NASCAR Jarrett has hopes his final deal will be signed soon

Kevin Harvick's signing could open other doors.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Dale Jarrett knows the next contract he signs will be his last. He's just not sure what car owner will be passing him the pen when he does it.
In the final year of his deal with Robert Yates Racing, Jarrett has skyrocketed to the top of the free agent list and has been asked to drive one of Michael Waltrip's new Toyota entries next season.
But there could be even more opportunities on the horizon: Kevin Harvick took his name off the market Friday by re-signing with Richard Childress Racing. So any car owner hoping to strike a deal with Harvick may now turn their attention to Jarrett.
Jarrett wants to settle his situation within the next 10 days. But he scoffed at all the pundits who predict he'll be driving for Waltrip next year.
"I sat down with my dog the other day and discussed it with her because I was pretty sure she didn't have many people she could go to," Jarrett quipped. "So we had a good conversation and I bounced it off of her. Whenever she liked one of the options that I gave her, she would lick me on the face.
"She's really the only one that has any idea of really what's going on. I confided in her more than anyone else."
Secret keeper
Zoie, a yellow Labrador retriever, isn't revealing any of Jarrett's secrets, and he's trying his hardest to keep his options private. All he would acknowledge Friday is that he had as many as six offers, but has pared them down to "a few."
Waltrip, who will own one of Toyota's startup teams next season, is admittedly on the list. He's asked Jarrett about driving one of his cars, and Jarrett had not turned him down.
"We'll hire the best available guy we can get," Waltrip said. "I have talked to Dale Jarrett. How can you not? He's a champion. He's a friend. I've asked him, but haven't had any response."
Jarrett hasn't ruled Waltrip's new team out.
"I can see us working together," Jarrett said. "We've always been friends. He'd be an interesting car owner for sure, if that were to happen, but we have a good enough friendship and relationship that it would be fun looking at the opportunity to build something there."
Two more years
Jarrett's RYR contract is up at the end of the year, and the 49-year-old wants to retire after the 2008 season. Yates has fielded the No. 88 Ford for Jarrett since 1995, but has given no indication on whether or not he wants to retain him.
Also unclear is the future of sponsor UPS, which has been teamed with Jarrett since 2001 and used clever advertising to closely align itself with the driver. If Jarrett leaves for another team, UPS could go with him.
"That's Robert's sponsor," Jarrett said. "They came here because of what we accomplished at Robert Yates Racing. ... The offers that I have had from everybody else aren't contingent upon bringing a sponsor.
"That would be between Robert and UPS to decide what they're going to do in the future."
Jarrett won the 1999 championship with Yates, but the two have fallen on hard times recently. Jarrett has run through several different crew chiefs in a futile search for chemistry, and has been 15th or lower in the final season standings the past three years.