NASCAR Champion and Hall of Famer Ned Jarrett, 93, Passes Away

Ned Jarrett, a 2011 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, has passed away at the age of 93, according to a statement from the Jarrett family.

“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," reads a statement from the Jarrett family. "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 was renowned both for a successful racing career and as one of the most recognizable faces and voices as NASCAR grew from a regional sport to a national phenomenon.

The North Carolina native won the championship in NASCAR's premier series in both 1961 and 1965.

Jarrett holds a record that will likely never be broken in the NASCAR Cup Series - the largest margin of victory in a race. During his 1965 championship season, Jarrett won the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway by 14 laps over Buck Baker. That proved to be the penultimate of Jarrett's 50 career wins in just 352 starts.

Another record held by Jarrett is the most wins in NASCAR's premier series while competing in a Ford. Of Jarrett's 50 victories, 43 came in a Ford, placing him ahead of the likes of Bill Elliott and Mark Martin on the winner's list for the manufacturer.

1965 proved to be his final bid for the title in the NASCAR Grand National Series, as he competed in only 21 of 49 races in 1966. Ford's withdrawal from the sport and a back injury suffered at Greenville-Pickens Speedway during the 1965 season led to an early retirement from competition for Jarrett at the age of 34.

As remarkable as Jarrett's career was behind the wheel, he quickly became a favorite of NASCAR fans with a microphone. Following his retirement, Jarrett began a daily radio news show, "Ned Jarrett's World of Racing."

That opened doors that led him to join the Motor Racing Network as a pit-road reporter on the network's radio broadcasts. He later made the move to the television booth, working most notably for CBS and ESPN.

“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. On behalf of the France family and all of NASCAR, I offer my deepest condolences to all of Ned’s family and friends on the loss of a NASCAR legend."

Jarrett's call of the final lap of the 1993 Daytona 500 remains one of the most memorable moments in the sport's history. In the dramatic conclusion to that year's "Great American Race," Jarrett excitedly called on his son, Dale Jarrett, to the win ahead of Dale Earnhardt.

Dale Jarrett would go on to win 32 NASCAR Cup Series races as well as the series championship in 1999. Ned Jarrett was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011, with Dale joining him in the Hall of Fame in 2014.

In 1998, Ned Jarrett was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers, and was also included on NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers list during the 75th anniversary season in 2023.

Ned Jarrett was preceded in death by his wife of 67 years, Martha.

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