NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett’s Iconic Triumph Over Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon as Heard From the Horse’s Mouth

Regardless of whichever NASCAR driver someone supports, the names Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt would find a mention in almost every single ‘top drivers of all time’ list. Such was the talent, and such is the legacy of the pair that to think a driver in the sport could’ve been or could be better than those two. Well, that’s unlikely.

But then there’s Dale Jarrett.

Not that the former Joe Gibbs Racing driver is ahead of Gordon and Earnhardt in terms of their individual achievements, but he holds the rare honor of defeating both of them. That too, in one of the most prestigious races in existence, the Daytona 500.

The year was 1993, and the stakes were as high as they can be. Jarrett was chasing Joe Gibbs Racing’s first NASCAR win, and he was up against the legendary Earnhardt and a rookie Gordon.

Now, we know he ended up winning the race, marking his name in the history books.

But it was the way he won, after passing Gordon first and then Earnhardt, which made the win one for the ages.

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Jeff Gordon made it “very difficult” for Dale Jarrett in his hunt for Daytona 500 win

For Dale Jarrett, passing Dale Earnhardt was a task. But as he admitted in a recent interview with Speed Sport, passing the rookie Gordon was “the harder pass,” one which the four-time Cup champion made “very difficult.” 

“He was keeping me from getting to the opportunity. I could see that Earnhardt’s car was very loose because he’d only changed two tires, where Jimmy Makar put four tires on my car,” Jarrett described.

But after getting on the inside of the rookie, Jarrett advanced through Gordon and set his sights on the Intimidator.

“I knew once I got to his bumper, going into turn three, as we were coming to get the white flag that I could get him loose enough that he just couldn’t turn his car down,” he said of Earnhardt.

Dale Jarrett did next as he described. He took his racecar ahead of Dale Earnhardt and took the checkered flag at the DAYTONA 500, writing his name in the history books under the heading of winners of the Great American Race.

But he isn’t just any winner.

He won ahead of a certified legend, and a legend in the making.

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