Darrell Waltrip

One of the enduring figures on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit and a three-time series champion (1981, '82, '85), Darrell Waltrip became the elder spokesman for the sport prior to his retirement "Victory Tour" in 2000. His 809 starts ranked third-best at the time, his 84 victories tied him for third (with Bobby Allison) on the all-time list when he retired, and he recorded 59 pole positions in is career.

Waltrip won the 1989 Daytona 500 in his 17th attempt. He is the only five-time winner of the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway and won the inaugural The Winston in 1985. Waltrip holds the modern-era record for wins from the pole position with eight in 1981. He was the first NASCAR Cup Series driver to win $6 million, $7 million, $8 million, $9 million and $10 million in prize money and was the third driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to surpass the $15 million mark.

Waltrip was the winner of the NASCAR Most Popular Driver award in 1989 and 1990 and the National Motorsports Press Association Driver of the year in 1977, 1981 and 1982. Waltrip continued to reap the respect he cultivated as a motorsports broadcast analyst. He was inducted into the Lowe's Motor Speedway Court of Legends and Bristol Motor Speedway's Heroes of Bristol Hall of Fame in 1997.