42 Facts About Ned Jarrett

Ned Jarrett was born on October 12,1932 and is an American retired race car driver and broadcaster.

Ned Jarrett is a two-time NASCAR Grand National Series champion.

Ned Jarrett is the father of former drivers Glenn Jarrett and Dale Jarrett.

Ned Jarrett started working for his father in the sawmill by the time he was 12, but a racing career was what he truly wanted to pursue.

Ned Jarrett drove in his first race in 1952 at Hickory Motor Speedway.

Ned Jarrett drove a Sportsman Series Ford that he co-owned with his brother-in-law, John Lence and finished tenth.

Ned Jarrett's father told him he could work on cars but not drive them.

Once, John was sick for a race and asked Ned Jarrett to fill in for him.

Ned Jarrett used his brother-in-law's name and came in second in that race.

That worked out so smoothly that Ned Jarrett drove in a few more races under the assumed name John Lence but was finally caught by his father after winning a race.

Ned Jarrett's father told him if he was going to drive to at least use his own name.

Ned Jarrett raced in his first Grand National Series race in the 1953 Southern 500 at Darlington Speedway.

Ned Jarrett was out after 10 laps after the engine leaked oil.

Ned Jarrett was the 1955 track champion at Hickory Motor Speedway.

Ned Jarrett came in second driving in the Sportsman Series in 1956, and won the 1957 and 1958 championships.

Ned Jarrett did not have enough money to cover the check, so he waited until the bank closed to write the check, entered two races, and won them both to cover the cost of his car.

One indicator of the personal character of "Gentleman Ned" Jarrett is demonstrated by the decision to sell his 1961 Chevrolet to Wendell Scott who travelled from his Virginia home to Jarrett's shop on West "A" Street in Newton, NC, to take delivery of the Chevy Bel Air when Jarrett changed to Fords in 1962.

Ned Jarrett was once overheard talking with Alman and Ervin about the need to "run all the races" to win the championship.

For example, Ned Jarrett required significant effort in order to prepare for the 1963 Daytona 500 race when the latest "fastback" body was introduced by Ford.

In 1964, Jarrett joined team owner Bondy Long and with the support of Ford won 15 times but lost the championship to Richard Petty.

Ned Jarrett picked up his first superspeedway win, at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

In 1965, Ned Jarrett became a star when he won 13 races and another Grand National championship.

Ned Jarrett placed among the top five in 42 of the 54 races that he ran.

Ned Jarrett won the season's final race at Dog Track Speedway to clinch the championship; it ended up being his final NASCAR win.

In 1966, Ned Jarrett raced in only 21 of 49 races, achieving eight top ten finishes.

When Ford announced that they were withdrawing from NASCAR, Ned Jarrett decided that it was time to retire at the age of 34.

Ned Jarrett is the only driver to retire as the NASCAR champion.

Ned Jarrett left racing and dealt in real estate and other business ventures before coming back to racing as a broadcaster.

Ned Jarrett was the track promoter for Hickory Motor Speedway.

Ned Jarrett's taped show was replayed and locally sponsored, in part by station owner Earl Holder, who gave him both a taping facility and recording studio time for a moderate rate to fill in local programming.

Ned Jarrett gives much credit to his taking a Dale Carnegie class for his success as a broadcaster and in life.

Later, in 1978, Ned Jarrett became a radio broadcaster for MRN Radio.

Ned Jarrett interviewed US President Ronald Reagan live at the 1984 Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway, the race famous as Richard Petty's 200th win.

Ned Jarrett was a television broadcaster on CBS, first as a pit reporter from 1979 to 1984, and later as color analyst from 1984 to 2000; he was color analyst on ESPN from 1988 to 2000.

Ned Jarrett called several of NASCAR's more memorable television moments.

Ned Jarrett called his son Dale's first victory in the 1991 Champion Spark Plug 400 at the Michigan International Speedway.

On May 26,2007 Ned returned to the booth to call the Carquest Auto Parts 300 Busch race alongside Andy Petree, Jerry Punch, and his son, 1999 Cup Champ, Dale Jarrett.

Ned Jarrett was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1997.

On October 13,2010, Ned Jarrett was selected to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame as one of the 5 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees of the 2011 class.

Ned Jarrett was inducted into the 2011 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame on May 23,2011.

Ned Jarrett married first Olene Rebecca Proctor on January 14,1950 in Cherokee County, South Carolina.

Ned Jarrett would marry again, this time on February 18,1956 in Catawba County, North Carolina to Martha Ruth Bowman.