Jarrett honors golfer Palmer with paint scheme

If Dale Jarrett had chosen a different career path, it would have likely been golf.

The former NASCAR Winston Cup champion is highly-regarded for his prowess with a set of golf clubs. He learned to play as a teenager and honed his skills to the point of being offered golf scholarships to schools such as the University of South Carolina. He has even golfed with PGA luminaries like Davis Love, Stuart Appleby and David Toms.

So, without question, Jarrett's first special paint job of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup season is one that strikes a special chord with him.

Jarrett's No. 88 UPS Ford Taurus will honor legendary golfer Arnold Palmer with a special paint job at the Golden Corral 500 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 14, 2004. Dubbed "Tribute To a Legend," the initiative is a collaboration between UPS, Robert Yates racing and Action Performance Companies.

"I'm sure that they could have gotten someone else to do this but they couldn't have found a race driver more appreciative of this opportunity than I am," said Jarrett. "I mean we could go all the way to the point that my middle name is Arnold and talk about whether or not I was named after him but he is someone I have looked up to and respected my entire life."

One of the highlights from Jarrett's 1999 NASCAR championship season was that he actually played a round of golf alongside Palmer, courtesy of Ford Racing. Palmer also served as Grand Marshal at Homestead the day Jarrett locked up the '99 NASCAR Winston Cup title.

"The opportunity to play golf with him during our championship year in 1999 was second only to winning our championship that year," Jarrett said. "For him to be there and be the grand marshal the day we clinched at Homestead -- I could just go on and on."

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Palmer's impeccable resume boasts 92 professional championships -- including four wins in The Masters at Augusta National in Augusta, Ga. He will compete in his 50th consecutive Masters Tournament in 2004, which is the reason behind the timing of the Tribute To a Legend program.

"As you see him and watch him you realize just what a special person he is to a lot of people," Jarrett said. "To have this opportunity to honor his 50th year at the Masters is just incredible. What a special place Augusta is, and for us to have this chance - our race team and myself personally -- is just an incredible experience that I'm really looking forward to."

Action Performance Companies is creating a full line of die-cast replicas of the No. 88 UPS/Tribute To a Legend Ford Taurus. Of course, Jarrett's UPS team runs very few special paint schemes -- usually only a couple per year. That enhances the collectibility of die-cast created to commemorate those programs.

"This program presents a perfect pairing of two distinct sports and two different athletes," said Fred Wagenhals, Action's chairman, president and CEO. "However, both men are class acts and are well respected in their chosen fields. It is a good day for professional sports when one champion can toast the accomplishments of another."