Jarrett: I was trying to protect my position.

Saturday's Pepsi 400 at the Daytona International Speedway unfortunately contained another multi-car wreck that is becoming increasingly typical of restrictor plate racing. At the center of it was Robert Yates Racing's Dale Jarrett.

Saturday night's 'Big One' occurred in almost identical fashion to this year's Daytona 500 'Big One' when one car moved down the track to block another's passing attempt triggering chaos as the recently restarted lead draft piled into the turn one banking.

Whereas in February the two protagonists were Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon, on Saturday it was the turn of Dale Jarrett and Jeff Burton to get thrust into the spotlight as their battle for eighth place on lap 135 turned into a 14 car pile-up.

As Burton dove to the inside of Jarrett's #88 Ford Taurus Jarrett moved to cover his line. In doing so Burton's car touched the rear bumper of Jarrett's machine and sent it spearing up the track.

In the melee, Mike Skinner, Joe Nemechek and Brett Bodine all took heavy hits with Bodine's #11 Hooters Ford catching fire. Thankfully nobody was injured but four drivers, including Jarrett, would not turn another wheel as a result of their damage.

Afterwards Jarrett gave his thoughts on what is becoming an unhappy regularity at both Daytona and Talladega, to which many of the drivers point blame at the current restrictor plate package that forces drivers to defend their positions so vigorously.

DALE JARRETT --88-- UPS Taurus (Finished 35th) -- "I was trying to protect my position. I actually thought I was far enough on the bottom and I saw the 99 [Jeff Burton] getting a run and I just moved to stay kind of where I was, but he got in the back of me a little bit and that's what happens here sometimes. Sometimes you make that move and you're OK, and other times it doesn't work out so good."

WHAT HAPPENED?

Dale Jarrett "The same thing that always happens - one guy is trying to protect his position and somebody else is trying to take it. Unfortunately, we met there and I got hit. Whose fault is it? I don't know, it's just something that happens in this. Unfortunately, it created a big wreck."

WHY NOT GET IN THE AMBULANCE?

Dale Jarrett "I'm fine, but I stood around and I walked around and I walked halfway back to my pit before an ambulance ever came, so if they can't get them any sooner than that, to hell with them."

WAS THAT TYPICAL DAYTONA?

Dale Jarrett "I guess, pretty much. It would have been nice not to have that caution with thirty some to go because we had kind of a breakaway and we were gonna settle it between eight or 10 guys and probably wouldn't have had a situation like that, but it did. It just happens."

IS THIS AS MAD AS YOU'VE BEEN?

Dale Jarrett"I'm not angry. I mean, it just happens. Everybody is OK. I guess everybody walked away."

IS IT A CASE YOU HAVE TO MAKE DRAMATIC MOVES?

Dale Jarrett "I don't know that I was making a dramatic move to block. I kind of had the inside lane anyway. I saw the 99 with a run and I might not have been as concerned about it as I got because the only way he could have passed me was to go below the yellow line and I probably should have just let him go on and do that, but I decided to try and move down a little bit -- really to get the push to keep me going and make the pass that I was trying to make to get by the 6 car."