Ned Jarrett grew up working on a farm with his father, but his ambitions differed from those of his family. Finding an early interest in racing, he made his way up to NASCAR, produced 50 Cup Series victories and two championships. He kick-started a generation of racers, guiding them through the most difficult steps of racing. Yet as he has died at age 93, the lesson his family most remembers him by today has nothing to do with racing cars.

According to his son, Dale Jarrett, the most important thing Ned ever taught him was simple: be kind. 

“My dad looked at at things in a way that and he’s told me this many times from time I was young that, you know, it’s a lot easier or it’s just as easy, but it’s really easier to be nice to people than not to be,” Dale Jarrett told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “And we could use a lot more of that in our world today.”

That philosophy actually followed Ned throughout his life. It was one of the reasons he became known as “The Gentleman” of NASCAR. A nickname he got not through the victories but the way he was to fans, to competitors, and those closest to him.

“So many nice things have been said and, you know, it’s just hope that people don’t forget him,” Dale Jarrett added. “My dad loved the fans, and it was just amazing what the fan base thought of him. He was wonderful to his kids, to his grandchildren, and his great-grandchildren, and it just warms your heart to think about it. And yes, we’re going to miss him, but we had a lot of time with my dad and learned a lot of things. Great love, great guidance, and support through the many years.”

Those are the memories that stand out to the family the most. A role model who chose to remain grounded even after becoming one of the sport’s greats. That mindset is rare in a sport defined by rivalries and payback moments.

Over time, there have been quite a few driver rivalries that have grown on the NASCAR track, especially in recent years. Matt Kenseth intentionally wrecking Joey Logano in 2015 as payback was one such example. “I really stand by my actions,” he had told The Associated Press later, despite being suspended for two races at the time.

This became a part and parcel of NASCAR in the later years. But Ned Jarrett stood by a very different principle, as his son, Dale Jarrett, revealed.

Even though Jarrett cannot just be defined by numbers, it cannot be left out, either. In fact, Dale Jarrett also drew a very interesting comparison with NASCAR’s King.

Ned Jarrett could have been equal to or close to Richard Petty

Ned Jarrett had a career that spanned 13 seasons, and there he amassed more than 350 Cup starts. He had 50 wins, 35 poles, 239 top-10 finishes, and two championships. For context, these are stats from a time that is known to be the sport’s toughest era. This is when drivers raced at triple-digit speeds in cars that were far from the cars we see today, safety-wise. But according to Dale, numbers don’t really capture how great his father really was.

“He was 34 years old when he retired from driving cars, and at that time, he had won 50 races and won two championships in the Cup Series,” Dale explained. “It’s just phenomenal what he accomplished.” Plus, Jarrett’s retirement itself is one of the sport’s great what-ifs.

He won his second championship in the 1965 season, but a crash that year fractured his back. He returned to racing in 1966 wearing a brace, and despite pulling off some of the impressive performances right at the start of the season, he simply did not have the same dominant form from the past season, and hung up his helmet at the end of the season, announcing his retirement. And by doing so, he actually accomplished something many fans might find surprising.

“When he actually retired, he actually had more championships, two to one versus Richard Petty, I think he was 50-44 wins at that time,” Dale said. “So, not saying he would have gone on and won 100 or 200, but my dad was pretty good at what he did.”

Well, whether Ned Jarrett could have challenged Petty’s eventual records will be a mystery forever. But what is not debatable is the impact he left on the sport and the people around him.