BRISTOL, Tenn. — Dale Jarrett ends his Sprint Cup career today at the Bristol Motor Speedway with a resume most drivers only dream of: 32 race wins, three Daytona 500 victories and a series championship in 1999.
He’s won nearly $60 million and was part of the era in which NASCAR went from regional sport to national sensation.
In the NASCAR garage, though, Jarrett will be remembered for a lot more. The soon-to-be full-time ESPN commentator’s legacy is much deeper than just on-track success with his peers. It seems every driver has a favorite Dale Jarrett memory.
“We had just won the 2001 400 at Daytona, and it was the race at Daytona right after my dad had been killed there,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “I had won and we were standing down in the motorhome lot, and it was 1 or 2 in the morning. We had a circle of us all drinking beer, about 20 of us. I looked around and I knew everybody. It was mostly team members and some friends of mine in town.
“I looked to my right, and standing next to me was Dale Jarrett. I asked him what he was still doing there — ‘Why aren’t you on your way home?’ He said, ‘I wouldn’t miss this. That was the coolest thing I have ever seen you do.’ At that time in my life, it meant a lot to me for somebody to care and want to experience that with me. Obviously there was a void there for me, and it meant a lot to me that he understood that.
“It was just a great moment for me. He has just been there for not only me but for other drivers, too, for a while.”
Jarrett remembers that moment (“I can tell you they were still going long after I gave up”) and hundreds of others in a career that included competition against legendary former drivers such as Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough.
“This is it. I’ve found myself thinking about all the things that have happened over the past 27 years,” Jarrett said Friday. “It’s been great. I’ve had a wonderful time. It’s been a privilege and honor to drive for the car owners I have and represent the sponsors. I couldn’t have asked for a better scenario.”
Jeff Burton, who raced against Jarrett when he was an annual title contender, said to forget about the personality and gentle heart. The man can drive a race car.
“I think Dale is one of the under-appreciated drivers in this sport, honestly,” said Burton, knowing Jarrett finished fifth or better in points for six consecutive seasons beginning in 1996. “If you look at the number of wins he had, championship, poles, all those kinds of things. When somebody says who the best 20 drivers are, you never hear his name and I don’t think that’s fair.”
Jeff Gordon, who began his career in the midst of Jarrett’s strong run, said he thinks Jarrett retires with one of the most respected careers in NASCAR history.
“He has had a heck of a career, and I have had a blast racing with him,” Gordon said. “I feel fortunate to have raced him for some great wins, great battles for wins as well as for championships. He is just one of the highest quality individuals and race car drivers that I have ever raced against.
“To me, he is just one of the great guys that you will ever meet. His legacy is going to be very broad because ... he has performed at a high level, he has won a championship, the Daytona 500, and he is just one of the greatest people you will ever meet.”
Jarrett began his career watching father Ned become a champion while building his own cars to race at the local Hickory, N.C., track. He tried to hook on with anybody over a seven-year period in the mid 1980s, but 58 Cup races resulted in just three top-10 finishes and 27 DNFs. Even after winning his first race with the Wood Brothers in 1991, Dale was considered little more than Ned Jarrett’s son.
Joe Gibbs took a chance on him in 1992, but 29 starts produced a 19th-place points finish. However, that memorable 1993 Daytona 500 victory, complete with Ned calling him home, jump-started a career that quickly took off. Through it all, Jarrett retained his humility.
“I don’t know that I deserve all this attention,” he said Friday. “I’ve had a great career and I’ve had a lot of days when I never would have dreamed I could have had this kind of success. Really, I would not change a thing.”
Lindsey Young is a sports writer at the Chattanooga Times Free Press who started work at the Chattanooga News-Free Press 24 years ago. He covers the Northwest Georgia prep beat and NASCAR. Lindsey’s hometown is Ringgold, Ga., and he graduated from Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School. He received an associate’s degree from Dalton Junior College (now Dalton State) and a bachelor’s degree in communications from UTC. He has won several writing awards, including two Tennessee Sports ...
