Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is a 3-time NASCAR Cup Series champion (1981, 1982, 1985), 3-time runner-up (1979, 1983, 1986), winner of the 1989 Daytona 500 and 5-time winner of the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 (formerly the World 600), (1978, 1979, 1985, 1988, 1989, a record for any driver, all time). He posted a modern series record of 22 top five finishes in 1983, and 21 top five finishes in both 1981, and 1986. Waltrip is the winner of 84 Cup Series races, including seven consecutive wins at Bristol Motor Speedway, (a record for any driver, all-time), placing him second to Jeff Gordon for the most wins in the modern era of NASCAR, and tied with Bobby Allison for fourth on the all-time list. He is winner of 59 Cup Series pole positions (second all-time), including 35 on short tracks, and 8 on road courses (both all-time highs in the series). He has 271 top-five finishes, 390 top-ten finishes, and competed in 809 Cup Series races spanning 29 years (1972–2000).
In addition to NASCAR's top racing series, he has won 13 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series races, 7 American Speed Association (ASA) races, 3 IROC races, 2 Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) races, 2 NASCAR All-American Challenge Series events, 2 All Pro Racing Association races, a USAC race, and has competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona, a 24-hour sports car endurance race. Waltrip also holds the all-time track record with 67 wins at the Music City Motorplex, formerly Fairgrounds Speedway, in Nashville, Tennessee, counting NASCAR, USAC, ASA, and local track races.
Waltrip also became the first NASCAR driver to win $10 million (February 18, 1990). He is a 2-time winner of NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award, (1989, 1990), was "American Driver of the Year", (1979, 1981, 1982), and was "NASCAR's Driver of the Decade", (1980s). In addition, he was the "National Motorsports Press Association Driver of the Year", (1977, 1981, 1982), the "Auto Racing Digest Driver of the Year", (1981, 1982) and the first "Tennessee Professional Athlete of the Year", (1979). He is a 2003 Motorsports Hall of Fame of America inductee and a 2005 International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee, and was announced in July, 2009, as one of the initial 25 nominees for the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame induction class of 2010. Waltrip was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998), and was awarded the Bill France "Award of Excellence", in 2000. On July 1, 2010, Waltrip was again nominated for the 2011 induction class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. On July 14, 2011, it was announced that Waltrip, in only his third year of eligibility, will be inducted as one of the five members of the class of 2012, one of only nine top series Nascar drivers to be inducted to the NASCAR Hall of Fame thus far.
Waltrip currently owns Honda, Volvo and Subaru auto dealerships in Franklin, Tennessee, and is a lead television analyst and race commentator with Fox Broadcasting Company and Speed TV, a columnist at Foxsports.com and an author. He is the older brother of NASCAR driver and MWR team owner Michael Waltrip. He is married, has two daughters, and resides in Franklin, Tennessee.
Waltrip was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, February 5, 1947. Starting his driving career in Go-karts at age 12, Waltrip entered his first stock car race just four short years later. Waltrip and his father built a 1936 Chevrolet coupe and headed to a local dirt track near their Owensboro, Kentucky, home. The first night out was far from a success as the youngster, barely old enough to drive on the street, Waltrip slammed the wall and heavily damaged the coupe. Waltrip soon left the dirt and found his niche on asphalt where the smoothness he learned in the karts proved a valuable asset. He was an early racer at the Kentucky Motor Speedway (an asphalt track in Whitesville) and Ellis Raceway, a dirt track on US Highway 60 west in Daviess County, (now closed), near his Owensboro home, driving a car called 'Big 100' built by Harry Pedley, owner of Pedley's Garage, on West Second Street, in Owensboro and sponsored by R.C. Bratcher Radiator and Welding Co., also in Owensboro, and both businesses are still in business today. Waltrip's success gained the attention of Nashville owner/driver P. B. Crowell, who urged Waltrip to move to the area to race at the Music City Motorplex, at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in Nashville, where he would win two track championships, in 1970, and 1973.
Waltrip drove the #48 P. B. Crowell owned Ford sponsored by Harpeth Ford, in Franklin, Tennessee. There, he would aggressively promote the week's race when he appeared on a local television program promoting the speedway's races, and was not afraid to embrace the local media when other competitors were reluctant to do so. Some of the notorious "on air" trash-talking included making fun of some of the other local drivers such as Coo Coo Marlin (whose son Sterling) later raced at the circuit, (and is a two-time Daytona 500 winner) and James "Flookie" Buford, whose nickname he would mock on air. While some fans did not like it, it pleased track management that he was helping sell tickets, leading to packed grandstands and extra paychecks from track operators for his promotional skills. He also embraced WSM radio host Ralph Emery during his early years, forming a bond which would be influential throughout his career, as Waltrip would appear frequently on Emery's early morning television show on local Nashville television station, WSMV, and later substitute for Emery in the 1980s on Emery's television show, Nashville Now on the former TNN cable network (later, Spike TV). Waltrip would use the success he enjoyed at the Music City Motorplex, and his notoriety and public speaking skills that he acquired from television appearances in Nashville, as a springboard into NASCAR's big leagues.
Waltrip started in NASCAR Winston Cup, NASCAR's top racing series at age 25, on May 7, 1972, at the 1972 Winston 500, at Talladega, Alabama, the series' fastest and longest track, with a used Mercury Cyclone which was originally the 1967 Ford driven by Mario Andretti to victory in the 1967 Daytona 500. Waltrip finished 38th in his first NASCAR Winston Cup race after retiring on lap 69 due to engine failure. The car was owned by Waltrip and sponsored by Terminal Transport of Owensboro, Kentucky, Waltrip's first major sponsor.
The early years found Waltrip competing against legendary stock car racers such as Richard Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, and Bobby Allison among others. Waltrip soon earned the respect of his more experienced peers. He was given the #95 as a number but Waltrip preferred car #17 because his hero, David Pearson, had success with the number in earlier years. As an owner/driver, Waltrip ran 5 races in 1972, 14 races in 1973, 16 races in 1974, with 7 top-five finishes, and 17 races as owner/driver in 1975, with his first Winston Cup victory coming at his home track, May 10, 1975, in the Music City 420, outpacing the field by two laps at the track where he had won 2 track championships in Nashville, Tennessee, in the #17 Terminal Transport Chevrolet, a car Waltrip owned.
During the 1973 season, Waltrip drove 5 Nascar cup races for Bud Moore Engineering.
Except for five races in 1973, driving for Bud Moore Engineering, Waltrip primarily drove his own cars at the beginning of his NASCAR career until the middle of the 1975 Winston Cup season when he was signed a multi-year contract and replace driver Donnie Allison to drive the #88 DiGard Chevrolet, Waltrip's long awaited jump into the big leagues of United States stock car auto racing. The DiGard racing team was founded in part by Mike DiProspero and Bill Gardner, who were brothers-in-law, with the legendary Robert Yates as engine builder. Waltrip’s first race with DiGard came on August 17, 1975, at the Talladega 500, Talladega Superspeedway, in Talladega, Alabama, finishing 42nd after experiencing engine failure. Waltrip would compete in ten more races in the 1975 season for DiGard, sponsored by Terminal Transport, and get his second career NASCAR Winston Cup victory October 12, 1975, in the Capitol City 500, in Richmond, Virginia. He would post three top-five and four top-ten finishes in the 11 races he ran for DiGard in 1975.
DiGard Gatorade Chevrolet Monte Carlo that Waltrip drove to victory in the 1978 World 600, Concord, NC, May 28, 1978
During the early years of Waltrip's career, his wife, Stevie Waltrip, was the first NASCAR wife to attend the races and sit in the pit box, something almost all wives now do not only in NASCAR, but Formula 1, Indy Car, and most other forms of professional racing. Stevie learned to calculate gas mileage, a hugely important function in the sport, and would monitor the race listening to race communications between the crew chief and Waltrip.
In 1976, Gatorade became Waltrip’s primary sponsor as he started his first full race season at age 29, driving the DiGard Gatorade Chevrolet. Waltrip won only one NASCAR Winston Cup race in 1976, the Virginia 500, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia, but in 1977 and 1978, working with legendary Nascar crew chief Buddy Parrott, he won six times each year, including his first of four career victories at the Talladega Superspeedway, in Talladega, AL, on May 1, 1977, and his first of a record five career victories in the series' longest race, the Coca-Cola 600 (formerly the World 600), May 28, 1978. Waltrip, and Parrott, would win 21 Nascar races together from 1977 through 1980.
In the 1979 season, Waltrip won seven NASCAR Winston Cup races and was a serious contender for what would have been his first NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. At the start of the final race of the season, the Los Angeles Times 500, at Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario, California, Waltrip led Richard Petty by a scant 2 points in the year-long championship battle after finishing the race 5th ahead of Petty's 6th place finish in the previous race, the Dixie 500, Atlanta Motor Speedway, November 4, 1979. However, Petty won an unprecedented seventh, and his final, NASCAR Winston Cup Championship by finishing the final race of the season in 5th position, as Waltrip finished 8th. The final margin of Petty's Championship victory over Waltrip was only 11 points, the third-closest points race in NASCAR Winston Cup history.
Waltrip closed out the 1970s driving the #88 DiGard Chevrolet, sponsored by Gatorade, ranked NASCAR's #2 driver, having won 22 NASCAR Winston Cup races in just 149 race starts. His aggressive driving style and outspoken demeanor earned him the nickname "Jaws", a reference to the 1975 film about a killer shark. The nickname was given to Waltrip by rival Cale Yarborough in an interview after Waltrip crashed Yarborough out of a race. Waltrip himself preferred the nicknames "D.W." or "D-Dubya" but he acknowledged Yarborough by displaying an inflatable toy shark in his pit at the next race.
Darrell Waltrip, discussing his 5th-place finish and prospects for winning his first NASCAR driving championship after the Dixie 500, Atlanta Motor Speedway, November 4, 1979, driving his DiGard Gatorade Chevrolet Monte Carlo
At the height of his NASCAR Winston Cup success in the early 1980s, fans often booed Waltrip, in large part because of his success on the track defeating more established drivers with large fan followings, but also because of his open criticism of NASCAR, his aggressive "take no prisoners", "win at all costs" approach to driving, and his public attempt to be released from his driving contract with DiGard in 1980, a year in which Waltrip won five NASCAR Winston Cup races. Still, Waltrip had a huge and devoted fan following. It was often said by race commentators and sports columnists that "you either hate him or love him".[citation needed] But, Waltrip, the constant focus of national media attention, dominated all aspects of the sport in the early and middle years of the 80's.
Ironically, it was Waltrip's rival and long-time nemesis Cale Yarborough, the hard-charging, and hugely successful driver for legendary driver/owner Junior Johnson, that privately told Waltrip that he intended to cut back on his racing appearances and leave the highly coveted Junior Johnson team at the end of the 1980 season, opening the position for a new driver. Waltrip, the most successful Nascar driver at the time, was offered Nascar's top ride by Johnson, but only if Waltrip could successfully negotiate an early termination of his DiGard contract for which Waltrip was contractually obligated to drive.
Waltrip bought out his contract with DiGard, driving his final race for them November 15, 1980, freeing him to sign a new contract to drive for the former moonshine runner, former driver and car owner, the legendary Junior Johnson, starting in the 1981 season. Johnson, the subject of the movie The Last American Hero (a.k.a. Hard Driver), was convicted in 1956 for making whiskey and served 11 months of a two-year sentence. On December 26, 1986, President Ronald Reagan granted him a presidential pardon for his 1956 conviction. The Junior Johnson-prepared cars were considered by most in the sport[who?] to be the best ride in NASCAR Winston Cup at the time.
During the late 1970s, Waltrip would begin his domination of Nascar's short track venues, especially at the Bristol International Speedway, in Bristol, Tn., Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, VA., and the Music City Motorplex, Nashville, TN.. Waltrip still holds the track record at Bristol International Speedway, for wins with 12 victories, and for pole positions at Martinsville Speedway, with 8 pole position awards. His short-track success would continue into the 1980s, and was key to his winning 3 Nascar championships.
Waltrip's success driving the Junior Johnson prepared cars came immediately and even surpassed the highly successful years he had with DiGard. In his first two years as driver for the Mountain Dew sponsored, Junior Johnson prepared Buick Regal, Waltrip won 12 races each year, 14 pole positions in each year, and his first two NASCAR Winston Cup Championships, in 1981 and 1982. Waltrip's success and driving prowess helped to bring the Buick GNX into prominence, since he drove a Regal (whose platform spawned the GNX) during his years of sponsorship by Mountain Dew. The company later honored the Waltrip years with throwback paint schemes, once in 2006 and again in 2008.
It was during the early 1980s, with Junior Johnson, that Waltrip first worked with Jeff Hammond, a pit crewman for Johnson. Hammond was at first skeptical of Waltrip's driving style since it differed so much from the former driver for whom he worked, Cale Yarborough. Yarborough made adjustments to his driving based on the handling of the car in a particular race whereas Waltrip wanted the car adjusted around his driving style. Hammond eventually came to appreciate Waltrip's "finesse", and smooth driving style which proved highly successful. Waltrip and Hammond would benefit from each others knowledge and abilities and would work together for most of their careers in the sport. Waltrip and Hammond work together, even today, as broadcaster and analyst at Fox Sports, and Speed TV.
During the 1983 Daytona 500, on February 20, 1983, Waltrip, a pre-race favorite to win the race, driving the Junior Johnson prepared 1983 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Pepsi Challenger, spun on lap 64, at exit of turn 4, at nearly 200 mph, as he was making an evasive maneuver to avoid rear-ending a much slower car ahead of him. Waltrip locked his brakes but the car slid for several hundred feet, then slammed hard into an earthen embankment near the entrance to pit road. The force of the impact was so violent that the car was thrown back onto the track, in front of oncoming traffic. The car then made hard contact again with the outside concrete retaining wall. The car again bounced off the concrete retaining wall, again into oncoming traffic. Cale Yarborough, the eventual winner of the race, barely avoided hitting the demolished Pepsi Challenger. Waltrip suffered a concussion and was taken to nearby Halifax Medical Center for observation and medical treatment. The crash was a wake-up call and a life-changing event for Waltrip. The years following that crash would see a different Darrell Waltrip, one who worked hard to repair and rebuild his relationship with fans and fellow drivers. Years later, Waltrip would be voted by NASCAR fans "Most Popular Driver", two years in a row, (1989, 1990).
1985 Budweiser Chevrolet Monte Carlo owned by Junior Johnson, and driven by Waltrip to the 1985 Nascar driving championship
Waltrip would continue his success driving for Junior Johnson through the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup season, winning his third and final NASCAR Winston Cup Championship, in 1985, winning the inaugural all-star race, The Winston, in 1985, and compiling 43 additional wins. Waltrip drove his final race for Junior Johnson November 16, 1986, in a Chevrolet sponsored by Budweiser, finishing 4th, in the Winston Western 500, Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.
1989 Hendrick Motorsports Tide Chevrolet Lumina
Waltrip's partnership with car owner Junior Johnson led to huge success with three national championships, and 43 NASCAR Winston Cup wins. But the connection between fast cars and alcohol consumption became a concern for Waltrip, but he began to seek other opportunities after a conversation with his friend and pastor, Cortez Cooper. Johnson had signed Budweiser to be his team's primary sponsor in 1984, which unintentionally made Waltrip one of the faces of the connection he was so concerned about.
Years before, Waltrip had opened a Honda dealership in his home town of Franklin, Tennessee, with the help of his friend, Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. During the 1986 season, Waltrip and Hendrick discussed the possibility of Waltrip joining the Hendrick organization, which fielded cars for Geoff Bodine and Tim Richmond and the two discussed the potential of Waltrip moving to a new team. Waltrip was still under contract with Johnson for the 1986 season, but following the year he was able to break the contract in a unique way. As he recounted in an interview for the Fox Sports Net series Beyond the Glory in 2001,[1] Waltrip gained his release by purposely breaking one of Johnson's cardinal rules: asking for a raise (Johnson forbade his drivers from discussing money matters, including raises, with him). After signing, Hendrick formed a third team for Waltrip, carrying the #17 and sponsorsed by Tide.
In 1987, his first year with Hendrick Motorsports, Waltrip had limited success, compared to his previous years with Johnson. He won only 1 race and had 6 top-five finishes. In 1988, he won twice, including his fourth Coca-Cola 600 (formerly the World 600) win.
In the first scheduled NASCAR event of 1989, the 1989 Daytona 500, Waltrip won the race for the first time, in his 17th career attempt with a fuel mileage strategy along with his long-time crew-chief Jeff Hammond, making his final pit stop for fuel a distant 53 laps, (132 miles), from the finish. Most of the other cars could run no more than 45 or 46 laps on a tank of fuel, so that meant Waltrip would need to feather the throttle and "draft" off other cars in order to save enough fuel to make it to the finish without an additional pit stop. Jeff Hammond, interviewed by television pit reporters during the final stint of the race, said that his strategy was for Waltrip to "draft off anybody, and everybody", to save fuel. Even though Waltrip's car ran much slower than other cars in the last 53 laps, he was able to avoid making the additional pit stop for fuel that the other cars had to make. The strategy provided Waltrip with the track position needed to win the race. His post-race interview with CBS pit reporter Mike Joy, became famous, with Waltrip shouting "I won the Daytona 500! I won the Daytona 500! Wait, this is the Daytona 500 ain't it? ...Thank God!", accompanied by the "Ickey Shuffle" dance in Victory Lane. Waltrip later visited with Pres. George H. W. Bush, at the White House, in Washington, D.C., after his 1989 Daytona 500 win.
Waltrip's popularity as a driver would come full circle on the evening of The Winston, May 21, 1989, at Charlotte Motor Speedway. On the final lap, Waltrip was leading the race and poised to win when Rusty Wallace hit Waltrip's car exiting the 4th turn and spun Waltrip to the infield costing him the victory and the $200,000 purse. Not only was Waltrip and his crew upset at being knocked out of the victory, the 150,000 fans watching the race issued boos to the winner, Rusty Wallace. The two crews scuffled in the pits and harsh words were said after the race. Waltrip was quoted after the race as saying "I hope he chokes on it", meaning the $200,000 that Wallace collected for the victory. Waltrip's car was clearly superior to that of Wallace and, had it not been for the contact initiated by Wallace on the final lap, Waltrip would have won the all-star event. During the 1989, and 1990 seasons, Waltrip was voted Nascar's Most Popular Driver by fans.
Waltrip would win 6 NASCAR Winston Cup races in 1989, his best year with Hendrick Motorsports, and helped develop NASCAR’s version of the new Chevrolet Lumina in 1989, and delivered its first victory by winning a historic and unprecedented fifth Coca-Cola 600 (formerly the World 600), that May. Besides establishing a race record for victories, the win prepared him for a chance to win the one remaining "major race" which had eluded him since his first race at the Heinz Southern 500 at Darlington. A Darlington victory would award him a one million dollar bonus for winning three of the sport's four majors in the same season, the Daytona 500, the Winston 500, Coca-Cola 600, and the Mountain Dew Southern 500. The pressure of both the million dollar bonus and Career Grand Slam adversely affected Waltrip. He made contact with the wall early in the 1989 Southern 500 and was never a contender for winning the race, and the million dollar bonus.
For many reasons, Waltrip was unable to carry his success of the previous year into 1990. Waltrip failed to visit victory lane all season although he actually won a NASCAR Winston Cup race for which he is officially posted as finishing 2nd. The win came April 22, 1990, in the First Union 400, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, in his final year with Hendrick Motorsports. 1990 was the first year since 1974, that Waltrip did not win a race. Brett Bodine was credited with the official victory, although NASCAR, and even Larry McReynolds, the crew chief at the time for Brett Bodine, later admitted to Waltrip, that Bodine did not actually win the race. Jeff Hammond, Waltrip’s crew chief, appealed to NASCAR officials to correct what was clearly an error in Nascar's scoring of the event. Waltrip even protested to NASCAR head Bill France, Jr.. Although France knew that a scoring error had been made, Bodine, had already been declared the race winner. According to Waltrip, France, told him to “leave that boy alone, D.W., that’s his first win and you are going to win a lot more races". The controversy was the result of a scoring error on the part of NASCAR when the pace car collected the wrong car after a caution flag. NASCAR spent 18 laps under caution attempting to determine the true race leader. This was before the current computerized timing and scoring technology that is now used. Bodine, actually finished the race on the tail end of the lead lap, almost a full lap behind Waltrip, but is officially credited with the win, the only victory of his career.
While practicing for his 500th career NASCAR start in the Pepsi 400, at the Daytona International Speedway, Waltrip's car spun in oil laid down by another car experiencing engine failure, and was hit by an oncoming car driven by Dave Marcis. Waltrip suffered a broken arm, a broken leg, and a concussion. He missed the Pepsi 400, but came back to run one lap at Pocono, before giving way to Jimmy Horton as a relief driver. (A driver who starts, and completes one lap, is credited the Nascar points regardless of who is driving the car at the finish). Despite missing the next five races due to his injuries, Waltrip finished 20th in driver points and the team finished 5th in owner points with substitute drivers taking turns in the car — Greg Sacks' second place finish at Michigan, in August, was the best finish of the team's season. The Jeff Hammond-led team scored only one DNF for the season, when Sarel van der Merwe crashed late in the race at Watkins Glen International Speedway, a roadcourse in Watkins Glen, NY.
After his 4th season as driver for Hendrick Motorsports, Waltrip formed his own team to field cars in the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup season. Driving his own cars had been his passion since he successfully drove his own cars in his early NASCAR career in the early and mid-'70s. He would continue his relationship with Chevrolet and drive a Chevrolet Lumina with Western Auto as the primary team sponsor. Waltrip purchased team assets, including the racing facilities, from his former owner Rick Hendrick in Charlotte, North Carolina, and hired long-time friend and crew chief, Jeff Hammond, to oversee the building of race cars and to continue as crew chief. Waltrip and Hammond enjoyed much success together as Hammond had been with Waltrip during the championship winning years with Junior Johnson, and most of the Hendrick Motorsports years, and was Waltrip's crew chief for his 1989 Daytona 500 win and 3 of his 5 Coca-Cola 600 (formerly the World 600) wins.
In the 1991 season, Waltrip visited victory lane twice, his first win in his second stint as owner/driver came in only the 7th race of the ’91 season on April 21, 1991, in the First Union 400, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. His second win of the year came in the 13th race of the season on June 16, 1991, in the Champion Spark Plug 500, at Pocono Raceway, in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.
Just two races after celebrating his second win of 1991, Waltrip would again be involved in another serious crash, again at the Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Florida. It came after completing the 119th of 160 laps on the 2.5 mile superspeedway. Waltrip and driver Alan Kulwicki were racing side by side, leading a large grouping of cars, battling for 5th position. The car drafting Alan Kulwicki bumped the Kulwicki car, causing his car to hit Waltrip’s Western Auto Chevrolet at speeds approaching 200 mph on the long backstretch. Waltrip’s car slowed and was collected by driver Joe Ruttman’s car, both cars sliding sideways several hundred feet on the grassy infield. The tires of Waltrip’s car clipped the edge of an access road causing it to become airborne and tumbling end over end several times before coming to a stop, up-side down, in a grassy area near turn 3. Waltrip was extricated and only suffered minor injuries but many feared that he could have re-injured his shattered leg from the crash at the same track the previous year. (Slow-motion video and still photography showed that Waltrip's left arm was outside the car as the car tumbled, and came to rest). Waltrip still had a plate in his left leg from the compound fractures he suffered in the earlier crash at the Pepsi 400, at the Daytona International Speedway. Waltrip would compete in the following race, the summer race at the Pocono Raceway, in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, but was crashed again when driver Ernie Irvan spun driver Hut Stricklin, in front of almost the entire field. Waltrip won the year's spring race at the track just 5 weeks before.
Waltrip finished the first year of his second stint as owner/driver 8th in the overall NASCAR Winston Cup points championship, after being as high as 3rd place after 14 races. His first year was generally viewed as a successful first year outing. However, Waltrip was now 44 years old, had children, and had many pressures as owner/driver that he did not concern himself with driving for multi-million dollar, highly financed race teams, such as Hendrick Motorsports.
In 1992, Waltrip collected three more wins, including the Mountain Dew Southern 500, a race held at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, USA, September 6, 1992, (the last major race which had eluded his 20-year career), and finished 9th in points, after being as high as 6th after 22 races. That would be Waltrip’s 84th, and final NASCAR career victory, tying him with Bobby Allison for what was then third on the all-time list, behind Richard Petty, with 200 wins, and David Pearson, with 105 wins. Both he and Allison have since been passed by Jeff Gordon, who currently has 85 wins.
In 1993, Waltrip signed former Richard Childress Racing engine builder Lou LaRosa, to build engines, and Barry Dodson, a former championship winning crew chief. He posted four top ten finishes, but did not finish higher than third. 1994 saw him make his final appearance in the top ten in championship points by finishing 9th. He had a then unprecedented streak over two seasons, of 40 races, without a DNF, all with in-house engines. His only engine failure in the season was after the car crossed the finish line. Waltrip finished 16th in points in 1995 when he crashed at The Winston, and was forced to let relief drivers take over for several weeks. His second half of the season was highlighted by his final career pole position at the NAPA 500.
Waltrip in his 1997 Western Auto Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
In 1996, Waltrip posted two top-ten finishes. Western Auto remained the sponsor as part of Waltrip's 25th anniversary celebration. While the year was one of Waltrip's most profitable, his results continued to fall off.
At the 1997 UAW-GM Quality 500, Waltrip failed to qualify for the first time in over 20 years as Terry Labonte also failed to make the race. Because Labonte was a more recent Cup champion (in fact, he was the defending Cup champion that season), he was able to take the past champion's provisional. Waltrip, who was 20th in owner points, was too low in the owner points position to make the race (only the top four in owner points of cars not in the field, excluding the most recent former champion not in the field, were added after qualifying under 1997 rules). After the season, Waltrip and his team were struggling to find sponsors, but were able to put together a last-minute deal with the Ohio-based company Speedblock for 1998. Speedblock only paid portions of what was promised, and the deal was canceled. Waltrip’s team at this point was nearly bankrupt, and he sold the team to Tim Beverly.
Beverly chose not to race the team immediately, instead choosing to rebuild the team (now part of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. after two sales and a merger). During this time, Waltrip signed with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. to drive the #1 Pennzoil Chevy, filling in for injured rookie Steve Park. During his tenure with DEI, Waltrip posted a fifth place finish at the California 500, and led in the final stages of the Pocono 500 and finished sixth. In 2008, Waltrip admitted the reason that he failed as a driver-owner team was because he thought like a driver, not as an owner.[2]
Waltrip officially won 84 NASCAR cup races, but yet another, additional, and uncounted "win" was as relief driver for Donnie Allison, at the 1977 Talladega 500. (Allison received credit for the win because he was driving the car when the race started). In that race, Waltrip retired after 106, of 188, laps. Allison sought a relief driver for his #1 Hawaiian Tropic sponsored Chevrolet, due to the excess heat of the day, and Waltrip was asked to complete the race in Allison's car. The irony was that Waltrip replaced Allison at the DiGard #88 race team just two years previously, which was part of the long lore of the "Allisons vs Waltrip" battle that lasted for more than 16 years.
His 84 wins in the Cup series are tied for fourth place in NASCAR history, with Bobby Allison. In 2011, Jeff Gordon scored his 85th career victory surpassing both Waltrip, and Allison, as third for most wins in the "modern era" of NASCAR. (Nascar's "modern era" takes into account current scheduling, and the elimination of dirt tracks from scoring statistics).
At the Brickyard 400, Beverly returned the team as the #35 Chevrolet Monte Carlo with Tabasco sauce sponsorship. A sponsorship conflict with Tabasco would switch the team to the Pontiac Grand Prix. Waltrip resigned at the end of the season. After a brief flirtation with retirement, Waltrip signed to drive the #66 Big K Ford Taurus for Haas-Carter Motorsports, and teammate with Jimmy Spencer. Waltrip failed to qualify seven times during that season with a new qualifying rule for the Past Champion's Provisional. During his retirement year of 2000, Waltrip's best run came at the Brickyard 400, where he qualified on the outside pole and finished eleventh. His final race came November 19, 2000, in the Napa 500, at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he posted a 34th place finish in the Haas-Carter Motorsports owned #66 Route66 Big K Ford Taurus. He finished 36th in points that season.
In 1995, Waltrip built a Craftsman Truck Series team, and found success by 1997, when Rich Bickle, finished second in overall season standings winning three races, and made Waltrip one of the few car owners to have won races in NASCAR's three national series. When Sears ceased sponsorship of the team in 1997, Waltrip suspended his truck team, not returning until 2004, when he re-entered the series as an owner and part of Toyota's NASCAR development program.
After his 2000 retirement, Waltrip signed with Fox, to be lead NASCAR analyst and race commentator on the network's NASCAR telecasts, teaming with Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds. Waltrip had previously appeared on several IROC broadcasts for ABC, prior to his signing during the 1999, and 2000 seasons. Waltrip also appeared on many Busch Series races on TNN with Mike Joy, in 1994 and 1995, on weekends when Winston Cup was not participating.
Waltrip began his career with Fox, in the 2001 Daytona 500, the first race of 2001. His younger brother, Michael Waltrip, won the race, but Michael's victory was overshadowed by the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt and Waltrip were bitter rivals on the track during the 1980s. Earnhardt envied Waltrip's status as Nascar's top driver. But, as the year's passed, the rivalry and bitterness gave way to a deep respect and close friendship between the two. On the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, Waltrip's joy at his brother's victory turned to sadness and grief on live national television as Waltrip called the final moments of the race. Earnhardt's car made contact with the car driven by Sterling Marlin, as the Earnhardt car drifted low on the track into the path of Marlin, probably attempting a blocking maneuver so that either Michael Waltrip or Dale Earnhardt, Jr., could win the race. Both cars, that of Michael Waltrip, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. were fielded by DEI, although Earnhardt (Sr) himself, drove for RCR. After Earnhardt's car contacted the Marlin car, Earnhardt's car suddenly veered right, and slammed hard into the retaining wall in turn four while simultaneously being contacted by the car driven by Ken Schrader. This was before Nascar mandated the "SAFER" (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barriers used at all Nascar tracks today. After the cars of Earnhardt and Schrader came to rest in the infield, Schrader immediately exited his car and went to the attention of Earnhardt. Schrader gestured for the rescue crews to hurry to the Earnhardt car, but Earnhardt had passed away. Waltrip was later taken from the Fox Broadcast booth to the Halifax Medical Center, to meet with the Earnhardt family and later gave the invocation at his funeral.
A week after Daytona, Waltrip interviewed NASCAR President Mike Helton for a pre-race segment during the broadcast at North Carolina Speedway (Rockingham). Waltrip believed that four deaths in the previous ten months, all caused by basilar skull fractures incurred in accidents, were too many, and was not shy about asking Helton for an explanation. Helton's responses irritated Waltrip, who was referred to by one magazine as "acting a lot more like the next Mike Wallace (of 60 Minutes) than the next John Madden."
He then pushed for mandatory head-and-neck restraints, and two weeks later, demonstrated the device during the broadcast in Atlanta Motor Speedway, explaining the device. Seven months later, NASCAR mandated the devices after a crash during an ARCA Re/Max Series race, held after qualifying for the UAW-GM Quality 500, killed driver Blaise Alexander.[3]
As the cars take the green flag to start each race, Waltrip shouts "Boogity, boogity, boogity, let's go racing boys!" This somewhat nonsensical phrase has become Waltrip's trademark in recent years. (The phrase "boogity, boogity, boogity" also appears in the 1960 doo wop parody "Who Put the Bomp" by Barry Mann.) Humble Pie used the shorter phrase "boogity-boogity" in their 1970 song "Red Light Mama, Red Hot". Ray Stevens used the phrase throughout his 1974 hit, The Streak. Jerry Reed also said this phrase in the 1977 movie "Smokey and the Bandit." Interestingly, Waltrip was featured on a 1992 home video from Ray Stevens entitled the Amazing Rolling Revue. In this home video Waltrip played the part of the out of control driver of the tour bus/rolling venue. Waltrip explained that the catchphrase arose because, as a driver, he grew tired of hearing his spotter or crew chief say "green, green, green" at the start of every race and wanted to hear something more original. The catchphrase is always preceded by fellow analyst and former crew chief Larry McReynolds telling Waltrip to "reach up there and pull those belts tight one more time!"
He also lends his unique wordings to his commentary, talking about "co-opitition" when racers work together, but keep each other under a watchful eye, "s'purnce" when talking about driving skills of a veteran driver, and "using the chrome horn", when a driver somewhat purposefully bumps a car that's in the way (bumpers on cars used to be made of metal and coated in chrome). In early 2007, Waltrip was nominated for an Emmy in the category "Outstanding Event Analyst".
In March, 2011, FOX awarded Waltrip a 2-year contract extension, taking him through 2014, the same year the network’s NASCAR contract ends.
Waltrip fielded a Toyota sponsored by Japanese industrial giant NTN for his Craftsman Truck Series team in 2004. David Reutimann drove the truck for the team and earned Rookie of the Year honors that year. Waltrip's team expanded to two trucks in 2005. In August 2005, the revived Darrell Waltrip Motorsports won its first race, the Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway with Reutimann driving. During the 2007 season, A.J. Allmendinger drove the #00 Red Bull Toyota but with minimal success. By years end the team was sold to The Racer's Group, a road racing operation.
Waltrip has made occasional starts (three or less each year) in the Craftsman Truck Series and Busch Series since his "retirement" in 2000. Each of these races have been either at Martinsville Speedway or Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Waltrip was the honorary starter at the 2007 Food City 500 and was also the honorary starter for the 2008 Gatorade Duel as Gatorade was one of Waltrip's former sponsors. He also started/completed a Busch Series race at Martinsville in his brother's "Aaron's Dream Machine" after appearing in ads in 2003–2005 begging his brother to drive the Aaron's Dream Machine.
In 2009, he appeared in commercials for Rejuvenate Auto with his #11 Mountain Dew Chevrolet. Waltrip also appeared in Fox public service announcements for breast cancer awareness.
In 2010, and 2011, Waltrip voiced his support for saving the old Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, now known as the Music City Motorplex, in Nashville. The speedway was first opened in 1904, and hosted a weekly racing series for decades. It is the track where Waltrip first had success at weekly racing events in the 60's and 70's, winning two track championships and where his first Nascar victory came May 10, 1975. The speedway and adjacent Tennessee State Fairgrounds, is located in an urban area of south Nashville, only 2 miles from its downtown business district. Some residents living close to the speedway have complained of noise and many local politicians have proposed closing the speedway and developing the property.
Currently, Waltrip continues as a race commentator for Fox Broadcasting Company and Speed TV, and remains active in the sport. In March, 2011, FOX announced that Waltrip would continue as their lead Nascar analyst and race commentator through 2014.
Waltrip is recognized by many who closely follow motorsports as NASCAR's first "total package" driver. He was media savvy, articulate, attractive and possessed the driving skills that would take him to the pinnacle of the sport. His style attracted big-budget sponsors that are necessary to fund the multi-million dollar NASCAR teams. Today, it is customary for the team's sponsor to have considerable input into who the team's driver will be that represents their brand or product on the track. Today's NASCAR driver fits the mold that Waltrip first ushered in to NASCAR in the 1970s.
As a Fox Sports analyst and broadcaster, Waltrip's opinions, views and comments carry considerable weight with drivers, team owners, fans and NASCAR heads. Waltrip has never been shy about expressing his views, even if controversial. His critical comments about safety have played a significant role in many safety innovations current drivers enjoy today. As is his custom he has yet again raised eyebrows by announcing Danica Patrick as the "face of Nascar" during prereace interviews before the 2012 Daytona 500. Ms. Patrick has yet to win a NASCAR sponsored event.
Waltrip has been a design consultant on some of the newer tracks including the Kentucky Motor Speedway, and the Nashville Superspeedway.
Waltrip has a building which holds many of the race cars he drove throughout his career.
On June 14, 2011, he was selected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2012.
Waltrip's entertainment appearances were influenced by his early 1970s work with Ralph Emery in Nashville radio and television, and that led to his work as a fill-in for Emery.
In the 1980s and 1990s, he would substitute for Emery on The Nashville Network's Nashville Now and later hosted himself the network's two successor variety shows, "Music City Tonight" and "Prime Time Country".
Waltrip worked on Days of Thunder as Hendrick Motorsports was a major provider of cars and drivers (he helped hire Bobby Hamilton for the project), and one of his injury substitutes was lead stunt driver Greg Sacks.
Waltrip has twice been a presenter at the GMA (Gospel Music Association) Music Awards, partnering with Kathy Troccoli both times. In 1999, they presented the "Song of the Year" award to Mitch McVicker and Rich Mullins for "My Deliverer". Rich Mullins and Mitch McVicker were thrown from their truck after not wearing seat belts, and Mullins was killed in the accident.
In 2006, Waltrip and Nicole C. Mullen hosted a DirecTV special, Songs of Faith. Also in 2006, he played a color commentator for the Disney/Pixar movie Cars. He played the role as Darrell Cartrip, an obvious pun on his name. Waltrip reprised that role in Cars 2, which premiered in June 2011. He also appeared in the broadcast booth in the movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby where his phrase was "in racing you have good days and bad days and Ricky Bobby just had himself a bad day". On December 15, 2006, Waltrip played the role of Mother Ginger in the Nashville Ballet's production of The Nutcracker.
He currently appears in advertisements for Toyota and Aaron's alongside his brother, Michael, where his gimmick is constantly asking Michael's permission to drive the Aaron's Dream Machine (a nickname for the #99 Nationwide Series car). Waltrip has also made a number of appearances in "comedic" segments appearing during his actual Fox broadcasts.
He was featured in two NASCAR Series videos Darrell Waltrip: Quicksilver which explained Waltrip's career and future and he appeared in the NASCAR Video series where he teaches helpful driving tips for driving on the freeway and long-distance drives.
In February, 2011, Waltrip appeared in The Day which was a one hour documentary about the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt at the 2001 Daytona 500.
Waltrip has also been successful in the publishing field. In September 1994, he was featured as the cover story in Guideposts.
His autobiography, DW: A Lifetime Going Around in Circles, was a New York Times best-seller when it was released around the 2004 Daytona 500. The book was co-written with Jade Gurss.
In May 2004, Waltrip became the second sports figure to be featured in former NBA player and basketball coach Jay Carty's One-on-One series of devotional books. Darrell Waltrip One-on-One: The Faith that Took Him to the Finish Line is a sixty-day devotional book featuring Waltrip's stories and how they can relate to Christian faith, and Carty's devotionals. (The series also features John Wooden and Mike Singletary.)
|
Links to related articles
|
|
|
|
|
| Commentators |
|
|
| Key figures |
|
|
| Lore |
|
|
| Music |
|
|
| Daytona 500 |
|
|
| Related articles |
|
|
|
|
| Persondata |
| Name |
Waltrip, Darrell |
| Alternative names |
|
| Short description |
NASCAR driver |
| Date of birth |
February 5, 1947 |
| Place of birth |
Owensboro, Kentucky |
| Date of death |
|
| Place of death |
|
