In 1977 he began racing
late model stocks at the Hickory Motor Speedway in his hometown of Newton, NC. In 1982, he advanced to the Busch Series
driving a Ford for car owner Horace Isenhower. In his rookie year he managed a respectable sixth place finish in season
standing with zero wins, but fourteen top 10s. Winning didn’t come easy for Jarrett. His first Busch win didn’t
come until August of the 1986 season where he captured his first checkered flag at Orange County Speedway, Rougemout,
NC. It occurs to me as I write this, I was at that race. I wish I had known then what
I know now.
From his first cup race,
he has traveled 236,032 miles around the speedways of NASCAR. That’s like driving round trip from his home in Newton,
NC to Los Angeles, CA,
fifty times. Think about that next time you want to complain about your commute.
Jarrett’s career
did not have the meteoric rise of Jeff Gordon, or the media flash of Darrel Waltrip, or the domination of Dale Earnhardt. What
he quietly did through his twenty four years in the top NASCAR series was win 32 races, three Daytona 500s, one championship
and finish top five in driver points seven times. Currently only nineteen other drivers have won more than 32 races and
all but four of them are retired. From a performance perspective, that definitely places him in the upper echelon of
the sport.
As good as he has been on the
track, he may be best known for how he lives his life off the track. His integrity is beyond reproach. Ask other
drivers around the garage about Dale Jarrett and you’ll hear things like, “I think if you’re going to look
back at Dale and talk about him you’re going to think about family,” said Bobby Labonte. “His father,
Ned, brother, Glenn, and even his sister I’ve known for a long time. They have been a part of this sport for a
long time and have given so much back. He’s just a good guy and you’re happy that he has had success in his
career.”
John Andretti echoed similar
sentiments about Jarrett. “Dale is a great ambassador for the sport. He represents us with class, whether he’s
on the track or off of it,” said Andretti. “To me, a champion is something more than just the person who
ends up with the most points at the end of the year. It’s somebody who can take the sport to the next level. It’s
somebody who’s going to act with character and dignity. Dale’s done that. Sure, he’s had an amazing
career and achieved nearly all you can in this sport, but to me, he’s a champion because what he’s done off the
track as well. That’s what everyone’s going to remember about Dale’s career as a driver, and I’m
sure he’ll do just as good a job in the booth as he’s done on the track.”
2006 StockCar Review.
