Darrell Waltrip through the years

By Staff Reports | Thursday, April 1, 2021

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Darrell Waltrip, who brought his folksy, outsized personality from the driver's seat to a prodigious second career as a broadcaster, retired after the Toyota/ Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway in 2019. The three-time series champion's life in NASCAR began in 1972 at age 25 and led to a Hall of Fame career spanning 47 years as a driver and broadcaster. Scroll through to see highlights of Waltrip's career.

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1966: A young Darrell Waltrip made his NASCAR superspeedway debut in February 1966, finishing 18th in the Permatex 300 for Late Model Sportsman cars at Daytona International Speedway.

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1972: Darrell Waltrip poses for a portrait.

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1973: Darrell Waltrip jokes around before racing in the 1973 Alamo 500. Waltrip would come in second place and take home $7,720 for the race.

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1973: Darrell Waltrip drove for Bud Moore in five races during the latter part of the 1973 season.

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1975: Darrell Waltrip drove his own No. 17 Chevrolet Laguna in 17 races in 1975 prior to landing a ride with DiGard Racing.

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1975: Darrell Waltrip took over the No. 88 when Donnie Allison left mid-season. Waltrip gave the team its first win which came in October at Richmond.

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1976: Darrell Waltrip won the 1976 Virginia 500 on April 25, 1976 in Martinsville, Virginia. It was his first triumph at Martinsville. Wife Stevie helps celebrate.

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1977: Driving DiGard Racing Gatorade Chevrolets, Darrell Waltrip won six times on the premier series circuit in 1977 and finished in the top ten 24 times in 30 starts taking fourth in points.

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1978: Darrell Waltrip wasn't always the easiest on his crew members, but heaped mounds of praise on them after winning the Southeastern 500 at Bristol in 1978. Pictured are Waltrip (C), Bristol president & GM Lanny Hester (L), Darrell's wife Stevie, and track VP Gary Baker.

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1978: Driver Darrell Waltrip celebrates with movie star Zsa Zsa Gabor after winning the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina on May 28, 1978.

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Late-1970s: Darrell Waltrip carried the Gatorade colors on cars owned by DiGard Racing from 1976 through 1980. During that time, Waltrip started 151 premier series races, winning 25 of them. Waltrip placed in the top five in Cup points in every year other than 1976 when he took eighth place.

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Late-1970s: Five of the top drivers of the late-1970s pose for a publicity photo just outside of Martinsville Speedway. Kneeling is Cale Yarborough. Standing (L-R) are Darrell Waltrip, Dave Marcis, David Pearson and Richard Petty. Together this quintet of drivers scored 477 NASCAR Cup victories and 16 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championships.

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1982: After winning his first Cup Series title in 1981, his first year with the Junior Johnson Mountain Dew team, Waltrip repeated with a late season rally to gain the title again.

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1983: Darrell Waltrip shows everything is 'OK' after the rain delay. Waltrip would win the Marty Robbins 420 and take home $25,650 for the race.

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1980s: Car owner Junior Johnson (L) and his driver Darrell Waltrip share a moment in the garage area at a race.

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1984: Neil Bonnett and Darrell Waltrip joke around in the Budweiser garage before the 1984 Daytona 500. Waltrip would finish third and Bonnett would finish fourth.

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1984: Darrell Waltrip celebrates his second win in 1984, this one at Darlington.

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1984: Darrell Waltrip before the Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

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1985: Driver Darrell Waltrip celebrates with car owner Junior Johnson and Jerry Long, president of RJR Tobacco, in Victory Lane after winning the 1985 The Winston race on May 25 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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1987: Dale Earnhardt, Kyle Petty and Darrell Waltrip mix it up and have a chuckle before the Miller American 400 at Martinsville.

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1989: Darrell Waltrip participates in some on-stage antics with broadcast host Dr. Jerry Punch at Daytona during Speedweeks.

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1989: Darrell Waltrip celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the Daytona 500 in his 17th attempt.

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1989: Darrell Waltrip drove Tide-sponsored Chevrolets for Rick Hendrick Racing from 1987 through 1990, scoring nine Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins, including the 1989 Daytona 500.

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Late 1980s: NASCAR drivers and brothers Darrell Waltrip (left) and Michael Waltrip.

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1992: Darrell Waltrip (L) talks with Davey Allison (R) before the start of the Miller Genuine Draft 400 race at Richmond Raceway.

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1997: Brothers Darrell Waltrip (left) and Michael Waltrip confer during the Winston 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama.

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2001: When FOX Sports came on board ahead of its 2001 debut, Waltrip was among the first on-air talent hired, and he would help grow NASCAR’s TV viewership to record numbers.

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Waltrip quickly built a rapport with play-by-play veteran Mike Joy and crew chief analysts Jeff Hammond and Larry McReynolds. He also developed what would be his broadcast calling card, shouting out, "Boogity, boogity, boogity!" to provide a verbal jolt at the start of each race.

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2012: From left, Dale Inman, Glen Wood, Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip pose for a photo after being inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Jan. 20.

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2014: Darrell Waltrip stands next to his 1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo AeroCoupe during a press conference announcing the new Glory Road exhibit at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

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All told, Waltrip ended his career having called more than 330 races and 1,500 practice and qualifying sessions for FOX.

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2019: Darrell Waltrip was honored with the NMPA Myers Brothers Award for outstanding contributions to stock-car racing at the NASCAR Awards in Nashville.

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