Legendary NASCAR driver Ned Jarrett has died at the age of 93, the organization has announced.
Jarrett, a two-time NASCAR premier-series champion and second-year inductee into the Hall of Fame, passed away ‘peacefully of natural causes’ on Thursday while surrounded by his loved ones at home in Newton, North Carolina, the family said in a statement on Friday.
‘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,’ the statement reads. ‘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 – whose death comes just weeks after the tragic loss of another NASCAR great, 41-year-old Kyle Busch – was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011 after 50 career wins on the sport’s top circuit, including championships in 1961 and 1965. He was part of the second five-member Hall of Fame class.
The racing icon, known as ‘Gentleman Ned’ for his demeanor, may have been better known by younger NASCAR fans for his broadcasting career. One of his signature moments in the booth came in the 1993 Daytona 500 when he didn’t try to restrain from rooting as his son, Dale, held off Dale Earnhardt for the win.
Legendary NASCAR driver Ned Jarrett has died at the age of 93, it has been announced
Jarrett, known as ‘Gentleman Ned’, was a two-time NASCAR premier-series champion and second-year inductee into the Hall of Fame
The news comes just weeks on from the passing of another NASCAR icon in Kyle Busch
Dale Jarrett won the Cup Series in 1999, making him and his dad the second father-son combination to win Cup Series championships, following Lee and Richard Petty. Bill Elliott and his son, Chase, later completed the father-son achievement.
In his own tribute on Friday, NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell described Ned was a legend of the sport.
‘Despite his calm demeanor, “Gentleman” Ned Jarrett was as fierce a competitor as NASCAR has ever seen,’ O’Donnell said. ‘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.’
The news comes less than two weeks after the sudden and tragic death of Busch, who passed away on May 21 after a sudden battle with sepsis.
The two-time NASCAR champion died in a North Carolina hospital just days before the running of the annual Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
He had been dealing with an illness for weeks, which was later revealed to be a serious case of pneumonia that developed into sepsis.
And on Monday the racing world was left in mourning once again following the loss of Indianapolis 500 star Rick Treadway, who died at the age of 56.
Fox Sports revealed that Treadway died after suffering a motorcycle accident on May 30, leading to an outpouring of tributes from devastated Indy 500 fans.
