Dale Jarrett is a celebrated champion in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. His career and the fact that he followed his father, two-time NASCAR champion Ned Jarrett, into the racing business have been documented. Jarrett will once again follow in his father's footsteps when he begins his "side" job for the 2007 NASCAR season at Texas Motor Speedway, serving as an ESPN analyst for the NASCAR Busch Series race on Saturday, April 14. 
Jarrett will be "moonlighting" this season as an ESPN analyst for a select number of NASCAR Busch Series races in 2007. ESPN announced its return to NASCAR Nextel Cup Racing last October at Lowe's Motor Speedway, where the all-sports network introduced its star-studded lineup of talent as well as a variety of programming the network would do surrounding NASCAR. Jarrett was one of the individuals introduced as part of ESPN's talent lineup.
Although Jarrett is scheduled to compete full-time in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series through 2008, he started negotiations with ESPN in early 2006. The 1999 NASCAR Cup Series champion had participated in a handful of broadcasts in 2004 and 2005 as a special guest commentator. As an ESPN analyst, Jarrett is considered a full-fledge employee and will appear during at least 10 of the NASCAR Busch Series weekend broadcasts in 2007, providing commentary during the qualifying and race shows.
"I was kind of hoping I might put this off until the end of my career but I thought I better go on and get started," Jarrett said of his part-time job. "I'm looking forward to it and certainly, doing this with ESPN, is the perfect opportunity for me. I've done a couple races here and there but it is something I have enjoyed."
While Jarrett enjoys the time in the booth and analyzing the race for television audiences, he said it is also an opportunity to gain a little insight for what may transpire during the Nextel Cup Series races on Sunday.
"It's something that's totally different with a different perspective of looking at the races and what goes on," Jarrett said. "I think there's something to be said, too, for watching on Saturday and really paying close attention to what's going on for Sunday. There are some things you can learn. You don't necessarily have to be in the seat to learn some things for that."
Another benefit of participating in the ESPN broadcasts is the opportunity to reconnect with some old pals - Dr. Jerry Punch and Andy Petri. Jarrett, Punch and Petri all grew up near each other in Newton, N.C., and spent a lot of time together as teenagers and 20-somethings when Jarrett was embarking on his own racing career.
"You're probably going to hear stories about things that we did back when I first started racing that were really crazy things," Jarrett said of the trio's upcoming broadcasts. "Here was Dr. Jerry Punch on a Friday night as we had a new engine trying to get it down through the middle of little Newton, North Carolina at two o'clock in the morning. I was driving the truck and Jerry and Andy were in the back holding the engine because we didn't have a crate or anything to put it in. This is Dr. Jerry Punch at that time as well. That's what he did for a living, but he was helping us get our race car to the racetrack. So I'm really looking forward to that part of the broadcasts as well."
Currently, Jarrett is scheduled to participate in the ESPN broadcast of NASCAR Busch Series activities during both race weekends at Texas and Phoenix, as well as the Busch Series events taking place at Talladega, Richmond (May), Charlotte (May), Dover (June) and New Hampshire.
