Dale Jarrett's first Cup race came at Martinsville. And on his first weekend away from a racetrack after his retirement, the Cup cars will be at Martinsville.

It's not quite full circle, but Jarrett has seen a lot in the 24-year career that comes to an end after Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

He has captured 32 victories, including three Daytona 500s. He has seen several different NASCAR eras, enjoyed some level of success in all of them, and was planning toward this end.

Until now.

"When we were talking about this earlier in the year, it didn't seem like it was that bad, but now the time is arriving," Jarrett said Tuesday on a teleconference. "I've thought about it, especially a good bit as I was watching my kids play. My son plays baseball and my daughter plays soccer, and I realize that I still get to play golf and compete at that, but as far as actually being a competitor, which I've been all my life, it's going to be a difficult day I think, even more so now as I've gotten closer to it."

Jarrett will participate in May's all-star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway, but that's a non-points event.

But it's not like Jarrett will be sitting at home with nothing to do. He has started working as a studio analyst for ESPN and will continue doing so.

Jarrett said he was unsure about doing television before he had a chance to give it a shot. Now he likes the different vantage point he gets from above the track.

"It's really fun to sit up and be able to look at the races in a totally different atmosphere and get a different perspective of really what's happening and how these guys go about doing what they do," Jarrett said. "I've always looked at it just from the driver's seat, and now I get to look at it a little bit from the driver's side and a little bit from what the crew chief is looking at and what the fan is looking at."

His last task as a driver, however, is to ensure the No. 44 Toyota is in the top 35 in owners points to ensure a starting spot in the next race for David Reutimann, who will take over the car. Michael McDowell will move into the No. 00, replacing Reutimann.

Jarrett's car is 32nd, one spot ahead of team owner Michael Waltrip and five spots behind Reutimann's car.

So while a fairy-tale ending would obviously be preferable, Jarrett says he'd be happy with steady and solid.

"Would it be a perfect scenario to win the race?" Jarrett asked. "Yeah, that would be great, but that's asking a whole lot when I don't think any of the three cars this year in Michael Waltrip Racing have finished in the top 15. So we have to be realistic about this, too.

"Just going there and having a good, solid weekend and a good, solid race is all that I'm looking for."