Birthday: Nov. 26, 1956
Hometown: Hickory, N.C.
Unlike most drivers who come from a racing background, Dale Jarrett's path to NASCAR stardom didn't begin until he was 20 years old.
Sure, Jarrett, a multi-sport star in high school who was offered a golf scholarship at the University of South Carolina, hung out at the tracks watching his dad, Ned, race in the 1960s, but it wasn't until 1977 that the son of the racing legend first got behind the wheel.
He began working on a car with a couple of high-school friends, one of which was Andy Petree, and before long Jarrett wanted to try it out. After receiving a loan from his father to buy an engine, Jarrett started 25th and finished ninth that night at Hickory Motor Speedway, and the wheels were in motion.
Jarrett began competing in the Limited Sportsman Division at Hickory and in a few short years it was off to NASCAR.
Jarrett competed in 28 of the 29 races in the Busch Series' inaugural season of 1982, posting 14 top-10s to finish sixth in the points. He continued that success in the following years, never finishing out of the top five in the final point standings in the six seasons he ran the schedule full time.
Jarrett didn't get his first win until August 1986 at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, N.C. In 1987 he ran a full Busch slate and 24 of 29 Cup races before joining the top series full time.
Jarrett made his Cup debut in April 1984 at Martinsville, finishing 14th. In 1988 and '89 he drove for NASCAR legend Cale Yarborough before joining the Wood Brothers in 1990.
In August 1991 at Michigan he recorded his first Cup victory but it wasn't until 1993 that Jarrett had the breakout season. In his second year driving for Joe Gibbs, Jarrett opened the season by winning the Daytona 500. He finished the year with 13 top-fives and 18 top-10s to finish fourth in points.
In 1995 Jarrett joined Robert Yates Racing and became one of the series' top drivers. In 1997 he won a personal-best seven races, and in 1999 put together one of the best seasons in NASCAR history.
Jarrett won four times that year, but he finished in the top five in 24 of 34 races and 29 times finished in the top 10. He joined his father (twice) as a Cup champion and made the Jarretts just the second father-son combo to win Cup titles (Lee and Richard Petty).
From 1996-2001 Jarrett finished in the top five in points, and was ninth in 2002. His three victories in the Daytona 500 ties him for third all-time with Bobby Allison and Jeff Gordon.
Jarrett joined Michael Waltrip Racing in 2007 to help lead Toyota into the Cup Series.
