Last Updated on June 5, 2026 1:30 pm
Ned Jarrett, one of the most celebrated drivers in NASCAR history and a beloved figure in North Carolina motorsports, has died. He was 93.
The Jarrett family announced that Ned died peacefully on Thursday, June 4, of natural causes at his home in Newton, North Carolina, with his family by his side. Newton is in Catawba County, roughly 60 miles southeast of Boone.
“With profound sadness, the family of NASCAR Hall of Fame driver and radio/TV personality, Ned Jarrett, announces his passing on Thursday, June 4, 2026,” the family said in a statement. “He died peacefully of natural causes at his home in Newton, North Carolina, with his family by his side. He was 93 years old. Our father was a devout Christian and a devoted, loving family man. He was a friend to everyone he met and NASCAR's oldest living champion. By all accounts, he was a true NASCAR legend. While we mourn his passing, we celebrate the remarkable life of an amazing man and truly the best father anyone could have wished for. Rest in Peace, Dad.”
Jarrett won two NASCAR Cup Series championships — in 1961 and 1965 — and 50 races across 352 starts in a career that spanned 13 years. He retired at just 34 years old and remains the only driver in NASCAR history to retire as the reigning series champion.
His dominance in the 1965 season was historic. Jarrett won 13 races and claimed his second title, including a victory in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway by a margin of 14 laps — the largest winning margin by distance in NASCAR premier-series history, a record that still stands.
Known throughout the sport as “Gentleman Ned” for his calm demeanor and sportsmanship, Jarrett was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998. He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011 as part of the second class of inductees.
“Despite his calm demeanor, ‘Gentleman' Ned Jarrett was as fierce a competitor as NASCAR has ever seen,” NASCAR CEO Steve O'Donnell said in a statement. “His on-track accomplishments speak for themselves with wins and championships across several NASCAR divisions. But it was his off-the-track persona that separated Ned from his peers. He was as kind as his nickname indicated. And his endearing personality helped him excel in his second career as a broadcaster. Ned was an outstanding ambassador for the sport for more than six decades, and he will be dearly missed.”
After retiring from driving, Jarrett built a second career as one of NASCAR's most recognizable voices. He worked with the Motor Racing Network as a pit road reporter before moving to the television booth with CBS and ESPN. He also hosted “Ned Jarrett's World of Racing,” a daily radio news show that became a fixture in the sport.
The defining moment of his broadcasting career came on the final lap of the 1993 Daytona 500. Jarrett was calling the race for CBS when his youngest son, Dale Jarrett, pulled away from five-time champion Dale Earnhardt in the closing laps. Unable to contain himself, Ned urged Dale on live on national television — “Dale Jarrett's gonna win the Daytona 500!” — in a call that remains one of the most replayed moments in the sport's broadcast history.
Jarrett was born Oct. 12, 1932, near Newton, North Carolina, and grew up working on the family farm and sawmill. He ran his first race at Hickory Speedway in 1953 and was immediately hooked. His path to the NASCAR premier series involved winning back-to-back Sportsman Series championships in 1957 and 1958, and famously financing his first Cup-level car by writing a check for $2,000 after the bank closed on a Friday — betting he could win enough in back-to-back races that weekend to cover it by Monday. He did.
Beyond driving and broadcasting, Jarrett also served as promoter of Hickory Speedway from 1968 through 1977 and was named Promoter of the Year twice during that stretch.
His son Dale Jarrett won the NASCAR Cup Series championship in 1999 and was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2014, making the Jarretts one of only two father-son pairs in NASCAR history to each win the premier-series title. His son Glenn Jarrett also competed in NASCAR before pursuing a broadcasting career, and his daughter Patti is married to Jimmy Makar, longtime Senior Vice President of Racing Operations for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Ned Jarrett was preceded in death by his wife Martha, who passed away on Feb. 5, 2023, after 67 years of marriage.
