STATELINE - Dale Jarrett, a three-time Daytona 500 winner and one of the most accomplished drivers in NASCAR history, was listed as a 15-1 favorite by Harrah's to win the 19th American Century Championship.

"That's crazy," said the 51-year-old Jarrett, who joined ESPN as an analyst for the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races. "I hope nobody put any money on me."

It's not, however, that far-fetched to think Jarrett could compete with the field. After all, he was offered a golf scholarship to the University of South Carolina out of high school, but opted to purse his racing career.

Since making that decision, he's posted 260 top 10 finishes and 32 victories during a career that's lasted more than two decades. Now that he's focused more on moving from the driver's seat to the announcer's booth, Jarrett hasn't had much time to devote to golf.

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In fact, Jarrett said that goes for all NASCAR drivers.

"It's not like I've been out of the car long enough to concentrate just on golf or anything like that," said Jarrett, a 7-handicap who's been named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers. "We just don't have the time to give up. There are lots of quality guys (on the circuit) who play golf, but they aren't going to do it very much until they are done driving."

ESPN allowed Jarrett to participate in the ACC, which added him to the field for the first time. Although his spotlight has dwindled somewhat from his racing heyday, Jarrett still noticed an abundance of NASCAR fans at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course.

"I had a lot of people hollering out there for me, and you saw lots of people with race paraphernalia," said Jarrett, who finished 25th with a score of +38. "That's always nice to see, but we have race fans everywhere. The media doesn't always give us the credit we deserve as far as having a sport that is nationwide. What went on here is a perfect example of that."