Rate this article:
Aston Martin DVD
You don't want to miss the details in this Aston Martin DVD!
Our Price: $24.95
Racer Magazine - Subscribe Now
Get all of the inside information from America's Premiere Motorsports Magazine
Our Price: $29.95
365 Cars You Must Drive
The ultimate gift and ride guide for the automotive enthusiast.
Our Price: $19.95
Dale Jarrett gets ready to practice for his 668th - and final - NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. (Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR) ยป More Photos
Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway will be the final NASCAR Sprint Cup points race for Dale Jarrett, one of the true ambassadors of the sport and the 1999 series champion.
Jarrett, the son of NASCAR legend Ned Jarrett, had his first Cup start at Martinsville on April 29, 1984. Since that time, he has had 667 starts, 16 poles, 32 victories, 163 top-five and 260 top-10 finishes in NASCAR’s top division.
He has also given the sport some of its most memorable moments, including at Michigan in 1991, when he beat Davey Allison by half a fender to win his first Cup race and, most famously, when he won his first Daytona 500 in 1993, beating Dale Earnhardt as Ned Jarrett called the race on live national television.
Friday at Bristol, Jarrett sat down with reporters to reflect on his career. Excerpts follow.
Can you talk about your thoughts heading into your last NASCAR points race?
Jarrett: The sport has obviously done a lot for me and my family. This week has been a lot more different than what I’ve thought all season. I’ve always been able to say, ‘I’ve got a few more weeks,’ or ‘I’ve got a couple of months before that comes.’ It was easy to say at that time, but we’re here. This is it this week.
I’ve found myself thinking about a lot of the things that have happened over the last 20 years. It’s been fun thinking about it, but kind of difficult to see now that it’s coming to an end. It’s been great. I’ve had a wonderful time. As I’ve said a number of times, it’s been a privilege and an honor to drive for the car owners that I have and represent the sponsors that I have. As I look at it now, I’m going out with the best sponsor in the business in UPS. I couldn’t have asked for a better scenario. If you gave me a chance to go back and do it all over again, I wouldn’t have changed a thing about it.
Did you ever think that your career could have brought you so much success?
Jarrett: There were times I was wondering what was going to happen the next week. That’s no different than what a lot of others have been through. It was definitely hit and miss early on. It was a struggle. This week, I’ve thought a lot about the times when I had my own Busch (Series) team trying to make ends meet having two other people working with me full-time. We were working literally day and night. It wasn’t uncommon for it to be 18-hour days. That is what it took.
Not only that, I would drive the hauler to the track. I say hauler, but it was really a pickup truck with a trailer behind it. That’s just what you were doing, and at the time, it was great. I owned the company. I went out and tried to drum up the sponsorship. I built the cars. I didn’t build the engines. I don’t want anybody to mistake me for an engine man by any means. I did learn to build the cars. I put bodies on them. I did everything that was with it. I think I was paying myself $115 a week. But I was making it and it all led to really good things.
Obviously, getting the opportunity by Eric Freelander in 1987 to get into the Cup Series. From that, it developed into driving for Cale Yarborough. The biggest break came in 1990 from the Wood Brothers. They gave me a chance to come here after Neil Bonnett was injured at Darlington. That put me back in the Cup Series. That really set my career forward. There were a lot of days that I had no idea this kind of success that I’ve been fortunate enough to have would come along.”
Can you point to a specific race or year when you knew you belonged at this level?
Jarrett: It may surprise you a little bit. Even though, when the Wood brothers gave me the opportunity and we had some good things to happen and I won my first race in 1991, it wasn’t then. Even going to Joe Gibbs Racing, there were still struggles there.
It probably wasn’t until 1997. Robert Yates started the second team in 1996. Even though we had an incredible year
I knew all along that I could do it, but I was finally in the situation that made all of that real. I had great sponsorship. We had a great deal going with Ford Motor Company, and it was just a blast then. I said, ‘Now you can relax and have fun at this, like you’re supposed to.’ Even though each week had a lot of work to it, I felt then that I was in a place where I really belonged. I think that I was accepted and it was a lot of fun.
Who are the two guys that you most enjoyed racing with and beating?
Jarrett: It was an honor to be able to get to the Cup Series and race against Richard Petty just for the simple fact that I grew up hanging out with him and that was really cool. Competitors - there again, I got to compete against Cale Yarborough, I got to drive for him. Dale Earnhardt was the ultimate competitor, but good friend and taught me a lot about racing and life outside the race car too. That was a huge thrill.
You’ve got people like Jeff Gordon - we had a lot of great battles that I know he is as good a race car driver that has ever come through this. To have the opportunity to race with young guys now like Tony Stewart - I’ve compared him a lot to AJ Foyt and it’s just tremendous to race against a competitor like that who literally can get in anything and drive it. I know I’m leaving people out.
Mark Martin has always been fun to race with and be around him and talk with him and be friends with him over the years. He’s that ultimate competitor, too. He’s always raced in a different style and you talk about the talent that he and Dale Earnhardt had, but they went about their business in totally different ways. That was always a thrill.
I look back and people that helped me like Darrell Waltrip - he was always there to answer my stupid questions about my race car before I got into the Cup Series. What made me think I could go over there and ask this Cup champion about my Busch car at the time? But, I did it and he was always there to talk and answer my questions. I’ve been fortunate to race during a time that allowed me to race against what I would consider some of the very best that have ever come through this.”
What does it mean that you were able to win some big races in the closing laps against some of the biggest names?
Jarrett: It meant a lot to me to be able to handle those types of situations. The first two (Daytona) 500s were beating Dale Earnhardt and that meant a lot to me because of who he was and the respect that I had for him. A lot of the other victories that were down to the wire, I can think of times like passing Mark Martin late at Michigan and beating him. Beating Ernie (Irvan) at Indy (Indianapolis) - a lot of big things.
When I won here (Bristol) that was a great thrill to me. Winning at this place was always an exclamation mark for any driver and the guy that I beat was Mark Martin and that meant a lot to me because there were very few people that won as many short track races as he did. I took a lot of pride in the fact that we were able to win at a lot of the venues that drivers look at as driver’s tracks and races that everybody gets up for. You think about here and winning at Daytona and winning at Darlington - those are very special places.
Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDTV.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association.
Commenting is not allowed in this article.
- Press Releases | Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | FOXReality | National Geographic - © Copyright 2008 Speed Channel, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
