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CUP: Jarrett Expects Emotional Outing in Final Career Race
Written by: SceneDaily.com
SceneDaily.com   
05/17/2008 - 11:05 AM
Charlotte, N.C.
 
Dale Jarrett will be making his final career start in the Sprint All-Star Race Saturday night. (John Harrelson/Getty Images Photo) ยป More Photos

Dale Jarrett didn’t realize it would be like this.

Although he’s known for months that tonight’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race would be the final race of his career, he didn’t expect it to feel quite like this. Certainly, the 51-year-old expected this to be an emotional year. He planned to run the season-opening Budweiser Shootout, then five points races. Then he moved over to ESPN to begin working as a commentator, taking a break before making his final career start in tonight’s non-points event.

He admitted from the start that he didn’t know how he would feel when it came time to finally say goodbye.

Now, he’s finding out. For Jarrett, this is it.

Tonight he’ll cross the stage for driver introductions the final time and compete in his final NASCAR Sprint Cup race. While he gently refuses to say he’ll never get back into a Sprint Cup car, he clearly has absolutely no plans to do so. For Jarrett, retirement could really be just that – at least in terms of driving. Obviously he’s taken on a new career in the television booth, another factor that could keep him from driving again, but Jarrett plans to follow in his father’s footsteps and make a clean break from racing.

How does it feel?

“It’s difficult,” he said Friday as he tried to capture his emotions. “It’s been easy to talk about, but to be honest, it’s been - even leading up to this week having a lot of time to reflect this week has been extremely busy with
a lot of things going on. It’s getting more difficult by the day to know that this is going to be it, but it’s the right thing to do.

“It’s not that I’m having any second thoughts. It’s just difficult in knowing that when I get out of the car Saturday night that that is the last time that I will ever compete at this level. You can do a lot of fun things. I can go to the golf course and have great matches but nothing will ever match the kind of excitement that you get from driving a race car and being able to compete at this level. It is tough, but again it is the right decision and I’m looking forward to the future.”

Drivers universally were pleased to see Jarrett back at the track. Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon, who has raced against Jarrett Gordon’s entire Cup career, said that he prepared a basket for Jarrett and took it to him Friday morning.

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SPEED will televise the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race XXIV and the NASCAR Sprint Showdown live on May 17, as well as provide more than 90 hours of support programming prior to the event. Stay tuned to SPEEDtv.com for frequent updates on the history of the event and all the details about this year’s action.
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