NASCAR legend's death rumor spreads, then proven untrue

There are plenty of positive things that have come from modern technology, and even from social media. Unfortunately, there are quite a few negatives as well, including the rapid spread of rumors that have absolutely no truth to them.

Rumors in the racing world are nothing new, but when it comes to life or death, it's not hard to see how that crosses a fine line. Unfortunately, that line was crossed when it came to the status of NASCAR legend Ned Jarrett.

Rumors of the 91-year-old's passing circulated this week after the misinterpretation of an article headline. One thing led to another, social media did its thing, and all of a sudden, several individuals began creating tribute posts after seeing the "news" online.

As the saying goes, suddenly Barney Fife had shot himself in the chest.

However, that news was nothing more than fake news, as the two-time Grand National Series champion and 50-time race winner is still very much alive.

Ned Jarrett is, in fact, still alive

Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass made sure that fans knew that the rumor of the Conover, North Carolina native was completely unsubstantiated, citing a post from Ned's granddaughter-in-law shortly after it was posted.

Ned is the father of Dale Jarrett, a NASCAR legend in his own right who is currently a racing commentator for NBC. Dale, 67, won the 1999 Cup Series championship and retired as a 32-time winner. Three of those 32 wins came in the Daytona 500.

Both former drivers are members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and both were named among NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers as a part of NASCAR's 75th anniversary celebration last year.

Ned's 50 wins are good for a 14th place tie on the all-time list with the late Junior Johnson; Dale's 32 are good for a 28th place tie with active driver Joey Logano.