Biography
Dale Jarrett remained in the title hunt with eventual 2001 champ Jeff Gordon for the first half of the season before injuries and bad luck slowed him down. Jarrett eventually finished fifth in points. His four wins in 2001 marked the fourth time in the last six seasons he has won four or more races in a season. He also earned a career-best five poles.
Jarrett didn't successfully defend his 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship in 2000, but he didn't fall too far from grace, either.
Jarrett finished the season fourth in the standings, a disappointment by his standards, but a career year for most. He also claimed his second Daytona 500 victory.
In 1999, Jarrett wasn't spectacular in winning his first title, he was strong and steady. He finished out of the top-20 only twice all year. He missed the top-10 only three other times in 34 events. At one time he went 19 straight races without a finish of worse than eighth.
Jarrett began racing in 1977 in the Limited Sportsman Division at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway, where his father, former NASCAR champion Ned Jarrett, was once the track promoter. His first NASCAR Winston Cup Series win came in his 129th start at the 1991 Champion 400 at Michigan International Speedway in a Wood Brothers-owned car.
But the win that launched his career came in 1993 with Joe Gibbs Racing, in the Daytona 500. That season he would finish fourth in points.
He stumbled a bit the following two years, finishing out of the top-10 in both 1994 and 1995, but since '96 only Jarrett has finished in the top-4 in points every year. He has established himself as one of the true elite in the sport.
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 and has Matt Borland as crew chief. Jarrett started the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season on a high note as he drew pole postion 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.
Dale Jarrett will be part of select NASCAR on ESPN/ABC Busch series coverage in 2007.
Birthdate: Nov. 26, 1956