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| Born | November 26, 1956 Conover, North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Achievements | Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers
2004 USG Person of the Year Award 1x Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion (1999) |
| Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career | |
| Best pts finish | 1st (1999) |
| First Race | 1984 Sovran Bank 500 |
| First Win | 1991 Champion Spark Plug 400 |
| Last race | 2008 Food City 500 |
| Last win | 2005 UAW-Ford 500 |
| Wins: 32 | Championships: 1 |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |
| Best pts finish | 4th (1984, 1986) |
| First Race | 1982 Goody's 300 |
| Last race | 2007 Food City 250 |
| First Win | 1986 L.D. Swain 150 |
| Last win | 1995 Jiffy Lube Miami 300 |
| Wins: 11 | Championships: 0 |
Dale Arnold Jarrett (born November 26, 1956) is an American retired stock car driver and current television racing analyst. He is the son of Ned Jarrett and younger brother of Glenn Jarrett. Jarrett's first race was the Sovran Bank 500 at (Martinsville) in the #02 Chevy for Emanuel Zervakis. In 1999, Jarrett won the Winston Cup Championship, which is now called the Monster Energy Cup Series, and thus with his father, Ned Jarrett, became only the second father-son duo to win a championship. Jarrett has won the Daytona 500 three times, in 1993, 1996, and 2000. Jarrett never intended on following in his father's racing footsteps. Dale's father envisioned him becoming a professional golfer. In fact, Dale was offered a golf scholarship by the University of South Carolina, but he turned it down because he "didn't really care for schooling".
Early Career[]
Robert Yates Racing[]
In 1996 Jarrett joined Robert Yates Racing in the #88 Quality Care Ford Taraus. Jarrett got his first win in the first race of the season at the Daytona 500 after starting 7th. He had 3 more wins and 2 more poles, finishing 3rd in points, If that wasn't good enough, the next season he pulled off 7 wins and 20 top 5's finishing 2nd in points. In 1999, Jarrett set a true career accomplishment, winning his first career championship with 4 wins 24 top 5's and 29 top 10's. In 2001, a sponsorship changed to the UPS.
Move to Toyota[]
Dale Jarrett announced during the Dodge Charger 500 weekend that he will be leaving Robert Yates Racing at season's end to join Michael Waltrip Racing to drive for one of the new Toyota teams in 2007. On June 10, 2007, a rumor was started that due to Jarrett's lack of performance, he could get let go to move to another Toyota team, so far Jarrett has started 11 of 14 races with a best finish of 22nd. Jarrett will run only 5 races of the 2008 season, David Reutimann was his replacement.
Retirement[]
Jarrett announced on Speed Channel his contract with Michael Waltrip Racing would be up at the end of the 2008 Season, and he would retire. He planned on running six races: the Daytona 500, Auto Club 500, UAW-Dodge 400, Kobalt Tools 500, and his last race at the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 16, 2008. Honored before the race, he qualified and finished 37th.
Career history & stats[]
| Year | Car no. | Primary sponsor | Make | Team/Owner | Races | Wins | Top 5's | Top Tens | Pts finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | No. 02 | Chevrolet | Emanuel Zervakis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72nd | |
| 1986 | No. 98 | Busch | Pontiac | Mike Curb | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| 1987 | No. 18 | Freedland Financial | Chevrolet | Eric Freedlander | 24 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 26th |
| 1988 | No. 29 |
Hardees | Oldsmobile | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23rd |
| No. 1 | Port-A-Lube | Buick | Hoss Ellington | 8 | |||||
| 1989 | No. 29 | Hardees | Pontiac | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | 29 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 24th |
| 1990 | No. 21 | CITGO | Ford | Wood Brothers Racing | 24 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 25th |
| 1991 | No. 21 | CITGO | Ford | Wood Brothers Racing | 29 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 17th |
| 1992 | No. 18 | Interstate Batteries | Chevrolet | Joe Gibbs Racing | 29 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 19th |
| 1993 | No. 18 | Interstate Batteries | Chevrolet | Joe Gibbs Racing | 30 | 1 | 13 | 18 | 4th |
| 1994 | No. 18 | Interstate Batteries | Chevrolet | Joe Gibbs Racing | 30 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 16th |
| 1995 | No. 28 | Texaco/Havoline | Ford | Robert Yates Racing | 31 | 1 | 9 | 14 | 13th |
| 1996 | No. 88 | Quality Care Service/Ford Credit | Ford | Robert Yates Racing | 31 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 3rd |
| 1997 | No. 88 | Quality Care Service/Ford Credit | Ford | Robert Yates Racing | 32 | 7 | 20 | 23 | 2nd |
| 1998 | No. 88 | Quality Care Service/Ford Credit | Ford | Robert Yates Racing | 33 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 3rd |
| 1999 | No. 88 | Quality Care Service/Ford Credit | Ford | Robert Yates Racing | 34 | 4 | 24 | 29 | 1st |
| 2000 | No. 88 | Quality Care Service | Ford | Robert Yates Racing | 34 | 2 | 15 | 24 | 4th |
| 2001 | No. 88 | UPS | Ford | Robert Yates Racing | 36 | 4 | 12 | 19 | 5th |
| 2002 | No. 88 | UPS | Ford | Robert Yates Racing | 36 | 2 | 10 | 18 | 9th |
| 2003 | No. 88 | UPS | Ford | Robert Yates Racing | 36 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 26th |
| 2004 | No. 88 | UPS | Ford | Robert Yates Racing | 36 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 15th |
| 2005 | No. 88 | UPS | Ford | Robert Yates Racing | 36 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 15th |
| 2006 | No. 88 | UPS | Ford | Robert Yates Racing | 36 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 23rd |
| 2007 | No. 44 | UPS | Toyota | Michael Waltrip Racing | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41st |
| 2008 | No. 44 | UPS | Toyota | Michael Waltrip Racing | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54th |