Dale Jarrett announces coronavirus diagnosis

The NASCAR Hall of Fame driver and broadcaster says he's "one of the fortunate ones"

Dale Jarrett announced Tuesday that he has tested positive for COVID-19 but only had mild symptoms. (Randy Holt / AP Photo)

NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett announced Tuesday he has tested positive for COVID-19 and now is in quarantine.

The 63-year-old Conover native broke the news during NASCAR’s Hall of Fame announcement, explaining that’s why he did not return to NBCSN’s studio with the other hosts.

The three-time Daytona 500 winner and 1999 Cup champion said the only symptom he had was a slight cough and that he was doing well.

“I’ve been one of the very fortunate ones that my symptom has only been a slight cough throughout all of this and it’s really getting less and less each day, so I’m doing very, very well,” Jarrett said. “All I can say is follow all the guidelines stay as safe as you possibly can and hopefully we can all get through this in the very near future.”

Both Jarrett and his father, Ned, are enshrined in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.