Jarrett started working for his father in the sawmill by the time he was 12, but a racing career was what he truly wanted to pursue.
He drove a Sportsman Series Ford that he co-owned with his brother-in-law, John Lence and finished tenth.
One indicator of the personal character of "Gentleman Ned" Jarrett is demonstrated by the decision to sell his 1961 (raced as No.
11) Chevrolet to Wendell Scott (the first NASCAR African American driver) who travelled from his Virginia home to Jarrett's shop on West "A" Street in Newton, NC, to take delivery of the Chevy Bel Air (raced the previous season) when Jarrett changed to Fords in 1962.
Bobby Isaac frequented the shop on West A Street during this period when Bud Alman was the crew chief assisted by mechanic "John Carl" Ervin.
For example, Jarrett required significant effort in order to prepare for the 1963 Daytona 500 race when the latest "fastback" body was introduced by Ford.
This hybrid body became the car Jarrett drove to third in the "fastback Ford" sweep (top five positions) at Daytona that year.
In 1964, Jarrett joined team owner Bondy Long and with the support of Ford won 15 times (one of which was with Charles Robinson)[2] but lost the championship to Richard Petty.
With 44 laps left, Fred Lorenzen and Darel Dieringer were fighting for the lead far ahead of Jarrett.
Jarrett would sometimes record more than one radio show at a time in order to facilitate the distance required to compete in what was then the "Grand National" circuit of NASCAR.
He interviewed U.S. President Ronald Reagan live at the 1984 Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway, the race famous as Richard Petty's 200th win.
He called his son Dale's first victory (in his 129th race) in the 1991 Champion Spark Plug 400 at the Michigan International Speedway.
At the insistence of CBS Producer Bob Stenner, Jarrett broke impartiality and openly sided with his son on the last lap, coaching him home to victory over Dale Earnhardt.
"[6] In addition, Jarrett was a host for the original Inside Winston Cup Racing on TNN and NASCAR Tech on FSN.
On May 26, 2007 Ned returned to the booth to call the Carquest Auto Parts 300 Busch race alongside Andy Petree, Jerry Punch, and his son, 1999 Cup Champ, Dale Jarrett.
Ned is the father of Dale Jarrett, who earned his lone NASCAR championship in 1999 and currently is a race broadcaster for NBC Sports.
Patti is married to Jimmy Makar, who worked with Dale Jarrett for three years at Joe Gibbs Racing, and won the 2000 championship as crew chief for Bobby Labonte.
Dale's son Jason Jarrett also had a few Busch and Cup starts, with wins in the ARCA Re/Max Series.
Ned is the son of Homer Keith Jarrett (1908–1983) and his wife, Eoline Marie (nee Leatherman) (1910–2002).
Ned married first Olene Rebecca Proctor (1933–2014) on January 14, 1950 in Cherokee County, South Carolina.
Ned would also marry again, this time on February 18, 1956 in Catawba County, North Carolina to Martha Ruth Bowman (1931–2023).