Jarrett Makes Final Delivery, Thanks Dale

May 17, 2008

By Brenda Benedict

Nothing brings a parent more joy than seeing their child experience success. Ned Jarrett will be experiencing much joy and pride this week as he witnesses the tributes to his son, Dale Jarrett. Dale Jarrett will be running his final NASCAR race Saturday, May 17 during the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. But Ned is also going to be included in some of the tributes as well.

On Tuesday, May 13, Dale and Ned Jarrett were simultaneously inducted into Lowe’s Motor Speedway’s Court of Legends. Both had their signatures, footprints and handprints immortalized in concrete near the track’s main entrance. The Jarretts are the first father-son to receive this honor. They are the 21st and 22nd members of the Courts of Legends, joining fellow NASCAR legends such as Richard Petty, David Pearson, Benny Parsons, Bobby Allison, Junior Johnson, Darrell Waltrip and Terry Labonte.

This is not the first time that Ned has been part of Dale’s success. Ned was an announcer in the TV booth when Dale Jarrett passed Dale Earnhardt in the final lap to win the 1993 Daytona 500. Ned’s excitement filled the airways as he witnessed Dale Jarrett pass Jeff Gordon, Geoff Bodine and finally Dale Earnhardt to claim the victory. Ned called the race with the exuberance of a proud father by saying “Come on Dale, go-baby-go! It’s the Dale and Dale show at Daytona -- you know which Dale I’m pulling for.”

Dale Jarrett grew up in the stock car racing world of North Carolina. As a youngster, he spent time hanging out with Kyle Petty, Davey Allison, and Ricky and Larry Pearson while their fathers raced. Dale, however, did not plan to become a racer, even though his father Ned was a two time Winston Cup champion, winning the crown in 1960 and 1965.

Dale was introduced to racing at Hickory Motor Speedway. This was the track where Ned often raced and was track champion in 1955. When Ned began operating the Hickory Motor Speedway, Dale helped out by doing everything from taking tickets to driving the pace car.

It seemed that Dale would not follow his father’s footsteps into racing. This pleased Ned because he knew the struggles and difficulties that were present in the world of racing. Dale was a successful high school athlete in football, basketball, baseball and golf and it looked like he would pursue one of these sports. He was offered a couple of football scholarships to some small colleges. The University of South Carolina offered Dale a full scholarship based on his golf talent. But it was not to be.

In 1977, Dale’s life direction changed from golf to racing. He drove in his first race at Hickory starting last and finishing 9th. After the race, he said, “It was just unbelievable. I literally ran from down on the track and upstairs and told my mom and dad, ‘I found it! This is what I want to do!”

It was a long road from his first race until Dale felt he was a good racer. He met with many disappointments and often questioned his future in racing. His first victory at Hickory did not come until 1980. He then raced in the Limited Sportsman Division at Hickory before moving up to the NASCAR Busch Series.

Dale raced for Horace Isenhower in the inaugural year of the Busch Series in 1982.

Dale's first Busch race was the Goody’s 300 held at Daytona and the race was won by Dale Earnhardt. Dale Jarrett, Harry Gant and Geoff Bodine were among the drivers in that contest. Dale Jarrett finished tenth that day. He went on to drive in 29 races that year but had just one top-five finish.

But it was not until four years later, after 129 races and 72 top-ten finishes, that Dale had his first victory in the Busch Series.

Dale has amazingly competed in at least one Busch Series race every year since the series began. He has run in 329 races with 11 wins and 173 top-ten finishes.

Dale’s move to the Winston Cup Series came in 1984 at Martinsville. But success did not come overnight there either. “My racing career has been a struggle because I never had any money, so it has been one slow step at a time,” Dale said.

Dale’s career is really the story of determination and perseverance. Many times it seemed that his racing dream had come to an end, but each time an opportunity showed up at the door and Dale opened that door and tried yet again.

Dale feels that the break of his career came in 1990 when he got a call from the Wood Brothers. Neil Bonnett had started that season driving for the Woods but when he was sidelined following a crash at Darlington, they asked Dale to drive. That ride eventually became a full-time job for Dale. Dale says, “To this day, I tell everyone that if it hadn’t been for Len and Eddie Wood, I might not have made it as a NASCAR Winston Cup Series Driver.”

His first victory in a Winston Cup race came at the Champion 400 at Michigan International Speedway in August, 1991. Davey Allison, son of a NASCAR champion like Dale, had crossed paths with Dale throughout both of their careers. They were both rookies in 1987, yet Allison had experienced more success.

As the race at Michigan neared the end, it was Allison and Jarrett running door-to-door until the finish, when Dale won by 10 inches.

After that win, there have been many more memorable finishes including the exciting win over Dale Earnhardt at the 1993 Daytona 500. Dale went on to win Daytona again in 1996. He also won the Brickyard 400 that year and became the first driver to win both races in the same year.

In 1996, Dale was partnered with Todd Parrott as his crew chief. This proved to be a winning combination. Jarrett and the #88 team finished the year with 17 top-five and 21 top-ten finishes.

It wasn’t until the 1999 that Dale finally achieved his goal of winning the Cup championship. Dale was 42 at the time and no driver of that age had ever won the championship. His season began with a disastrous 37th place finish at the Daytona 500. But once again, Dale’s tenacity showed itself. Todd Parrott said, “We never lost confidence.” But instead they regrouped and went on to reach success. One month later, Jarrett finished fifth in Atlanta and then began a string of 19 consecutive top-10 finishes.

With these strong performances, Dale was able to become the oldest driver to ever capture a NASCAR championship.

At the start of the 2001 season, UPS took over primary sponsorship of the #88 team. Dale had a very successful run during the next six seasons with eight wins, 34 top-five and 69 top-10 finishes. During the “Race the Truck” advertising campaign for UPS, Dale’s popularity soared with the fans. While racing with the UPS team, Jarrett has scored eight wins, 34 top-five and 69 top-10 finishes over the last six seasons.

In this final season of racing, Dale has been driving the #44 UPS Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing. He placed 16th in his final run at Daytona and retired from points racing after the 2008 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

At the pre-race driver’s meeting at Bristol, Dale shared these thoughts with the other drivers. “Enjoy this. We all have our time in this, and mine has been fantastic. To me, it has been an honor and a privilege to be able to race in this series and say I raced with and against and sometimes beat the best in the world. Thanks for allowing me to do that. Enjoy it. It’s a great sport and you guys make it what it is.”

We NASCAR fans can say the same to you Dale. Thank you for a well-lived life and career. It has been a privilege to watch you race and we’ve enjoyed it. NASCAR is a great sport and drivers like you make it what it is. It is more than just a sport to watch, but also an opportunity to watch many who live life well while racing. We look forward to following you as you retire and move into the announcer’s booth with ABC’s NASCAR coverage.

Sources for this article listed below

Photos: UPS Racing