Jarrett content with final points-race weekend
CONCORD, N.C. – Dale Jarrett flew home from his final points race Sunday night, reminiscing with his family and discussing how much they relished the race weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“Traveling home, talking to [wife] Kelley and the kids, we talked about all the nice things that were done by everyone at Bristol,” Jarrett
said Tuesday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. “Just having time to reminisce with Kelley and the kids was nice because we talked about a lot of different things.
“There were a lot of things that were brought up throughout the week that we had kind of forgotten about. We saw pictures in the collage that the people that NASCAR gave to me. They saw that it just brought back a lot of memories. The girls were really small [in the pictures]. There were pictures of Jason when he was just a kid. That was a nice thing.”
Jarrett finished 37th in his final points race.
“Having a wheel come loose during the race that we had to make a pit stop that got us way behind for the rest of the day, that was kind of the down side,” Jarrett said. “That aside, I basically realized that was it. Having my last race, I would have liked to have been a little bit more competitive. We had a car that was OK. But I was OK with that. We finished the race.”
Before the season, Jarrett announced his 2008 schedule – the first five points races, the Shootout and the all-star event.
“It was an insurance policy – this is a race that I’m going to be in, I’ve already qualified for [it],” said Jarrett, who ended up qualifying for each of the first five races. “I have to finish it better, unless y’all increase the field, then I did Sunday [at Bristol].”
While he has competed in his final points race, Jarrett has one more Sprint Cup event left – the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on May 17 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
Track president H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler, an innovative promoter, asked if Jarrett would drive a souped-up UPS truck up a ramp and jump the truck, but Jarrett declined.
While Jarrett wouldn’t participate in the theatrics that Wheeler suggested, he was stoked about making the all-star race his last event.
“Obviously the Coca-Cola 600 came to mind because it would be here and it would be with Coca-Cola, who have been great partners over the years,” Jarrett said. “But as I looked at that, that was going to take away from somebody trying to run all the races if I go take a spot there and I didn’t want to do that.
“I looked at Indianapolis, same scenario basically – a great place to end your career, but it is perfect here. This is where it should happen. The all-star race gives me a perfect opportunity to do that with family and friends coming here.”
Two days into his “retirement,” Jarrett said Monday wasn’t a bad day.
“On Monday, I said, ‘That part of it is over.’ I went to the golf course, had a good day on the golf course and that was perfect,” Jarrett said.
In conjunction with Jarrett’s last race, the track is offering a $44 two-day ticket that includes the Craftsman Truck Series race the night
before. Those purchasing the $44 ticket also can enter a drawing to ride as a passenger as Jarrett drives the UPS truck he drove in a recent commercial around the track prior to the all-star event.
