Dale Jarrett will be ending his almost thirty-year racing career at the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at LMS. (John Harrelson/Getty Images Photo) » More Photos

Jarrett struggled through most of the 1980s.

“It was definitely hit and miss early on,” Jarrett said. “I've thought a lot about the times when I had my own Busch team, trying to make ends meet, having two other people working with me full time. It wasn't uncommon for it to be 18-hour days. Not only that, I would drive the hauler to the track. I say hauler, but it was really a pickup truck with a trailer behind it.

“I owned the company. I went out and tried to drum up the sponsorship. I didn't build the engines, (but) I did learn to build the cars. I put bodies on them. I think I was paying myself $115 a week. But I was making it, and it all led to really good things."

It appeared Jarrett had found the break he needed in Cup racing in 1987 when Eric Freedlander hired him to replace veteran Tommy Ellis, but that team folded at the end of the season. The following year he drove for four different teams before joining Cale Yarborough for 19 races. He remained with Yarborough through 1989, but was then dismissed.

It was a telephone call in early 1990 that Jarrett cites as his biggest break. Neil Bonnett had suffered a severe head injury at Darlington Raceway and would be unable to finish the season with the Wood Brothers. Jarrett was tapped to fill the seat, and it was there that he earned his first Cup victory.
The year was 1991 and the site was Michigan International Speedway. For the final two laps, Jarrett and Davey Allison dueled side-by-side, sometimes rubbing sheet metal, with Jarrett eventually emerging the victor by a scant 10 inches.

Still, Jarrett didn't feel he belonged in stock car racing's premier series until six years later at Robert Yates Racing after having won two Daytona 500s. It was a feeling that didn't come without another struggle.

Jarrett left Joe Gibbs Racing after three years to accept a one-year position at RYR while Ernie Irvan recovered from a life-threatening head injury he'd suffered at Michigan in August 1994. Yet, with the way the relationship began, no one would have ever envisioned it concluding in a series championship.

Jarrett's first six months with RYR were a nightmare. Many questioned his ability, and different racing philosophies caused intense disagreements among Jarrett, crew chief Larry McReynolds and Yates. During Lowe's Motor Speedway's race weeks in May 1995, the simmering pot boiled over when Hut Stricklin stepped into Jarrett's race car for a practice session while Jarrett stood in the garage.

A six-hour meeting involving Robert and Doug Yates, McReynolds and Jarrett ensued immediately after the All-Star Race and before the Coca-Cola 600. When Jarrett left the meeting, he didn't know if he would still have a job after the Coca-Cola 600.