Fast Facts: 2014 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee Dale Jarrett

Like father, like son: Ned Jarrett (l) joined the Hall
of Fame in 2011; Dale joins in 2014.
Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR/Chris Graythen

NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Dale Jarrett followed his father, 2011 Hall of Fame inductee Ned Jarrett, into the world of NASCAR stock car racing – this year, he follows his father into the Great Hall in Charlotte, N.C. Learn more about this popular driver and broadcaster, who joins the Hall of Fame along with Tim Flock, Jack ingram, Maurice Petty and Fireball Roberts, in this Hall of Fame edition of Fast Facts.

• Dale Arnold Jarrett was born Nov. 26, 1956 in Conover, N.C. In addition to his famous father, his family also includes brother Glenn, who was also a racer and broadcaster, son Jason, once also a racer, and cousin Todd, who is a champion handgun shooter. His brother-in-law is Jimmy Makar, who was his crew chief at JGR.
• When Jarrett graduated from high school in 1975, he had a full scholarship offer from the University of South Carolina to play golf; he turned the offer down. Two years later, he kicked off his racing career at Hickory Motor Speedway, which his father owned and operated.
• After five years on the local circuit, Jarrett made the move to the Busch (now Nationwide) Series in 1982, finishing sixth in points with 14 top 10 finishes. In 1984, he improved to fourth in the final points standings, and also made his Cup Series debut at Martinsville, finishing 14^th.
• In 1987, Jarrett moved up to the Cup Series early in the season, finishing 26^th in points and second to Davey Allison for the Rookie of the Year award. In 1988, he ran the full season, splitting his time between numerous teams before settling into one of the rides, the No. 29 of Cale Yarborough, for 1989. 1990 found Jarrett without a ride, but five races into the season Neil Bonnett was hurt, and Jarrett took over the No. 21 Wood Brothers ride for the season, finishing 25^th in points in spite of missing five races.
• After winning his first Cup Series race at Michigan in 1991 in the No. 21, Jarrett left the team following the season for a new team on the Cup Series horizon: Joe Gibbs Racing. In 1993, Jarrett took home the Harley J. Earl Trophy from the Daytona 500 after winning the “Dale and Dale Show,” completing a last-lap pass over Dale Earnhardt as his father Ned called the end of the race from the broadcast booth.
• Jarrett continued his winning ways with Robert Yates Racing (1995-2006), winning the Cup Series title in 1999, along with the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (he also won the race in 1996). He spent his final full-time season, 2007, and part of the following season with Michael Waltrip Racing, retiring from the sport following the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2008. Jarrett then followed in his father’s footsteps again, this time to the broadcast booth.
• In 686 career Cup Series races (1984-2008), Jarrett collected 32 wins, 260 top 10 finishes and 16 poles, including three for the Daytona 500 (1995, 2000 and 2005). He was a three-time Daytona 500 winner (1993, 1996 and 2000) and a three-time Budweiser Shootout winner at Daytona (1996, 2000 and 2004). In 1998 he was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.
• Find out more about Jarrett at his website, www.dalejarrett.com, and learn more about the NASCAR Hall of Fame and the inductees at www.nascarhall.com.