Dale Jarrett facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dale Jarrett |
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Jarrett in 2011
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| Born | Dale Arnold Jarrett November 26, 1956 Conover, North Carolina, U.S. |
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| Achievements | 1999 Winston Cup Series Champion 1993, 1996, 2000 Daytona 500 Winner 1996, 1999 Brickyard 400 Winner 1996 Coca-Cola 600 Winner 1998 Winston 500 Winner 1996, 2000, 2004 Budweiser Shootout Winner |
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| Awards | Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) 2004 USG Person of the Year Award NASCAR Hall of Fame (2014) Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023) |
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| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 668 races run over 24 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 1st (1999) | ||||||
| First race | 1984 Sovran Bank 500 (Martinsville) | ||||||
| Last race | 2008 Food City 500 (Bristol) | ||||||
| First win | 1991 Champion Spark Plug 400 (Michigan) | ||||||
| Last win | 2005 UAW-Ford 500 (Talladega) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
| 329 races run over 20 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 4th (1984, 1986) | ||||||
| First race | 1982 Goody's 300 (Daytona) | ||||||
| Last race | 2007 Food City 250 (Bristol) | ||||||
| First win | 1986 L.D. Swain 150 (Rougemont) | ||||||
| Last win | 1995 Jiffy Lube Miami 300 (Homestead) | ||||||
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| Statistics current as of December 20, 2012. | |||||||
Dale Arnold Jarrett (born November 26, 1956) is a famous former American race car driver. He is also a racing commentator for NBC. Dale Jarrett is best known for winning the exciting Daytona 500 race three times. He won it in 1993, 1996, and 2000. He also won the top NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship in 1999.
Dale comes from a racing family. His father, Ned Jarrett, was a 2-time Grand National Champion. His brother, Glenn Jarrett, and his son, Jason Jarrett, also raced. In 2014, Dale Jarrett was honored by being added to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. After he stopped driving, he became a popular TV announcer for NASCAR races.
Contents
Early Life and School
Dale Jarrett was born on November 26, 1956, in Conover, North Carolina. He was the middle child of Ned and Martha Jarrett. His older brother is Glenn, and his younger sister is Patti. Dale's dad, Ned, raced in NASCAR from 1953 to 1966. Ned won two championships in 1961 and 1965. After retiring, Ned stayed involved in racing. He managed Hickory Motor Speedway and became a race commentator.
Dale grew up traveling to his father's races. He started playing golf when he was twelve. He also played football, basketball, and baseball at Newton-Conover High School. Dale led his high school golf team to win three championships. He was named the school's best athlete in his senior year. After graduating in 1975, Dale worked at Hickory Motor Speedway. He was offered a scholarship to play golf in college. But he really wanted to follow his dad's path and become a race car driver.
Racing Career Highlights
Starting Out
In April 1977, Dale Jarrett entered his first professional race. It was in the Limited Sportsman Division at Hickory. His car was a 1968 Chevrolet Nova. It was built by Andy Petree and Jimmy Newsome. Dale started last in the race but finished in ninth place. After this race, he knew that racing was what he wanted to do. He raced in the Limited Sportsman Division for two years. Then he moved up to the Dash Series. After that, he joined the Late Model Sportsman Division, where he won his first race.
First Steps in NASCAR (1982–1986)
In 1982, Dale Jarrett raced in the 1982 NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series. He finished in the top 10 fourteen times. His best finish was third place at Hickory. He ended the season in sixth place overall. In 1983, he won four pole positions (starting first). He also had seventeen top 5 finishes. He ended that season in fifth place.
For the 1984 Busch Grand National Series, Dale got sponsors like Econo Lodge and Valvoline. He started in the front row six times. He had 19 top 10 finishes. He ended the season in a career-best fourth place. Dale made his first ever Winston Cup Series race in 1984. He drove the No. 02 Chevrolet for Emanuel Zervakis at Martinsville Speedway. He started 24th and finished 14th. In 1986, Dale won his first Busch Grand National Series race. It was at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, North Carolina. He drove the Nationwise Auto Parts Pontiac to victory.
Climbing the Ranks (1987–1991)
Dale won his second Busch Grand National Series race at Hickory in 1987. In the Winston Cup Series, he joined the No. 18 Chevrolet team. He finished in the top 10 twice. He ended the season 26th in points. He was second for the Rookie of the Year award. In 1988, he raced for different teams. He mostly drove the No. 29 Hardee's Oldsmobile for Cale Yarborough. He finished eighth at Riverside International Raceway. He ended the season 23rd in points. In 1989, he raced the whole season for Yarborough. He had five top 10 finishes, including two fifth-place runs.
Dale had a lot of success in the Busch Series in 1990 and 1991. With his crew chief John Ervin, he won races at Bristol, Charlotte, Rockingham, and Darlington (twice). In 1990, Dale started the year without a Cup ride. But he took over the No. 21 Citgo Ford for Wood Brothers Racing. He finished in the top 10 seven times. He ended the season 25th in points. The next year, 1991, Dale won his first ever Winston Cup race. It was at Michigan International Speedway. He finished a career-best 17th in the final standings.
Becoming a Champion (1992–1999)
Even after his first win, Dale left Wood Brothers Racing. He joined the new Joe Gibbs Racing team in 1992. He drove the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet. In their first year, he had two top 5 finishes. In 1993, Dale won the famous Daytona 500. He had an exciting battle with Dale Earnhardt. This race was often called "The Dale and Dale Show". He didn't win any more races that season. But he had 13 top 5 finishes and ended up fourth in the points.
In 1994, Dale won the Mello Yello 500. But he decided to leave Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the year. In 1995, Dale joined Robert Yates' team. He drove the No. 28 Texaco Ford. His Busch Series team also switched to Ford. He won four Busch Series races that year. He won his first Cup race for Yates at Pocono Raceway. He finished 13th in the points.
In 1996, Dale won the Daytona 500 for the second time. He finished in the top 2 in the first three races of the season. He also won the Coca-Cola 600, the Brickyard 400, and another race at Michigan. Dale finished third in the points that year. After winning the Brickyard 400, Dale started a tradition. He kissed the bricks at Indianapolis. Now, every NASCAR team does this after winning that race.
In 1997, Dale won a career-high seven races. But he lost the championship to Jeff Gordon by just 14 points. In 1998, Dale won three races. He finished second in the last two races of the year. He ended up third in the points to Jeff Gordon. After surgery in the offseason, Dale came back strong in 1999. He took the points lead after winning at the Pontiac Excitement 400. He held the lead for the rest of the season. He won the Winston Cup title by 201 points over Bobby Labonte. He had four wins (Richmond, Michigan, Daytona, and Indianapolis). He also had 24 top 5 finishes and 29 top 10 finishes. He retired from the Busch Series with 11 wins.
Later Years and Retirement (2000–2008)
After winning the championship in 1999, Dale won the Daytona 500 for the third time in 2000. He only won one other race that year and dropped to fourth in the standings. United Parcel Service (UPS) became his main sponsor.
In 2001, he won three of the first eight races. He traded the points lead with Jeff Gordon. But he only won one more race that year and finished fifth in the standings. Dale also had a hard crash at Kansas Speedway. After that season, his longtime crew chief, Todd Parrott, left. But they reunited in 2002. Dale then won two races (Pocono and Michigan) and finished ninth in the standings.
In 2003, Dale won at North Carolina Speedway. But he only had five more top 10 finishes. He ended up 26th in the standings. In 2004, he improved to 15th in points, even without a win. In 2005, Dale had his last career Cup series win. It was at Talladega Superspeedway. He finished 15th in the standings again.
In 2006, Dale had four top 10 finishes. His best was fourth place at Kansas. He finished 23rd in points. This was his last year with Robert Yates Racing. He and his sponsor, UPS, moved to Michael Waltrip Racing's new No. 44 Toyota team.
In 2007, Dale started the season well. He got the pole position for the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona. But his new team had some issues. Dale had to use special "Past Champion's Provisional" spots to get into races. He missed 12 races in 2007 because of this.
In October 2007, Dale announced he would retire from full-time racing. His last points race was the 2008 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. He then turned the No. 44 Toyota over to David Reutimann. His very last race was the All-Star race on May 17, 2008. After that, he joined ESPN full-time as a race announcer. Before his final points race, he spoke to 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.
Personal Life
- Dale Jarrett's brother-in-law is Jimmy Makar. Jimmy was his crew chief when Dale drove the No. 18 car for Joe Gibbs Racing. Jimmy is married to Dale's sister, Patty.
- Dale is a very good golfer. He has a 2 handicap in golf. In 2003, he was in a commercial with famous athletes like Phil Mickelson, Michael Jordan, and Wayne Gretzky. They were all golfing at Doral Golf Resort & Spa.
- Dale was part of the Coca-Cola Racing Family of Drivers when he raced.
- Dale is the first cousin of Todd Jarrett, a champion handgun shooter.
- Dale and former American football quarterback Brett Favre were partners in a racing adventure company. Favre also owned part of Dale's Busch Series team.
- Dale used to own a Ford dealership in Indian Trail, North Carolina. He sold it, and it's now called Crossroads Ford of Indian Trail.
- Dale now lives in Hickory, North Carolina.
- Dale helped carry the Olympic Torch in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
- Dale's son, Zach, is a professional baseball outfielder. He recently played for the Gastonia Honey Hunters.
Awards and Honors
- 1997, 1999 Richard Petty Driver of the Year
- 1998 NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers
- 2000 Best Driver ESPY Award recipient
- 2014 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee
- Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)
Motorsports Career Results
Dale Jarrett had a long and successful career in various NASCAR series, including the Cup Series and Busch Series, as well as other racing events like ARCA and the International Race of Champions (IROC). He competed in hundreds of races, earning many wins and top finishes throughout his career.
Images for kids
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1989 racecar
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Dale Jarrett's 2000 Daytona 500 winning car on display at Daytona USA, taken January 2001
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Jarrett competing in the 2005 Samsung/Radio Shack 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway
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Jarrett coming to pit road at Texas Motor Speedway in 2007
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Jarrett's No. 44 car at Daytona International Speedway in 2008
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Jarrett on a parade lap before his final points race as fans and crew applaud him
See also
In Spanish: Dale Jarrett para niños
