Second in points, 14 behind Jeff Gordon. Won seven races with
20 top-five finishes. Earned $3,240,542, won Man of the Year Award and was
named driver of the year by National Motorsports Press Association.
Cemented his place among Winston Cup's elite class.
1999 Outlook:
Jarrett finished third in the points with three wins and 19 top-fives, but by this team's standards that wasn't a satisfying season. Once Jarrett got his gall bladder removed after the season, he realized how bad he had been feeling all year. Now he says he has the energy to work out and get ready for the grind of a championship battle.
Career
The dream season in Winston Cup began for Jarrett with a bang his Robert Yates-owned No. 88 Quality Care/Ford Credit Ford team, as they edged Dale Earnhardt for the win in the season-opening 1997 Daytona 500.
Then he picked up victories at the longest race of the season, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, and the richest event of the year, the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
With two of the three "crown jewels" of racing already won (Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600), Jarrett was poised for Darlington and the Mountain Dew Southern 500, and a chance for the "Winston Million."
But the elusive bonus check was not to be, as an early race brush with the wall ended any hopes of a win.
Jarrett kept up a consistent pace of solid finishes that kept him in the hunt for the series championship until the season's final event.
His four wins (Daytona, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Michigan), 17 top-5 and 21 top-10 showings were all career bests. He also set a personal mark with $2,343,750 in season winnings, joining Jeff Gordon as the only drivers to break the $2 million mark.
A second-place finish in the NAPA 500 wasn't enough, however, and Jarrett finished the season fourth in the 1996 standings.
Jarrett is aslo a part-time competitor in the Busch Grand National Series. His car owner in that series, Horace Isenhower, and Jarrett have been together since the formation of the NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division in 1982. One of the pioneers of the NASCAR Busch Series, Jarrett competed in 184 consecutive races from the formation of the series in 1982 until early 1988. He scored his first career win in August of 1986 at Orange County Speedway after several near-misses.
1995 brought but one victory for Jarrett at Pocono but throughout the season had 14 top-10 finishes and ended with biggest career earnings. He filled in during the 1995 season while Irvan recovered from 1994 crash injuries and will stay and drive one of the two Yates' team cars for the '96 season.
Spent three-year stint with former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs' team.
Grew up racing at Hickory Motor Speedway where his father, two-time Winston Cup champion Ned Jarrett, was once the track promoter. Owns eight Busch Grand National victories.
First Winston Cup win came in 129th start at 1991 Champion 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Won 1993 Daytona 500. Career-best fourth in '93 Winston Cup points. Sole victory in '94 came in Mello Yello 50 at Charlotte.
Enjoys the outdoors and spending time with his four children.
Winston Cup Victories (18): (4) 1991 Michigan-2; 1993 Daytona-1; 1994 Charlotte-2; 1995 Pocono-2; 1996 Daytona-1, Charlotte-1, Indianapolis, Michigan-2.
Sources: NASCAR Press Guides, Star and News staff reports.
