NEWTON, N.C. -- About 40 miles west through Charlotte's back yard and along Highway 16, Newton is a small town known for being the "Heart of Cabarrus County."

In this town of about 12,000, many people grew up around the textile industry that is now struggling to survive.

But still at the heart of the town is a man who's grown from his days as a golfer at Newton-Conover High School to a NASCAR champion.

Dale Jarrett, after 21 years of racing in NASCAR, will take one final run at victory at this weekend's All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

“Now I can look back and say, ‘Wow, this has been pretty special. This has been pretty special for this many years,’” Jarrett said.

He got his start at the small tracks, including Hickory Motor Speedway. Since 1987, when he joined the big leagues of racing, he's competed in 668 races and won 32 times.

“Everything has changed so much,” Jarrett said.

“Is there anything about the racing of yesterday that you wish were still there today?” asked Eyewitness News anchor Blair Miller.

“Well, I think the competition is lacking just a little bit,” he said. “We had race tracks that were really fun to race on and had lot of character. A little bit of that is missing. We make up for it in a lot of other ways because we have a lot of interesting characters out there.”

Jarrett showed Eyewitness News how he now spends some of his time at his office in Hickory, trying to keep up with the constant requests for his autograph.

“I don't understand it, but if that's what the fans enjoy, then that's what we do,” he said.

Jarrett also showed our cameras what he's most proud of.

“Got a little carried away with the office,” he said.

Inside he keeps the mementos that are special to him. Over the years he's collected many pictures, endless models of his race cars and helmets he wore, even the ones that survived bad crashes.

Also in his chest of treasures is the autograph he always wanted. It’s from golfer Arnold Palmer.

“To signify the 50th start of the Masters, (I) had him sign it for me. It was pretty cool,” he said.

“You wanted his autograph,” Miller said.

“Yes, absolutely. Again, I don't know what good it is,” Jarrett said.

“But you've got it,” Miller said.

“Yep, I've got it,” he said.

Now, 51 years old, Jarrett said he's ready for a change.

“It was that time. I was ready for it,” he said.

“How hard is it to say goodbye to being in that race car every Saturday or Sunday?” Miller asked.

“Yeah, that's the difficult part -- the competitor in me, because that part is not going to go away,” Jarrett said.

He said he hopes to fill that void with his new job -- covering the races for ABC and ESPN.

“It's not something that I was scripted to do or anything. It kind of just happened,” Jarrett said.

And it's happened with two of his best friends at his side. On TV you'll see him working with Andy Petree and Jerry Punch. The three go back to the early ‘70s when they all went to Newton-Conover High School.

“You guys have a pretty unique bond,” Miller said.

“Yeah, we do have a unique bond. I don't know that anyone would've ever thought,” Jarrett said. “It's incredible that we have this opportunity.”

Miller met up with Punch at Newton-Conover High School. It was the first time he'd been back to the school since he was a student along side Jarrett and Petree.

“It's special to come back here, to be here now and to know what this school gave me,” he said. “We wouldn't be where we are today if it weren't for the people at Newton-Conover High School.”

Now, nearly 40 years later, the trio is still together as Jarrett prepares for one more race.

“It's going to be a pretty emotional night, knowing that when I climb out the car that night at the end of that, that will be it,” Jarrett said.

It’ll be the end to a career cherished in the hearts of his fans, but also in the heart of Newton.