Dale got is start in racing in 1977 at the Hickory Motor Speedway, where his father (Ned Jarrett, two time Winston Cup champion) was the track promoter. Dale was the Rookie of the Year for the Limited Sportsman Division that year. He joined the NASCAR Busch Grand National series in 1982. From 82-96, DJ had an impressive BGN career record of 298 starts, 11 wins, 103 top 5's and 172 top 10's. DJ raced 4 Winston Cup races before he joined Winston Cup full time in 1987. In the Winston Cup series, he drove for the Wood Brothers #21 Citgo car in 1990-91, collecting 1 win, 4 top 5's and 15 top 10's. He left the Wood Brothers and went with the NFL football coach Joe Gibbs and drove the #18 Interstate Chevy. He did well behind the wheel of the #18, with a record of 89 starts, 2 wins, 19 top 5's and 35 top 10's. All the while he was still driving in the Busch series.

#28 Texaco Havoline Ford	#29 Hardees Pontiac	#88 Quality Care/Ford Credit T-Bird	#88 Quality Care/Ford Credit Taurus
#18 Interstate Batteries  Chevy	#18 Freelander Ford	#1 Port-A-Lub	#21 Citgo Ford
#32 Shoe World #32 Band-Aid #32 Crunch #32 Nation Wise #18 Coats & Clark Chevy

In 1994, a bit  of luck for Dale (unlucky for Ernie Irvan) happened. When the #28 of Ernie Irvan crashed during practice sending Ernie into a coma, DJ was asked to fill in as a replacement driver. DJ had a big pair of shoes to fill. The #28 was one of the hottest cars on the circuit. When it was driven by the late Davey Allison, it was always in the top 10, if not the top 5. When Ernie took over the seat when Davey died, he piloted the #28 to a very impressive streak of top 5's and wins. DJ finished the '94-'95 season for Ernie. Robert Yates was not totally happy with DJ's performance, but apparently not too unhappy. In 1996, DJ was hired as a permanent addition to Robert Yates Racing (RYR) as the new driver of the #88 Quality Care Ford. In '96 DJ drove in 31 races, won 4 (Daytona, Coca-Cola, Brickyard, and GM Goodwrench), finished 17 in the top 5 and 21 in the top 10 plus he was ranked 3rd in the Winston cup points race. Dale was nominated for the True Value Man of the Year in 1996 for his efforts to raise funds for the Brenner Children's Hospital. In his second year (1997) with RYR and the #88 Quality Care Ford, DJ has driven in all 15 races, won 2 (Primestar and Trans South) and placed in the top 5 in 8 races and top 10 in 10 races and is ranked in the top 5 for Winston Cup points.
 
 

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