Former driver rides off into the sunset after race in California
Darrell Waltrip’s broadcasting career with Fox came to an end much the same way that it started: emotionally.
Waltrip, one of NASCAR’s winningest drivers, last raced in 2006, and he called his final race from the booth on Sunday, June 23, at the Toyota/Save Mart 350, and he was a bit emotional as he, Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Larry McReynolds signed off for the final time as the Monster Energy Cup switches networks to NBC.
The final race call of DW’s career was passionate, but, somehow, one of NASCAR’s most colorful and controversial (sometimes volatile, even) characters managed to hold things together until the broadcast signed off. (I’m not betting that he didn’t shed a few tears afterward, though.)
Waltrip, who began broadcasting IROC events on ABC, made his Fox debut in February 2001 when the network signed a multi-year, multi-million dollar deal to carry the sport over its airwaves. That particular winter day remains bittersweet for Waltrip, however, as he was able to call his younger brother Michael’s first win on the circuit.
But as it turned out, neither of the Waltrips nor anyone else associated with NASCAR could truly celebrate the victory because it was the same race in which Dale Earnhardt lost his life in a crash on the final lap, on a day when Dale Jr. also had a great day on the track. The elder Earnhardt was one of the premier faces of NASCAR at the time. He also was DW’s onetime rival and longtime friend. Michael and Dale Jr., as well as Steve Parks, drove cars owned by the legend that passed away that day.
Waltrip called races much like he competed in them between 1972 and 2006. He was humorous, he sometimes was irreverent and he always was unapologetic, as he called things as he saw them. On occasion, he was contrite – although it usually was a bit tongue-in-cheek.
Almost everybody handled DW’s departure graciously, though one driver, Matt DiBenetto, almost lost it in post-race television interviews as he recounted what the NASCAR Hall of Famer meant to his career.
Over the course of his racing career, Waltrip won five championships in NASCAR’s elite series, and he finished second three other times. He won the Daytona 500 in 1989. He won the Southern 500 in 1992 (his last visit to victory lane). He also won 12 races just up the road in Bristol.
He was embraced by NASCAR’s traditional Southern fans, but he also helped Fox bring the sport previously unattained national appeal – although his style grated on many. But he definitely will be missed, and he and those in his sport will be left wondering what’s going to happen next, as he was one of NASCAR’s last links to its roots.
