Living Legends of Auto Racing
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla - During its 21st annual banquet, The Living Legends of Auto Racing will present the Distinguished Driver Award to champion driver and well-known racing analyst Dale Jarrett.
The banquet will be held on Wednesday, February 20, 2013 at The Shores Resort and Spa, located at 2637 South Atlantic Avenue, Daytona Beach Shores and will honor persons who have dedicateda big portion of their lives to the sport of auto racing.
Jarrett, the son of two-time NASCAR Grand National (Now known as the Cup Series) champion Ned Jarrett followed his father as a championship driver as well as a top TV broadcaster.
He was born in Newton, N. C.and decided to follow the path of his father in racing after excelling in athletics in high school and actually turned down a golf scholarship to the University of South Carolina. He started his racing career at age 20, a relatively late start in the profession by today's standards and quickly proved he was a natural behind the wheel of a race car.
During his career, Jarrett chalked up 32 wins in the Cup Series and 11 in the Nationwide Series. He captured three Daytona 500 victories and was the Series national champion in 1999.
His first taste of driving a race car took place at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway and was quickly on his way to the top. In 1982, he became a charter member of the new NASCAR Nationwide Series and finished sixth in points. Two years later, while still a full-time Nationwide Series driver, he finished 14th in his Cup Series debut at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. His first Nationwide win came at Rougemont, N.C.in 1986 at the Orange County Speedway and ran his last full Nationwide season the following year. That year, Jarrett participated in 24 of the 29 Cup Series events as well.
His first Cup Series victory came at Michigan International Speedway in August, 1991 driving a car owned by the famed Wood Brothers and captured his first Daytona 500 win two years later in a car owned by Joe Gibbs. He joined forces with Robert Yates in 1995 and won his second Daytona 500 the following year. In 1997, he won a personal-best seven races and finished second in the Cup standings before finally putting it all together in 1999 which earned him the Cup Series championship. His third Daytona 500 win came the next year.
His 2007 season was his last full one in the Cup Series, but ran five races the following year. His last race was the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Challenge at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, 2008. In 10 seasons spanning from 1993 thru 2002, Jarrett finished in the topfive in season points seven times and once in the top 10. He captured 29 of his career wins during this span. His three Daytona 500 wins ties him third all-time with Bobby Allison and Jeff Goldon. In his career, he earned 32 victories in 668 starts and finished in the top five 163 times and had 260 top-ten finishes. He also captured 16 pole awards. He and his father, along with Lee and Richard Petty, are the only two father-son combos to win cup Series titles.
Jarrett is a member of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame and is an inductee of the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame.
He now works for ABC/ESPN as lead analyst for NASCAR's Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races. The personable announcer brings a wealth of racing knowledge to the television booth.
Others being recognized at the annual affair are:
Pioneer of Racing: H. A. "Humpy" Wheeler
Dedicated Service: Don Bok
Russ Moyer Media: Eddie Roche
Allison Family Corporate: Fox Sports, David Hill
Tribute to Early Days: George and Virginia Baker
Saturday Night Hero: Billy Scott
For more info, contact Joan Epton Maxwell at 386-255-7428
Dale Jarrett after winning the NASCAR Winston Cup Championship in 1999
Dale Jarrett today as a businessman and lead analyst for ABC/ESPN
updated by @dargan-watts: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
