Dale Jarrett’s Final Ride
I can’t believe it’s here already. DJ’s final race. It doesn’t seem real. He has been a fixture in NASCAR as long as I have been watching. The only bright side to all of this, is we will get to see him in the broadcast booth sharing his expertise.
It’s extremely difficult for a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver to go through a career where he is generally liked and respected by his fellow peers.
As Dale Jarrett prepares for the final race of his career in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway he is being lauded by his fellow drivers as a man who brought dignity to his trade as a race driver.
Dale Jarrett Retiring In 2008
Dale Jarrett, like his father Ned, whose 75th birthday was yesterday, is a legend in this sport. He has nothing more to prove, so limiting his races to those he has, only makes sense.
Michael Waltrip said farewell to Dale Jarrett on Friday, then introduced a partner who he believes will help his fledgling race team become competitive.
The 50-year-old Jarrett will run just seven races in 2008 — the first five points events, the All-Star race and the season-opening exhibition event at Daytona — before turning the No. 44 Toyota over to David Reutimann.
“It’s been a difficult decision, but we knew this time was coming,” Jarrett said. ”With the things that transpired this year, it showed me we are ready to do this.”
I hope he shows up on one of the networks announcing races. His insight would prove very interesting each week.