Goodbye to a Great!

NASCAR bids farewell to one of its greatest drivers this weekend. After nearly 24 years of racing, Dale Jarrett makes his final start this weekend in Bristol. His father Ned, a two time Sprint Cup champion, will open the Food City 500 Sunday as the honorary starter. Dale Jarrett has won 32 Sprint Cup races and a championship since his career started back in 1984. Sunday will be his last points race, returning only to participate in this summer's All-Star weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Jarrett fans can still catch him on ESPN as one of the network's NASCAR analysts. Mother nature has played a hand in the lineup for both this weekend's Nationwide and Sprint Cup races. Rain forced officials to forgo qualifying and to the rules book to determine the starting grid for both races. Under NASCAR rules and regulations, if qualifying is rained out, then the top-35 spots are determined by 2007's final owner point standings. This rule is applicable for the first 5 races of the season. The big winner: Hendrick Motorsports. The struggling duo of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon catch a big break here, as they finished the 2007 season first and second respectively in owner's points. Historically, 60% of all winners at Bristol have come out of the top 5. Watch for this to be the turning point for both teams! Look for Gordon to win the race, collecting Hendrick's first win of the season. Personally, I'll be pulling for Dale Jarrett, but starting 37th will make it rather difficult for this great to go out on top.