DPR Sports & Racing News

Dale Jarrett's Last and Final Ride... Was May 17 2008 at The All Star Race in Charlotte

(Left to right) H.A. 'Humpy' Wheeler, president and general manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway, and Dale Jarrett unveil the car that the 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion will drive in his final event, the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. on May 17.

Dale Jarrett poses with his No. 44 UPS Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing, which he'll drive for the last time on May 17 in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

Now a full-time race analyst for ESPN, Dale Jarrett meets fellow media members during the news conference at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

Dale Jarrett gets ready to practice for his 668th - and final - NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

History is on tap again for Sunday. Another great past champion, Dale Jarrett, will make his final start in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Jarrett, the series titlist in 1999, has won at Bristol, taking the 1997 night race. His father, two-time series champion Ned Jarrett, will wave the green flag Sunday as the honorary starter.

“There is no better place [to finish] than Bristol because it’s the most special motorsports venue in the world as far as I’m concerned,” Dale Jarrett said this week. “I hopefully can go out on a good note on Sunday.”

Dale Arnold Jarrett

Born November 26, 1956 in Newton, North Carolina) is an American race car driver. Jarrett currently races in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series exclusively, driving the #44 Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing.

He is the son of two-time NASCAR Grand National champion Ned Jarrett, and the father of former Busch Series racer Jason Jarrett. Upon graduation from Newton-Conover High School in 1974, he was offered a full golf scholarship from the University of South Carolina, which he declined.

He is a cousin of Todd Jarrett, the 1996 International Practical Shooting Confederation World Shoot Champion. Beginning in 2007, Jarrett will join the ESPN/ABC Sports broadcasting team as an announcer in select NASCAR Busch Series races.

Jarrett began racing in 1977 at Hickory Motor Speedway, a track his father owned and operated. In his first race, he started in last place but finished in the ninth position. He competed in the Limited Sportsman Division at Hickory, before moving up to the NASCAR Busch Series.

Jarrett began racing in 1977 at Hickory Motor Speedway, a track his father owned and operated. In his first race, he started in last place but finished in the ninth position. He competed in the Limited Sportsman Division at Hickory, before moving up to the NASCAR Busch Series.

Busch Series Career

Jarrett began racing in 1982 in the #24/32 Ford for Horace Isenhower. His best finish was a third at Hickory and he finished sixth in points that season, finishing in the top-ten fourteen times over the course of the season. He did not win a race in 1983, but won four poles and had seventeen top-fives moving into fifth in the standings. In 1984, the team received sponsorship from Econo Lodge, Valvoline, and Budweiser and had six front row starts and nineteen poles, finishing a career-best fourth in the final standings.

That same year, Jarrett made his Cup debut. Driving the #02 Chevrolet for Emanuel Zervakis at Martinsville Speedway, he 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. In 1986, Jarrett won six poles and his first career Busch race at Orange County Speedway in the Nationwise Auto Parts. He won his second career race at Hickory the next year, his final full-time season in Busch.

NASCAR NEXTEL CUP

1987-1991

In 1987, Jarrett replaced Tommy Ellis in the #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, despite running with various teams. He made most of his starts in the #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 twenty-third in the final standings. He ran the entire season for Yarborough in 1989, posting five top-ten finishes, including two fifth-place runs.

Jarrett began 1990 without a ride before taking over the #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 17th in the final standings.

1992-1999

Despite the win, Jarrett left Wood Brothers to drive the #18 Interstate Batteries Chevy for the fledging Joe Gibbs Racing team. In their first year of competition, Jarrett had two top-fives but dropped to nineteenth in points. Jarrett won the 1993 Daytona 500 over Dale Earnhardt (commonly referred to as "The Dale and Dale Show") in a race called by his father Ned. While he did not win again that season, Jarrett had a total of thirteen top-fives and finished fourth in the final standings. 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 #28 Texaco Ford. He won his first race for Yates at Pocono Raceway and finished 13th in the final standings. When it was announced Ernie Irvan would return to the ride after a year-long absence due to injuries, Yates had planned to help Jarrett compete in his own team with Hooters sponsorship, but that deal fell through, allowing Yates to create a second team, the #88 with sponsorship from Quality Care & Ford Credit. In 1996, Jarrett won the Daytona 500 for a second time, and finished in the top-2 in each of the first three races of the season. He also won the Coca-Cola 600 and the Brickyard 400 and finished third in the final standings. The following season, he won a career-best seven races and lost the championship to Jeff Gordon by fourteen points.

In 1998, Jarrett won three races, and finished second in the last two races of the year despite suffering gallbladder problems. After an offseason surgery, Jarrett returned in 1999 and took the points lead after his first win of the season at the Pontiac Excitement 400, and held it for the rest of the season, when he won his first career Winston Cup title by 201 points. He also retired from the Busch Series to become a part-time owner, partnering with NFL quarterback Brett Favre to field the #11 Rayovac Ford for his son Jason, Yates teammate Kenny Irwin, Jr., and Steve Grissom.

2000-2005

Following his title in 1999, Jarrett won the Daytona 500 for the third time in 2000, but after only winning one other race and dropping to fourth in the standings, Ford Credit departed the team at the end of the season, and was replaced by the United Parcel Service. He won three of the first eight races of the season and resumed the points lead, but faded back to fifth in the standings. After that season, Jarrett's long-time crew chief Todd Parrott departed and was replaced by Jimmy Elledge. After seven races, Parrott rejoined Jarrett, who clinched two victories and rebounded to ninth in the final standings.

In 2003, Jarrett began the season by winning at North Carolina Speedway, but only posted five more top-ten finishes, relegating him to 26th in the final standings. He rebounded in 2004 to finish 15th in points, despite not winning a race. In 2005, Jarrett got his most recent win at Talladega Superspeedway.

2006 to Present

During the 2006 season, Jarrett had four top-ten finishes, with a best finish of fourth at Kansas. His best starting position was second and he finished 23rd in points.

For the 2007 season, Dale Jarrett and his sponsor UPS left Robert Yates Racing and joined the newly formed team of Michael Waltrip Racing. He now drives the number #44 Toyota Camry. Jarrett started the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season on a high note as he drew pole position for the annual exhibition race, the Budweiser Shootout, at the Daytona International Speedway. He finished 18th out of 21 cars.

Jarrett qualified for the 2007 Daytona 500 in 50th position but received a past champion's provisional and started 43rd. He finished 22nd in the race. Dale used his last champions provisional at the Spring Talladega race, Aarons 499. For the rest of 2007, Jarrett now must get into that weekends race on time. If at any point Jarrett reaches the top 35 in points, he will automatically be locked into a race. Jarrett has thus far missed eleven races in 2007 as a result.

During an interview on Speed, Dale said after his contract is up with MWR (which is an expected 2009 season), he will retire. The timetable was pushed up, according to ESPN.com's David Newton (who says that Jarrett will retire after the 2008 Food City 500 and hand the #44 Toyota to David Reutimann).

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Dale Jarrett's All New 2006 Ford Fusion at the 2006 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard

Dale Jarrett's All New 2007 Toyota Camry at Daytona International Speedway