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 Driving
for car owner Robert Yates, Dale Jarrett finally achieved NASCAR superstar
status in 1996. It was, without a doubt, his most successful season by far. He
scored four wins, including three of the biggest events on the Winston Cup
schedule...The Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400 and the Coca-Cola 600. He
contended for the title throughout the season, finishing a close third in the
final point standings, and won close to $3 million in prize money.
Dale's stardom is no surprise. He is following in the footsteps of another Walk of Fame Inductee, his father, Ned Jarrett, a two-time Winston Cup champion in the 1960s. DJ's first year as a race driver, 1977, showed his potential. He won Limited Sportsman Division Rookie of the Year at Hickory Motor Speedway, a track where his father once was the promoter.
In 1984, Dale made his Winston Cup debut on the
half-mile oval at Martinsville, where he started 24th and finished 14th. His
first Winston Cup win came at Michigan in 1991 when he beat Davey Allison to the
line by a couple of feet driving for the Wood Brothers. One of his most
memorable wins came in Now teamed with car owner Robert Yates and Crew Chief Todd Parrott, Jarrett is a threat to visit victory lane every week on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit. He continues to chase his first Winston Cup crown, presently third in points. Dale Jarrett, THE FANS' FAVORITE for the 1997 Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame inductee in the "Active Category"
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Dale honed his skills and established himself
as a top-echelon stock car racer in NASCAR's Busch Grand National Series. From
1982 through 1987 he never finished lower than sixth in the championship. 
1993 when he won his first Daytona 500, driving for Joe
Gibbs Racing. A justifiably proud Ned Jarrett was a commentator on the CBS
telecast of that race, as he was again for Dale's 1996 Daytona victory.
