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Dale Jarrett
Dale Arnold Jarrett (born November 26, 1956) is an American former race car driver and current racing commentator for NBC. He is best known for winning the Daytona 500 three times (in 1993, 1996, and 2000) and winning the NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship in 1999. He is the son of two-time Grand National Champion Ned Jarrett, younger brother of Glenn Jarrett, father of former driver Jason Jarrett, and cousin of Todd Jarrett. In 2007, Jarrett joined the ESPN/ABC broadcasting team as an announcer in select Nationwide Series races. In 2008, after retiring from driving following the 2008 Food City 500, he joined ESPN permanently as the lead racing analyst replacing Rusty Wallace. In 2015, Jarrett became a part of the NBC Sports Broadcasting Crew for NASCAR events. He was inducted in the 2014 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2025.
Jarrett was born on November 26, 1956, in Conover, North Carolina, the middle child of Ned and Martha. Jarrett has an older brother, Glenn; and a younger sister, Patti. Jarrett's father Ned competed in the NASCAR Grand National Division between 1953 and 1966, winning two series championships in 1961 and 1965. Following retirement, Ned remained active in the racing community as manager of Hickory Motor Speedway and later established a career in broadcasting calling Cup races.
Jarrett spent his childhood traveling to his father's races across the Southern United States. He was introduced to golf by the age of twelve; he also played football, basketball and baseball while attending Newton-Conover High School. Jarrett led his high school's golf team to three conference championships, and was named the school's athlete of the year as a senior. Following graduation in 1975, Jarrett worked at Hickory Motor Speedway, the track his father managed. Jarrett was offered a full golf scholarship from the University of South Carolina, which he declined. Though he continued to play golf, Jarrett was interested in following his father's footsteps as a racing driver.
In April 1977, Jarrett entered his first professional race in the Limited Sportsman Division in Hickory. His vehicle, a 1968 Chevrolet Nova, was built by Andy Petree and Jimmy Newsome. Jarrett started last and finished in ninth place; it was after this event when Jarrett knew that he wanted to race for a living. Jarrett continued to compete in the Limited Sportsman Division for two years, before moving up to the Dash Series and then the Late Model Sportsman Division, the latter in which he earned his first victory.
Jarrett competed in the 1982 NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series for car owner Horace Isenhower. He earned fourteen top-ten finishes throughout the season, with a best of third-place at Hickory; and he finished sixth in the point standings. During the 1983 season, Jarrett earned four poles and seventeen top-fives, finishing fifth in the point standings. For the 1984 Busch Grand National Series, Jarrett received sponsorship from Econo Lodge; Valvoline; and Budweiser. He earned six front-row starts and nineteen top-tens, finishing a career-best fourth in the point standings. Jarrett made his Winston Cup Series debut during the 1984 season. Driving the No. 02 Chevrolet for Emanuel Zervakis at Martinsville Speedway, Jarrett qualified 24th and finished fourteenth. He made two more Cup starts that season, at the Firecracker 400 for Jimmy Means, and the Warner W. Hodgdon American 500. During the 1986 Busch Grand National Series, Jarrett earned his first career victory at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, North Carolina; piloting the Nationwise Auto Parts Pontiac to victory lane. He also earned six poles in 1986.
Jarrett earned his second career victory in the Busch Grand National Series at Hickory during the 1987 season. In the Winston Cup Series, Jarrett replaced Tommy Ellis in the No. 18 Chevrolet owned by Eric Freelander early in the season. Running a primarily-unsponsored car, he had two tenth place finishes and ended the season 26th in points, second to Davey Allison for Rookie of the Year honors. He ran every race of the 1988 season, despite running with various teams. He made most of his starts in the No. 29 Hardee's Oldsmobile owned by Cale Yarborough, finishing eighth at Riverside International Raceway. He also ran races for Buddy Arrington and Hoss Ellington that season, finishing 23rd in the final standings. He ran the entire season for Yarborough in 1989, posting five top-ten finishes, including two fifth place runs. Jarrett enjoyed the majority of his success in the Busch Series during the 1990 and 1991 seasons. Led by crew chief John Ervin and engine builder Ron Hutter, Jarrett scored victories at Bristol, Charlotte, Rockingham, and Darlington (twice). Jarrett began 1990 without a Cup ride before taking over the No. 21 Citgo Ford Thunderbird for Wood Brothers Racing at the Valleydale Meats 500, replacing the injured Neil Bonnett. He finished in the top-ten seven times during the season and finished 25th in the final standings despite missing the first five races of the season. The following season, Jarrett won his first career Winston Cup race at Michigan International Speedway, and finished a then career-best seventeenth in the final points standings.
Despite the win, Jarrett left Wood Brothers to drive the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet for the fledgling Joe Gibbs Racing team. In their first year of competition, Jarrett had two top-five finishes but dropped to nineteenth in points. In 1993, Jarrett won the Daytona 500 after battling Dale Earnhardt (commonly referred to as "The Dale and Dale Show"). While Jarrett did not win again that season, he had a total of thirteen top-fives and finished fourth in the final standings. During the spring race at Bristol, Jarrett threw his helmet at the No. 90 car of Bobby Hillin Jr. who crashed Jarrett while he had been lapped. The next season, Jarrett won the Mello Yello 500, but chose to step down from the Gibbs organization at the end of the season. Jarrett signed to drive for Robert Yates in 1995, piloting the No. 28 Texaco Ford in place of an injured Ernie Irvan at the Winston Cup level. His Busch Series team also made the switch to Ford as well. With engines provided by Yates and sponsorship from Mac Tools, Jarrett scored four Busch Series wins during the season. However, only three of the wins counted. His win at Michigan was disqualified due to an unapproved engine part.
He won his first Cup race for Yates at Pocono Raceway and finished 13th in the final standings. When it was announced Irvan (who had returned toward the end of the year in a Texaco Havoline Yates car numbered 88) would return to the No. 28 after a year-long absence due to injuries, Yates had planned to help Jarrett compete in his own team with a Hooters sponsorship. The deal fell through, however, and Yates promoted the No. 88 car to full-time in the Winston Cup Series with Ford assuming the sponsorship through its Quality Care Service and Ford Credit divisions. In 1996, Jarrett won the Daytona 500 for a second time, and finished in the top-two in each of the first three races of the season. He also won the Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400, and the second Michigan race. Jarrett finished third in the final point standings behind Hendrick Motorsports teammates Terry Labonte and Jeff Gordon. Jarrett's kissing of the bricks at Indianapolis started a tradition that has been used by every NASCAR team at the race since then and in the Indianapolis 500 since 2003.
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Dale Jarrett
Dale Arnold Jarrett (born November 26, 1956) is an American former race car driver and current racing commentator for NBC. He is best known for winning the Daytona 500 three times (in 1993, 1996, and 2000) and winning the NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship in 1999. He is the son of two-time Grand National Champion Ned Jarrett, younger brother of Glenn Jarrett, father of former driver Jason Jarrett, and cousin of Todd Jarrett. In 2007, Jarrett joined the ESPN/ABC broadcasting team as an announcer in select Nationwide Series races. In 2008, after retiring from driving following the 2008 Food City 500, he joined ESPN permanently as the lead racing analyst replacing Rusty Wallace. In 2015, Jarrett became a part of the NBC Sports Broadcasting Crew for NASCAR events. He was inducted in the 2014 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2025.
Jarrett was born on November 26, 1956, in Conover, North Carolina, the middle child of Ned and Martha. Jarrett has an older brother, Glenn; and a younger sister, Patti. Jarrett's father Ned competed in the NASCAR Grand National Division between 1953 and 1966, winning two series championships in 1961 and 1965. Following retirement, Ned remained active in the racing community as manager of Hickory Motor Speedway and later established a career in broadcasting calling Cup races.
Jarrett spent his childhood traveling to his father's races across the Southern United States. He was introduced to golf by the age of twelve; he also played football, basketball and baseball while attending Newton-Conover High School. Jarrett led his high school's golf team to three conference championships, and was named the school's athlete of the year as a senior. Following graduation in 1975, Jarrett worked at Hickory Motor Speedway, the track his father managed. Jarrett was offered a full golf scholarship from the University of South Carolina, which he declined. Though he continued to play golf, Jarrett was interested in following his father's footsteps as a racing driver.
In April 1977, Jarrett entered his first professional race in the Limited Sportsman Division in Hickory. His vehicle, a 1968 Chevrolet Nova, was built by Andy Petree and Jimmy Newsome. Jarrett started last and finished in ninth place; it was after this event when Jarrett knew that he wanted to race for a living. Jarrett continued to compete in the Limited Sportsman Division for two years, before moving up to the Dash Series and then the Late Model Sportsman Division, the latter in which he earned his first victory.
Jarrett competed in the 1982 NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series for car owner Horace Isenhower. He earned fourteen top-ten finishes throughout the season, with a best of third-place at Hickory; and he finished sixth in the point standings. During the 1983 season, Jarrett earned four poles and seventeen top-fives, finishing fifth in the point standings. For the 1984 Busch Grand National Series, Jarrett received sponsorship from Econo Lodge; Valvoline; and Budweiser. He earned six front-row starts and nineteen top-tens, finishing a career-best fourth in the point standings. Jarrett made his Winston Cup Series debut during the 1984 season. Driving the No. 02 Chevrolet for Emanuel Zervakis at Martinsville Speedway, Jarrett qualified 24th and finished fourteenth. He made two more Cup starts that season, at the Firecracker 400 for Jimmy Means, and the Warner W. Hodgdon American 500. During the 1986 Busch Grand National Series, Jarrett earned his first career victory at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, North Carolina; piloting the Nationwise Auto Parts Pontiac to victory lane. He also earned six poles in 1986.
Jarrett earned his second career victory in the Busch Grand National Series at Hickory during the 1987 season. In the Winston Cup Series, Jarrett replaced Tommy Ellis in the No. 18 Chevrolet owned by Eric Freelander early in the season. Running a primarily-unsponsored car, he had two tenth place finishes and ended the season 26th in points, second to Davey Allison for Rookie of the Year honors. He ran every race of the 1988 season, despite running with various teams. He made most of his starts in the No. 29 Hardee's Oldsmobile owned by Cale Yarborough, finishing eighth at Riverside International Raceway. He also ran races for Buddy Arrington and Hoss Ellington that season, finishing 23rd in the final standings. He ran the entire season for Yarborough in 1989, posting five top-ten finishes, including two fifth place runs. Jarrett enjoyed the majority of his success in the Busch Series during the 1990 and 1991 seasons. Led by crew chief John Ervin and engine builder Ron Hutter, Jarrett scored victories at Bristol, Charlotte, Rockingham, and Darlington (twice). Jarrett began 1990 without a Cup ride before taking over the No. 21 Citgo Ford Thunderbird for Wood Brothers Racing at the Valleydale Meats 500, replacing the injured Neil Bonnett. He finished in the top-ten seven times during the season and finished 25th in the final standings despite missing the first five races of the season. The following season, Jarrett won his first career Winston Cup race at Michigan International Speedway, and finished a then career-best seventeenth in the final points standings.
Despite the win, Jarrett left Wood Brothers to drive the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet for the fledgling Joe Gibbs Racing team. In their first year of competition, Jarrett had two top-five finishes but dropped to nineteenth in points. In 1993, Jarrett won the Daytona 500 after battling Dale Earnhardt (commonly referred to as "The Dale and Dale Show"). While Jarrett did not win again that season, he had a total of thirteen top-fives and finished fourth in the final standings. During the spring race at Bristol, Jarrett threw his helmet at the No. 90 car of Bobby Hillin Jr. who crashed Jarrett while he had been lapped. The next season, Jarrett won the Mello Yello 500, but chose to step down from the Gibbs organization at the end of the season. Jarrett signed to drive for Robert Yates in 1995, piloting the No. 28 Texaco Ford in place of an injured Ernie Irvan at the Winston Cup level. His Busch Series team also made the switch to Ford as well. With engines provided by Yates and sponsorship from Mac Tools, Jarrett scored four Busch Series wins during the season. However, only three of the wins counted. His win at Michigan was disqualified due to an unapproved engine part.
He won his first Cup race for Yates at Pocono Raceway and finished 13th in the final standings. When it was announced Irvan (who had returned toward the end of the year in a Texaco Havoline Yates car numbered 88) would return to the No. 28 after a year-long absence due to injuries, Yates had planned to help Jarrett compete in his own team with a Hooters sponsorship. The deal fell through, however, and Yates promoted the No. 88 car to full-time in the Winston Cup Series with Ford assuming the sponsorship through its Quality Care Service and Ford Credit divisions. In 1996, Jarrett won the Daytona 500 for a second time, and finished in the top-two in each of the first three races of the season. He also won the Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400, and the second Michigan race. Jarrett finished third in the final point standings behind Hendrick Motorsports teammates Terry Labonte and Jeff Gordon. Jarrett's kissing of the bricks at Indianapolis started a tradition that has been used by every NASCAR team at the race since then and in the Indianapolis 500 since 2003.
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