Ned
Jarrett, a retired race car driver and broadcaster who won four NASCAR
national driving titles, was born near Newton, NC on October 12, 1932.
He grew up working on his parents farm and at their sawmill. He
and his wife Martha still live in the country approximately 6 miles from
where he grew up. Ned and Martha have two sons, Glenn and Dale,
and one daughter, Patti J. Makar. They also have 6 grandchildren,
and on great grandson.
NED JARRETT
PROFFESSIONAL CAREER
Won 4 NASCAR National driving titles in less than 14 years of
competition, 1953 – 1966.
1953 – 1958 NASCAR SPORTSMAN SERIES (NOW NATIONWIDE)
1956 - Finished 2nd to Ralph Earnhardt in national standings.
1957 - Won NASCAR Sportsman Series National Title.
1958 - Won second NASCAR Sportsman Series National Title.
Won more than 200 Sportsman events while winning State Championships in
North Carolina, South\
Carolina, Georgia and Virginia. Had to race in 85 to 90 events per year
to win National Titles.
Jarrett played a role in the formation of the NASCAR/Busch Series in
1982, and as a 12 year coordinator
and “at track” representative for Anheuser-Busch, he was a major
influence on Busch Beer becoming the
Series sponsor.
1959 – 1966 NASCAR CUP SERIES
1959 - Ran partial schedule – 2 wins + 1 convertible win
1960 – With borrowed money he won 5 races in first full year of
competition – 5th in points
1961 – Won first Cup Championship driving Chevrolets for W.G. Holloway,
Jr. – one win
1962 – Won 6 races in his own Chevrolet – 3rd in points
1963 – Won 8 races in Bob Robinson Ford – 4th in points
1964 – Won 15 races in Bondy Long Ford – 2nd in points
1965 – Won second Cup Championship in Bondy Long Ford.
13 wins, 42 top 5’s, 45 top 10’s, and won the Southern 500 at Darlington
by 14 laps, largest
margin of victory ever.
1966 – Ran partial schedule while planning retirement at 34 years of
age.
The 6 years he ran the full Cup schedule he was never out of the top 5
in points.
Total Cup races entered - 352 - 50 wins - 185 top 5’s - 239 top 10’s -
35 poles
Won 14.2% of Cup races entered – Finished in top 5 more than 52% of
races ran
Was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.
43 of Ned’s 50 wins came in Ford cars, making him the all time
winningest driver in the Ford brand.
When Ned Jarrett retired from driving race cars in 1966 at age 34 he was
presented a Lifetime NASCAR
Membership honoring his relentless efforts to change the image of the
sport and make it better understood
to mainstream America.
When the President of the United States attended the 1983 July race at
Daytona, Ned was chosen to interview Ronald Reagan on MRN Radio.
In 1966 Ned was the first ever race driver to be invited to and attend
the annual Presidential Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC.
Jarrett’s experience and love of NASCAR racing landed him a job as
manager of one of NASCAR’S
most popular tracks, The Hickory, NC Speedway for nine years, 1968 –
1977. He was named “Promoter
of the Year” twice during that span. Also, in that time frame he started
an auto racing broadcasting career
which exceeded his driving career in years of participation. Many people
say his contributions to the
sport while broadcasting equaled or surpassed those made during his
driving career.
1967 - 1978
Analyst and/or Pit Reporter for Universal Racing Network and Motor
Racing Network. Was first former
driver to work regularly for radio networks.
1979 – 2000 – ANAYLST AND/OR PIT REPORTER FOR CBS SPORTS
Jarrett was the first former NASCAR driver to sign a contract with a
national TV network. He was on the
original broadcast team when CBS started their live start to finish
coverage of NASCAR races at the
1979 Daytona 500, an event which is credited with taking NASCAR racing
to another level. Another
highlight of his CBS career was calling his son Dale home during his
first Daytona 500 victory in 1993 a
classic in broadcasting circles. Ned was on the CBS team the entire 22
years of their NASCAR coverage.
1984 – 2000 ANALYST FOR ESPN
Ned was first driver to work for two different networks, a testament to
his skills and popularity as a
broadcaster. He won numerous awards for his efforts in helping to
pioneer both radio and TV coverage
of NASCAR races. He also hosted the original INSIDE NASCAR weekly TV
show for more than 10 years,
which was produced by Sunbelt Video (now NASCAR Images), a company he
helped to found.
OTHER:
1962 – After winning the 1961 Cup Championship Ned enrolled in a Dale
Carnegie course to become
the first known driver to take a self improvement course to improve his
communication skills
and to prepare himself to do a better job of representing NASCAR and his
family. Taking the
Dale Carnegie course eventually led to his broadcasting career and put
him in demand as a
speaker. Since 1962 he has made more than as average of 20 talks and
appearances per year
spreading the word on NASCAR racing to church groups, civic
organizations, charity events,
and business groups. That’s more than 900 total. He has received more
than 100 awards,
plagues, and certificates for charity work. His friends and associates
say there are few if any in
the sport who have done more to change the image of auto racing. He
always represented the
sport with class.
1964 – Was presented Heroism Award for his efforts in pulling Fireball
Roberts from flaming car.
Ned launched the daily Ned Jarrett “World of Racing” syndicated radio
program in 1978, which at 31 years has become the longest running sports
feature type program ever. The program currently airs on
MRN Radio stations and deals with NASCAR exclusively.
Jarrett is a four time recipient of the prestigious Myers Brothers Award
given each year to the person
or company contributing the most to NASCAR racing. He received the Award
twice as an individual,
and was on the team of CBS and MRN when they won the Award. In 1961 and
1965 he was given the
Daytona Beach News Journal Award for the driver who contributed the most
to auto racing in the United
States. In 1999 he was voted by media members to receive the Henry T.
McLemore Motorsports Press
Award in recognition of continued outstanding motorsports journalism.
1997 – Lenoir Rhyne College of Hickory, North Carolina presented Ned
with the Honorary Degree of
Doctor of Humane Letters.
Ned has been elected to 13 different Hall of Fames, including the
International Motorsports Hall of Fame,
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, The NMPA Hall of Fame, and the
North Carolina Sports Hall of
Fame.
Jarrett’s son Dale won the Cup Championship in 1999, making them only
the 2nd father-son combination
to accomplish that feat. Lee and Richard Petty were the first to do it.
In the early 60’s during Curtis Turner’s failed attempt to unionize the
drivers many issues were raised on how NASCAR could be improved. Bill
France, Sr. agreed to a committee made up of various leaders in the
sport to act as a sounding board. Drivers would have one representative,
Ned Jarrett was the one chosen.
Ned has been a member of the COCA-COLA racing family since it's
inception more than 10 years ago.
Due to Heart problems in 2002 Ned
has become an avid Health Nut, he works out daily and has become a big
fan of Alternative Medicine. One of his secrets to "staying young"
is Trans-D Trophin.
Ned Jarrett Speaks on Trans-D Tropin®
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