Dale Jarrett has 32 career victories and won the 1999 Cup Series championship Credit: Autostock

Jarrett joining Waltrip to drive Toyotas in 2007

Former Cup Series champ will end 12-year relationship with Yates

DARLINGTON, S.C. -- When Michael Waltrip went shopping for a driver for his Toyota-backed program in 2007, he looked at the list of those who would be contractually available.

His search stopped when he found that Dale Jarrett was willing to talk.

It is not known whether UPS, Dale Jarrett's current sponsor, will go with him to Michael Waltrip Racing. Credit: Autostock

Inside the Numbers Dale Jarrett's career statistics Starts 613 Wins 32 Top-5s 162 Top-10s 258 Poles 16 Laps Led 7,041 Avg. Start 17.9 Avg. Finish 16.2 Earnings $53,693,891 Jarrett was the 1999 Cup champion IS THE TIME RIGHT? Jarrett's career has slowed down in recent years -- he has won just twice since 2002.   During that time, Robert Yates Racing has remained a two-car organization, and Jarrett said the team's struggles can be attributed partially to the team's failure to keep pace with the innovative engineering programs of the larger organizations.  "[RYR crew chiefs] need somebody to bounce their ideas off of and somebody to work ahead of them and not just racing week to week," Jarrett said. "They have to have somebody in place thinking about Pocono and Michigan and putting things in place for that. That is what they are lacking right now.  "I think the sport went so much toward the engineering side in 2001. We were able to continue, but it has moved toward that. Maybe we have not kept up in that respect as much. We are here this weekend and don't have an engineer with us. We have to step that up, but it's not like they are a dime a dozen."  -- Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM

Jarrett, 49, was officially named as one of Waltrip's drivers for next season when the Toyota Camry makes its debut in the Nextel Cup Series. Waltrip and Jarrett will be teammates on the two-car team of Michael Waltrip Racing.

The move ends Jarrett's 12-year relationship with Robert Yates Racing, where 29 of his 32 career Cup victories came.

"We're obviously not happy Dale is leaving Robert Yates Racing because he's been a champion and a great ambassador for Ford fans," said Dan Davis, director of Ford Racing Technology. "We understand his decision, but we are disappointed."

RYR co-owner Doug Yates said the team is committed to finishing out the season.

"It's sad because we've had a great time together, but we just need to make sure we remember all the good things and finish it off on a good note," Yates said. "... I want to make sure that everybody knows that we are fully committed to Dale Jarrett and UPS and Ford in carrying this thing out to the end of the year."

According to team officials, RYR was willing to match the offer Jarrett received from Toyota.

Jarrett, who is 12th in points heading into Saturday's Dodge Charger 500 at Darlington, denied published reports that suggested he was lured with an eight-figure salary and the promise of Toyota dealership options.

"[There is] a lot of stuff out there that I came here because I was getting paid millions and millions of dollars and Toyota dealerships here and there. It is just funny to see what people think and how things get started," Jarrett said. "I know there is a value for some things that I have being a former champion, so all of those things added up to a lot.

"The reason I am doing this is not about money. This is to help Michael. I told my wife that this was going to be one of the biggest things to happen in NASCAR, for a driver with a new manufacturer to start his own organization."

Waltrip also said it had nothing to do with money.

"I never asked Toyota to subsidize any of that," Waltrip said. "My job is to run my team. I knew if I got [Jarrett], [Toyota] would smile."

Jarrett already has said that 2008 will be his final season behind the wheel, and last week at Richmond confirmed he has had discussions with ESPN about joining the network as a television analyst. ESPN will take a leading role in Cup coverage beginning in 2007. Jarrett has also reportedly expressed interest in team ownership or managment.

A sponsor and a car number were not immediately announced, but Waltrip said that he had funding in place for his programs. Waltrip did not say whether Jarrett's current sponsor, UPS, would go along with him.

	Toyota has held the headlines since it announced a move to the Cup Series in January. Credit: CIA Stock Photo
	TOYOTA TO CUP NASCAR and Toyota announced in January the manufacturer's plans to expand its racing program by competing in the Nextel Cup and Busch series starting in 2007, fielding the Camry model.  •   Complete story, click here REACTIONS Toyota's decision to go Nextel Cup racing will fire up the competitive juices of teams representing the other three makes.   •   Complete story, click here

"One of those sponsors is not UPS," Waltrip said. "Our team has sponsorship for our cars in '07, '08 and beyond that. This isn't about UPS, this is about Michael Waltrip Racing signing Dale Jarrett to drive our cars. We have a sponsor for Dale's car, but that is as far as that is going right now."

Yates said he hopes UPS will be back, but no matter who is on the No. 88 the team will field two cars next season.

"Whether they're [UPS] here or not, we're committed to the future of Robert Yates Racing and making it strong," he said. "We're going to race two cars next year, and I think there will be a lot of people out there that would like to be on that 88 Ford Fusion."

Waltrip said he has already started the car-building process and will use Bill Elliott to run five Nextel Cup races later this season. Elliott will drive Chevrolets, which will be reskinned over the winter as Toyotas.

The move gives Waltrip a much-needed veteran presence for his new two-car team, which announced its alliance with Toyota in January. The hiring of Jarrett gives Waltrip a near-guarantee that Jarrett will make the Daytona 500 field next February. Since Jarrett's team will have no car owner points, his status as a past champion gives him a guaranteed spot in the field each week.

"Dale will grow this team at a faster rate than we could have done any other way," Waltrip said. "I knew he was a champion and I knew he had all those credentials, but what I put the most value in -- I didn't pay him because he had that provisional, I had paid him because of how smart he is and how much he knows about racecars. That is why I wanted him on my team."

The move opens up a coveted spot with Robert Yates Racing's No. 88 program, which Yates created specifically for Jarrett in 1996. Jarrett went on to win the Daytona 500 that year, a race he won again in 2000.

Jarrett made his Cup debut April 29, 1984, at Martinsville, and his first victory came Aug. 18, 1991, at Michigan.

Jarrett has 32 victories in 613 starts, including a streak of 11 consecutive years with at least one win between 1993 and 2003. His career peaked in the late 1990s, as he won 18 times from 1996 to 1999, including a seven-win season in 1997.

He won the 1999 championship by 201 points over Bobby Labonte. That season Jarrett had four victories, 24 top-five finishes and 29 top-10s in 34 starts to give owner Robert Yates his only Cup title.

His father, Ned Jarrett, was the series' champ in 1961 and '65.