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Ned Jarrett: NASCAR’s Under The Radar GOAT

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NASCAR has had a short but elite list of drivers that some could consider the greatest ever NASCAR drivers, but there may be a driver that people forget to mention regularly. That driver is none other than Gentleman Ned Jarrett. In his brief time in NASCAR Ned Jarrett put himself into the top 10 to 15 ever, raced against the best ever, and on a regular basis beat the best ever. This is the story of Ned Jarrett, NASCAR's under the radar GOAT.

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33 comments

The Iceberg August 15, 2023 at 11:01 pm

Which drivers do you think deserve to be more remembered?

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JackCSports August 15, 2023 at 11:10 pm

Buck Baker
People seem to only talk about Buddy now

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Run Rafa Run #THEBESTINTHEWORLD August 15, 2023 at 11:12 pm

Buddy Rice since you didn’t say nascar.

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cadillacjohn1994 August 15, 2023 at 11:13 pm

If we’re talking about pre modern era drivers, Marshall Teague. I think that one of NASCAR’s original superstars, known especially for piloting one of the original Hudson Hornets, and kicking butt at the Daytona Beach Course, is unfortunately lost in the shuffle today amongst others like Petty, Pearson, Jarrett, Foyt, Gurney, Andretti, Flock, and Thomas.

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GoodOl'Roll August 15, 2023 at 11:23 pm

James Hylton.

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Rasheem Hall Stewart August 15, 2023 at 11:36 pm

@TheIceberg you should do a what if Bill Elliott never left melling racing 9 car or the 11 Junior Johnson Ford

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Rainbow Warrior August 15, 2023 at 11:11 pm

Could’ve won a bunch of races in the 1970s

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Vincent Gagliano August 15, 2023 at 11:14 pm

He’s one of those NASCAR personalities who was so great at the booth that people easily forget how great he was as a driver.

DW and Buddy Baker too.

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Run Rafa Run #THEBESTINTHEWORLD August 15, 2023 at 11:29 pm

Even his son Glenn Jarrett was good at being pit reporter. No wonder he named him Glenn because Fireball Roberts first name is Glenn.

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Razor Shark August 16, 2023 at 1:32 am

Ned Jarrett in the booth brings back so many great memories. Him calling his son back to the win at Daytona is peak Sports broadcasting imo.

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SuperNASCARrocks August 15, 2023 at 11:14 pm

I mean he once won a race by 14 laps. I think that more than qualifies him.

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NASCARFAN93100 August 15, 2023 at 11:25 pm

14 Laps

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Austin Emms August 15, 2023 at 11:14 pm

Ned Jarrett could’ve been as good as he was in the 80s and 90s as he was in his day. A criminally underrated driver.

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Razor August 16, 2023 at 6:42 am

Could be one of the biggest what-ifs in the realm of NASCAR Racing, “What if Ned Jarrett continued racing into the 1970s and 1980s just like his contemporaries Petty and Pearson?”. My guess would be, apart from he won’t be a NASCAR Reporter and pundit until he eventually retires, he would be number 3 in NASCAR’s most successful drivers list, as well as Petty won’t have 200 wins and Pearson won’t win 105 races.

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cadillacjohn1994 August 15, 2023 at 11:17 pm

Amazing broadcaster, stellar driver, and outstanding human being! 50+ wins, 2 championships, and an almost 6 decade long motorsport career. If that’s not GOAT level status, I don’t know what is. We’ll never see the likes of him again. FACT.

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Mike Youngblood August 15, 2023 at 11:21 pm

The whole Jarrett Family is underrated…if not for Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Dale Jarrett would have won at least another Cup

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GoodOl'Roll August 15, 2023 at 11:30 pm

If not for Gordon he would’ve won 1997.

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Kylora August 15, 2023 at 11:45 pm

It’s kinda funny how bad Dale was before he went to Yates compared to how excellent he was *with* Yates.

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Martini Boy 18 August 16, 2023 at 12:48 am

@GoodOl’Roll He was right there in 1996 as well, could have stolen a title from both Gordon and Terry Labonte with one or two better finishes

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NASCARFAN93100 August 15, 2023 at 11:26 pm

Ned Jarrett is Truly one of the GOATs as a driver and as a broadcaster

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Cito Browne August 15, 2023 at 11:26 pm

His most dominant win: 1965 Darlington, won by a staggering 14 laps

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GoodOl'Roll August 15, 2023 at 11:34 pm

If Ned didn’t retire early and if Pearson ran the full schedule every year, the 3-way battles for championships and general domination through the late 60s and 70s would’ve been amazing.

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Razor August 16, 2023 at 12:14 pm

I think Ned, Petty and Pearson would dogfight on each other and that would be interesting.

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Daria_Morgandorffer August 16, 2023 at 12:17 am

Ned isn’t a “what if” driver, he was one of the best, hall of fame, did it when it was often lethal, baddest asses to ever turn a wheel! All while being one of the kindest people ever. Also hearing him talk about Fireball is heartbreaking.

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IanPerez2000 August 16, 2023 at 12:17 am

Truly a Gentleman in NASCAR as a driver and reporter.

One of my favorite Ned Jarrett stories was when Ned was calling a pit stop for Richard Petty at the 1979 (I think?) Martinsville race. He was calling it in the bathroom and did it right

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Razor August 16, 2023 at 6:47 am

I kinda think that Ned was NASCAR’s equivalent to Sir Jackie Stewart

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Razor Shark August 16, 2023 at 1:31 am

Biggest What If imo is someone else you mentioned here, Joe Weatherly, the man won two championships in a row and died in the first race of the next season. Fun fact about Joe’s second championship, he won it while driving for 9 different teams since his main ride only entered big money events so he would go looking for rides for smaller races.

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Brandon August 16, 2023 at 2:18 am

Ned Jarrett actually competed against Richard Petty in 286 races, and these are the results:
H2H Wins: 146-140 Richard Petty
Wins: 42-39 Richard Petty
Top 5s: 151-149 Richard Petty
Top 10s: 198-193 Ned Jarrett
Av. Finish: 8.7-8.9 Richard Petty

As you can see, Richard Petty was very slightly better, but he was remarkably close, with Petty also ranking higher in points in 4 of 5 years both were full-time (each starting a majority of races). To give you context on how close Jarrett was to Petty though, here’s how David Pearson did against Petty:

Starts: 551
H2H Wins: 290-261 Richard Petty
Wins: 108-97 Richard Petty
Top 5s: 292-289 Richard Petty
Top 10s: 367-349 Richard Petty
Av. Finish: 9.8-11.3 Richard Petty

Among the pre-modern era drivers, he’s very close to the likes of the Pettys and Pearson and accomplished all in only 6 full time seasons and 352 starts to his name.

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T J August 16, 2023 at 3:29 am

There’s no comparison, he was great on and off the track. Reminds me of my dad. Humble and kind.

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KJ Productions August 16, 2023 at 4:38 am

That’s crazy Ned’s first championship was won despite one win like Matt Kenseth in 2003

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KR1736 August 16, 2023 at 11:00 am

As fantastic a driver he was, my favorite thing about Ned was the story about him helping Wendell Scott. I also maintain that a large part of the success and growth of NASCAR in the 80s/90s was the three man booth of Ned, BP and Bob Jenkins. Those three were the voice of my childhood and helped foster a love of auto racing and stock cars

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Daniel Foster August 16, 2023 at 12:55 pm

We all know Ned Jarrett from his broadcasting career, but I’m glad his driving career is starting to be appreciated. If Ned had continued driving, he probably might have been the driver nicknamed “The King” instead of Richard Petty, and probably would have been the one with seven championships instead of Petty.

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Steve Still August 16, 2023 at 3:51 pm

Ned was incredibly underrated. I had the chance to meet him in ’09 and yes he definitely lived up to the “gentleman Ned” moniker. The Joe Weatherly crash is why we have window nets now and the Fireball Roberts crash is the reason we have fuel cells.

And I think the 3 biggest “What if” drivers are Tim Richmond, Davey Allison and Alan Kulwicki

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