR/Winston Cup’s Bobby Labonte, 2000’s Driver of the Year, will be formally presented his trophy, diamond ring and a custom Indian Motorcycle Thursday, April 19, during black tie induction ceremonies at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, AL. Twenty three different drivers received support in the Driver of the Year first-quarter voting. Three more quarterly ballots will be taken and then a final secret ballot at the end of the season will determine the 2001 winner.(DOTY PR)(4-20-2001)
