Why Dale Jarrett Running the NASCAR Double Is As Big As Kyle Busch’s Achievements Despite Fewer Wins

Jan 29, 2014; Charlotte, NC, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Dale Jarrett makes a speech after being inducted into the NASCAR hall of fame during the induction ceremony at NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Kyle Busch is greatly lauded today for his achievements in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Truck Series. The two-time Cup Series champion is the only driver in history to win championships in all three national NASCAR series and is the all-time leader in race wins in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Truck Series. NASCAR had to intervene and introduce a rule limiting the number of races Cup Series drivers could compete in across these series, largely due to Busch’s exceptionally high participation and success.

Very few drivers are considered to have been as committed as him when it comes to packing a weekend with multiple-tier races. However, one name that deserves the same stature is Dale Jarrett. The 1999 Cup Series champion began his NASCAR career in 1982, driving for Thackston Racing in the Busch Series, before moving to the Cup Series in 1984.

But even when Jarrett made the step up, he did not stop participating in the lower tier.  There were several double-header weekends that he was a part of. What makes them all stand out is that the races were seldom held at the same track. Speaking to Kyle Petty in a recent interview, he said, “If you remember, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, and these guys were doing the doubles all the time.”

“Well, Brett Boddine and I were really the first ones to do that. We traveled a lot together in 1987. It was a tough road trying to work on building the cars and everything. So, to step away from that and let someone else take charge was difficult. I will never forget Brett Bodine, and I was doing that.”

With Petty laying out how much of a task it was for drivers to go from track to track inside a weekend, Jarrett fondly recalled how he and Bodine once earned the wrath of the public when hurriedly trying to get to a race in Michigan. Jarrett drove in 329 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races across 20 years. He secured 11 wins in this stretch.
Busch, meanwhile, driven 367 races thus far and secured 102 wins. That looks like a massive gap on paper. But, as Jarrett’s narrative proves, racing double-header weekends was simply too tough a task back in the day. The number of races he participated in alone deserves high credit in light of that. He retired from the Cup Series in 2008 with 32 wins to his name.
Post Edited By: Somin Bhattacharjee
Dale Jarrett Kyle Busch

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Gowtham Ramalingam

Gowtham is a NASCAR journalist at The SportsRush. Though his affinity for racing stems from Formula 1, he found himself drawn to NASCAR's unparalleled excitement over the years. As a result he has shared his insights and observations by authoring over 3000 articles on the sport. An avid fiction writer, you can find him lost in imaginary worlds when he is not immersed in racing. He hopes to continue savoring the thrill of every lap and race together with his readers for as long as he can.

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