Last fall when Dale Jarrett announced his plan to retire from Sprint Cup Series competition after the first five races of the 2008 season, Cathy Tanner decided she had to see her man wheel it one last time. Or five. Tanner, a fan of Jarrett’s for more than a decade, took a seven-week leave of absence in February from her position as an elementary school teacher’s aid and hit the road. From her Florence, Ala., home to Daytona Beach, Fla., to Fontana, Calif., to Las Vegas, Nev., to Hampton, Ga., to Bristol, Tenn. Just her and her gray tabby cat, Baby, in a 27-foot RV. She’ll head back to Florence following Sunday’s Food City 500. “The next time somebody tells us they’re a DJ fan we’ll have to call BS on them,” laughed Jarrett’s son, Jason. “We know who the biggest one is now.” “It’s just something I wanted to do — to see (Jarrett) race these final races,” said Tanner, via phone from a perch in the Bristol Motor Speedway grandstand, Cup cars blaring by in the background. “And I didn’t want to go by myself so I had to bring my cat with me.” She returns to school Friday. Tanner was introduced to NASCAR years ago when her daughter chose the sport as the topic for a high school term paper. They’d go to the library together and read about the sport, and watch races with Cathy’s father on Sunday afternoons. She cheered for Jarrett and Terry Labonte, but Jarrett ultimately won her devotion. “I went with Dale because we have the same birthday,” Tanner said. “I always thought that was sort of strange.” Tanner is uncertain how much she’s spent on the trek, or how many miles she’s driven (MapQuest says 6,065). She fills the RV up twice a day on the road. She used a portion of her inheritance from her father’s death to pay for the trip. NASCAR Sundays afforded father and daughter a special bond, so she felt he’d approve.(see full story by Marty Smith at ESPN.com, Thanks to Nancy Osterhoudt for the info for this article, Nancy runs my Truck Series site)(3-16-2008)
