Jarrett says he’ll defy the pain barrier

The Winston Cup leader reported he felt something "pop" in his right side during the second practice session yesterday (Saturday) morning in preparation for the race.

"I was going into turn three and I just felt a pop," he said. "I had no indication [after crashing on Friday]. I worked out and lifted weights and ran like I normally would and had no problems. I was just going into the corner in the second session. It was the best we had been. The car got a little more grip and when I went to turn the wheel I just felt a pop and it was hard to catch my breath. I ran about four more laps and told them I couldn't do anymore right then."

Jarrett then tried wearing a flak jacket as support for his ribs, but said it doesn't really help.

"The pain really comes whenever I go to turn the wheel," he added. "The only thing the flak jacket was basically gonna do was to keep from furthering the injury. I need something that is gonna help kind of tie this together, so when I do go to turn the wheel that I'm not gonna get that much pain. If it's just some pain and I can breathe, that's fine. But what I had wasn't something that I would feel comfortable with for 600 miles.

"I feel I'll start and my plan is to finish. With the amount of time we have here, we'll be okay. When you have a broken rib, there's not much more you can do for it by knowing whether it is [broken] or not. But that's what we suspect."