Go Dale Go - Please

Dale Jarrett's name has been in the news this week with talk about a pending retirement.

I hope it's true.

DJ is a champion driver, one of the sport's best personalities and a continued legacy of one of NASCAR's first families, following in his father Ned's footsteps.

But unfortunately, Jarrett has joined the ranks of athletes that have stayed around their sport far too long and past their prime, tarnishing the accomplishments made.

I realize there's a lot of money on the table to be a full-time NEXTEL Cup driver these days and walking away from the sport has to be a difficult decision.

But the situation Jarrett finds himself in should help him make up his mind.

Despite the denials, Toyota will certainly be shifting some of its support from existing teams like Red Bull and Michael Waltrip Racing to support the three-car Joe Gibbs Racing stable. MWR is all but certain to be downsized to a two-car effort, especially in light of the well-documented struggles of 2007.

And longtime sponsor UPS, which together with Jarrett helped form one of the greatest driver-sponsor relationships in NASCAR history, can't be pleased with the recent performance. How could they when Jarrett has missed more than half the races this season while arch rival FedEx reaps mountains of publicity and success as young Denny Hamlin's sponsor.

MWR's Ty Norris recently said he was recently at a UPS summit and that "UPS says things are going well."

They must have been talking about a drop on packing tape costs because there's no way anyone at UPS could be saying that about their NASCAR efforts.

DJ has a future in television and just as he did behind-the-wheel, he should follow his father's lead to the booth.

That would be the best thing he could deliver to UPS in a long time.
Posted: 8/10/2007 10:01:00 AM
Comments:
I hope he is not staying for the money. My guess is that he is staying because he loves the sport and loves what he is doing. It's way to easy for us to judge the guy. He's a past champion and a multiple Daytona winner. He may not have been one of the all-times greats, but you can't say that it was solely because he had great equipment. Sure it's frustrating, but it's probably frightening to think about retiring. Give the guy a break; regardless of what the fans think, he has every right to keep racing as long as he wants and as long as he can get sponsorship and make races. To say he should retire to give his sponsorship to a younger driver is ridiculous. If UPS didn't find value in sponsoring him they would have left.
Posted On: 8/10/2007 10:01:00 AM
Well, I think that the image is more important that the dollars.  The way I love, I wouldn't need to many millions to be good forever, I know it is surely different for DJ but man I lose respect for these guys who stay around for the money when they are already millionaires many times over, let some other guys make some cashola!  It is very painful to watch someone be a champion and then miss 7 races (so far this year, look to add 10 to that by years end and at the glen today if practice is an indication, he will miss that one) in less than 10 years.  Makes me wonder if DJ was ever really as good as he was or was he just lucky to be with the right team.  I like it when these guys semi retire but not it is just a past champions provisional party and that is sad, it is sad watching Bill or Terry or Dale ride around in junk to get a big check for getting their car in the show.  I venture to say that Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart could make more by just competing for 5 race deals with teams who need a past champ provisional.
Posted On: 8/10/2007 10:01:00 AM
DJ needs to move on.  His chance of returning to top form at this point is limited at best.  It is painful to watch him struggle just to make races in the Michael Waltrip Racing cars.
Posted On: 8/10/2007 10:01:00 AM
If MWR goes to two cars, it would seem the obvious choice to leave would be Jarrett. Reutiman has had more success at Waltrip than Michael and Dale put together (which really isn't much).

Still, as you say, it's always hard to walk away from money, whatever the sport. And when you talk about tarnishing the image, well...heck, image don't pay the bills.
Posted On: 8/10/2007 10:01:00 AM
I question how much of Jarrett's struggles are due to an age-related decline in skills, as opposed to what seems to be the primary determinant of success in modern NASCAR - specifically, driving for an established 3+ car team. I argue here:

http://community.racingone.com/blogs/tanque/archive/2007/08/15/192927.aspx

that anyone driving for RoushFenway, Hendrick, Gibbs or Childress is more likely than not to find themselves contending for the chase, while anyone driving for anyone else faces extremely long odds regardless of their skill level.
Posted On: 8/10/2007 10:01:00 AM
I want to say that it's all about the team but Dale Jarret hasn't been that competitive for the past few years. I think at MWR he's driving crap cars and he would do much better in a Chevy but something tells me he's turning into Terry Labonte. It seems only Mark Martin is a really competitive old guy (sorry Mark).
Posted On: 8/10/2007 10:01:00 AM
You have to blame the team, not the individual.  In the right car, DJ could still get it done, I am convinced.  It's a shame when a driver's skills are lost when he's on a team that limits his success...
Posted On: 8/10/2007 10:01:00 AM
Jarrett should have retired in 2003 after finishing 26th in points.  Although that could have been seen as a fluke, since he finished in the top 10 in points the previous 7 years.  Maybe he should have retired in 2004, after the disastrous 2003 (since that couldn't have been predicted in advance.)

He probably looks at how competitive some of his generational cohort has been (Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace) and thinks why can't he get the results?  Here's why: Dale Jarrett is the most overrated Cup driver of the '90s largely because he had one lucky break after another and the best crew chief in the business.  When Parrott left, Jarrett tanked, and that was basically that.

Yes, his retirement is long overdue.
Posted On: 8/10/2007 10:01:00 AM
I also think it is time for Dale to go, with so many new talents out there. But in all fairness, his demise is not all his fault. RYR kinda went down the tubes on him, and to go from there to MWR was kinda like stepping on the proverbial banana peel. At his age he won't get another top ride, so we won't know if he has any talent left. I will say, I would much rather listen to him in the booth than Kyle Petty, and he is much more deserving of the booth, kinda like listening to Ned again. Yup, hang up the helmet Dale.
Posted On: 8/10/2007 10:01:00 AM

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