Editor’s Note: This is the fourth of a four-part series on NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett. Click here to read part one, two and three.
As NASCAR continued to evolve, Robert Yates Racing was forced to play catch up during the latter part of the mid-2000s.
With results lacking, along with retirement looming on the horizon, Dale Jarrett didn’t know if he’d see victory lane again.
“There were struggles and you’re gonna get that,” Jarrett told SPEED SPORT. “Things change, people change, cars change, times changed, and keeping up with all of that was difficult.”
Despite their struggles, Jarrett and the No. 88 team went to Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in October 2005 with one thing in mind — winning.
With restrictor-plate tracks being the great equalizer, their chance was as good as anyone.
A restart with two laps to go pinned Jarrett to the back bumper of a surging Tony Stewart.
“That was a day that I really didn’t think that win was coming,” Jarrett said. “We didn’t have the car to go out and lead races at that particular time and that weekend. My plan was, on a late restart that I was going to push Tony Stewart to the front and I was gonna be happy if I could get myself to second or third.”
However, when Stewart broke away to make a move for the lead on the final lap, momentum carried Jarret alongside the No. 20 down the backstretch, before a caution flag ended the race.
“It worked out great. I think it was fitting for me in a Robert Yates car to win my last race at Talladega,” Jarrett said. “It was well received. I was overcome with emotion there. Looking back on it, just how much that meant to hear those cheers, and for the fellow competitors that came to me after that race and then the next week, talking about how special it was, was just amazing to me.”
One more season of full-time action followed, before Jarrett finished his career in a part-time role for Michael Waltrip Racing. While Jarrett concluded a 24-year NASCAR Cup Series career, a new venture arrived — television.
In 2007, Jarrett was given the opportunity to be a color analyst for a handful of NASCAR Xfinity Series races with ESPN. While talking about racing was the easy part, there were plenty of hurdles he still faced.
“My dad (Ned Jarrett) warned me about that, because it was something that I didn’t plan for,” Jarrett said. “Everybody thought, ‘Oh, you’re just gonna follow your dad’s footsteps from the race car right into the booth.’ That really wasn’t something that I thought about. I didn’t know when I was going to stop driving cars because I wanted to do it the rest of my life.
“Obviously, you can’t do that. I didn’t plan for that very well. The opportunity that ESPN gave me, when they came to me in 2007, and said, ‘Look, we don’t know when you’re going to retire, what your plans are, but you have a spot with us whenever you do.'”
Once he got a taste for being on-air, Jarrett began writing the next chapter of his story.
“I found something that I liked,” Jarrett said. “I talked to my dad about it, and he said, ‘This is gonna be harder work than you think.’ It was that, to be prepared and do your job right.
“As a driver, could I go up as an analyst, and not talk to anybody or do anything, just call a race, because you’ve been there? Yeah, I could have done that. But to do it the right way, and that’s the only way I know how to do things, because, that’s how my dad taught me.”
Once NBC earned broadcast rights to the second half of the NASCAR season in 2015, Jarrett moved over to the network. Jarrett’s role has expanded since joining NBC, being an analyst for pre and post-race shows, along with weekly talk shows.
“I enjoy that also, and being able to look at what’s coming up. The post-race shows are the most fun because there’s no script of those,” Jarrett said. “We literally don’t know what we’re going to talk about and who we’re going to talk about until the checkered flag falls. So I’ve really enjoyed my career there and the opportunities that I’ve been given.”
With 32 victories, three Daytona 500 triumphs and a championship on his résumé, the firm stamp on Jarrett’s career came when he was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2014.
Jarrett had just been added to the ballot that year, however he wasn’t expecting to hear his name called right away.
“The moment that I was in Charlotte (N.C.), at the announcement, when they announced that class for 2014. Not thinking at all, it was my first year on the ballot, that it was going to happen then,” Jarrett said. “As I went through my career, it wasn’t something that I was even thinking about.
“Then to have that opportunity to hear your name called, was just incredible.”
As the Hall of Famer looked out into the crowd on induction night, he was in disbelief.
“The night itself in 2014 was one of the most moving and exhilarating at the same time, moments and times of my entire life,” Jarrett said. “Especially in my professional career. I pride myself in being able to get up and speak in front of people. But it became difficult, even though everything was right there on a teleprompter.
“You looked out into the crowd, and you see your family. You see people like Robert and Doug Yates and their entire family that was there. Todd Parrott, that made a huge difference in my career. The Wood Brothers were all there.
“Just to look out into the crowd and see that, you are overcome with emotion,” Jarrett continued. “So, it becomes a lot more difficult. To see my family that gave up so much to let me do what I wanted to do in my quest to be a champion and be as good as I could be.
“It was just amazing. It’s a moment and a night that I’ll never, ever forget. I wish that everybody in the sport, could have that opportunity. Obviously, everybody doesn’t get inducted into the Hall of Fame.”
Since his induction, Jarrett continues to be a mentor for colleagues and drivers who eventually hear their name called to the Hall of Fame. His advice is simple — soak it all in.
“I told people over the years, as I’ve talked to drivers that I know that are going in, they’ll say, ‘What do I do, What do I expect?’ I say, ‘Expect that you’re going to be more emotional than you think, and be sure to take it in, because you can do that,’” Jarrett said.
“’It’s going to be one of the most exciting and fun times of your life and being able to relive your career and look out and see the people that really helped make the difference in what you’re doing and to achieve that goal.’”