Dale Jarrett a Link to the Roots of Racing

From the vantage point of a living room, NASCAR is a glamorous spectacle ruled by dashing and articulate young men.

Fans wait for hours just to catch a glimpse of their well-groomed heroes. Meanwhile, Fortune 500 types shell out millions to be associated with teams.

Major league stock car racing was once more about grits than glitz, however.

Dale Jarrett is a vital link those to those formative days. That’s one reason why Jarrett’s final ride in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway was so important and sentimental.

Jarrett took the old-fashioned route to the national stage. He grew up in a racing family, developed his skills on proving grounds such as Hickory Motor Speedway in rural North Carolina and labored for years before earning a dream ride with Robert Yates Racing.

While Ned Jarrett (Dale’s father) won two Cup championships and later earned universal acclaim for his work as a television analyst, Dale had no free pass to success.

"It was a struggle," Jarrett said. "This week, I’ve thought a lot about the times when I had my own Busch [Series] team trying to make ends meet and having two other people working with me full-time.

"We were working literally day and night. It wasn’t uncommon for it to be 18-hour days. That is what it took."

It’s a shame that so few NASCAR fans see the reality of racing, especially at the grassroots levels.

The hours and duties are endless, and the headaches are many. Working in the race shop past midnight and traveling with family and friends to short tracks may sound romantic, but it’s far from it.

It’s called paying your dues, and the price, from broken families to broken bones, is high.

Jarrett knows the story of sacrifice on a personal level.

"I would drive the hauler to the track. I say hauler, but it was really a pickup truck with a trailer behind it," Jarrett said. "That’s just what you were doing, and at the time, it was great.

"I owned the company. I went out and tried to drum up the sponsorship. I built the cars, and put bodies on them. I did everything that was with it. I think I was paying myself 115 dollars a week. But I was making it and it all led to really good things."

There’s a reason why fans worship guys such as the late Dale Earnhardt, Bill Elliott and Jarrett. They graduated from the old-school and had to actually win races to land coveted rides.

By comparison, an increasing number of young drivers are hired based on their potential and marketing appeal. Can you say image over instincts?

Jarrett is among a select number of Sprint Cup drivers who have seen their game progress from a regional passion to the second-most popular sport in the United States.

"There were a lot of days that I had no idea this kind of success that I’ve been fortunate enough to have would come along," Jarrett said.

It seemed only fitting that Ned Jarrett served as the honorary starter for his son’s final points race Sunday.

The emotions, from the fans to the network announcers, were strong as Jarrett took a pace lap around the track just before the green flag.

"The sport has obviously done a lot for me and my family. This week has been a lot more different than what I’ve thought all season. I’ve always been able to say, ‘I’ve got a few more weeks,’ or ‘I’ve got a couple of months before that comes.’ It was easy to say at that time, but we’re here. This is it this week. I’ve found myself thinking about a lot of the things that have happened over the last 20 years."

Ironically, Jarrett will follow the path of his father by becoming a television analyst. While the path was full of long hours, Jarrett clearly has no regrets with his NASCAR journey.

"I couldn’t have asked for a better scenario," Jarrett said. "If you gave me a chance to go back and do it all over again, I wouldn’t have changed a thing about it."