Darrell Waltrip
Darrell Waltrip
Darrell Lee Waltripis an American motorsports analyst, author, national television broadcaster, and former racing driver. He is also a three-time NASCAR Cup Series championand a three-time NASCAR Cup Series runner-up. Posting a modern NASCAR series record of 22 top five finishes in 1983 and 21 top five finishes both in 1981 and 1986, Waltrip won 84 NASCAR Cup Series races, including the 1989 Daytona 500, a record five in the Coca-Cola 600, and a track and Series record for any...
ProfessionRace Car Driver
Date of Birth5 February 1947
CityOwensboro, KY
I love my job and now I get to do it for a long, long time.
I'm just going to let you in on a little something just to file away. I understand that there's a chance that they may have a Busch race at Martinsville next year. Just thought I would throw that out there.
I had talked to Michael and asked him to give me some idea who I should be looking at, and he immediately mentioned David. I didn't know much about him, but I started checking into him and I like him a lot. He's a hands-on guy. He doesn't mind getting his hands dirty. He comes from a racing family, and it always seems like those guys do well.
If you're running 20th, they hardly ever mention (you),
I do it because I want to continue to be in the driver fraternity, ... I was so happy at Martinsville last week. I had on my great big Toyota Tundra uniform. I've got my truck there. I've got my team there. I'm parked right next to Jimmie Johnson, and we're talking driver talk. Right next to me is Kyle Busch, and we're talking driver talk.
It's not that I'm never going to get in a car or truck again. I'll probably hop in there every now and then just for fun.
It's kind of appropriate that we're here at the Nashville Superspeedway today and he gets his first major win, ... ... He is not out of the championship hunt, and he's going to win some more races. I'm really excited for today, sure, but for what's going to happen down the road as well.
It's way too early to pass judgment. It's still got flaws. They need to tweak it. Is it better than it ever was? I think the verdict is still out on that.
These guys aren't having fun anymore. They have a lot of pressure on them. They have to perform and they have a lot of people they have to beat. When I was running, we had just a few people that we had to beat. You could have a bad day and still finish sixth or seventh. Now, if you are off a little bit, you finish 37th.
These guys aren't having fun anymore, ... They have a lot of pressure on them. They have to perform and they have a lot of people they have to beat. When I was running, we had just a few people that we had to beat. You could have a bad day and still finish sixth or seventh. Now, if you are off a little bit, you finish 37th.
Our sport is in a changing of the guard right now. It happens every 10 or 15 years, and Brad is the leader of that change at the moment. Sometimes his words and outspokenness offend some folks, but he doesn’t back down from his comments. He doesn’t back down in his driving either, and when competitors see him coming in the rearview mirror, they have to be wondering what he’ll do and what he’s thinking. I think fans love that and gravitate to drivers like Brad.
We can't change the past. Those tracks have always been there and those races have always been there. What NASCAR has to look at is the future -- and this place is the future.
When you're that many points behind and they wipe the slate clean, that's what I don't like.
It's hard to have a good time and do your job. We'd get our cars inspected; we'd cover the car up and go to the beach. We'd go to the liquor store and buy a case of beer and sit on the beach or go sit in the lounge at the hotel maybe until it was time to come back the next day.