BRISTOL, Tenn. — After a heavy, emotion-intense press conference where Darrell Waltrip announced his retirement from broadcasting at season’s end, there was a desire for some much-needed levity. Staying on brand, Waltrip provided.
The NASCAR legend was asked Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway about his television career being so closely associated with a three-word catchphrase and the inspiration behind it. That question wound up being the perfect lob, and Waltrip dunked it home with a rollicking story.
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So here, we present the unabridged origin story of “Boogity, boogity, boogity,” as told by its inventor:
“It was (former FOX Sports chairman) David Hill that kind of motivated me to do that. I said, ‘David, we’re doing these races and they’re exciting to do, but they start the race and all I hear is, “… and the green flag is in the air.”‘ I said, ‘Are you kidding me? As a driver, I’m coming down to take the green flag, I got my hand on that shifter, I’m shaking all over, I’m getting ready to go race off into the first turn and I don’t know if it’s going to stick or not, and all we hear on the P.A. (public address system) is, “… and the green flag is in the air.”‘ I said, ‘That’s not good enough for me.’ He said, ‘Well, you’re a smart kid. Come up with something.’
“Ray Stevens, one of my best friends, I was in the motorcoach on Sunday morning at Darlington, I’ll never forget, and the song, ‘The Streak,’ came on. ‘Here they come, boogity, boogity. There they go, boogity, boogity.’ I said, ‘That’s it, that’s it.’ Of course, I added one — ‘Boogity, boogity, boogity. Let’s go racin’, boys,’ and it stuck. Did I think when I did that that 19 years later, I’d still be doing that?
“It’s a blessing and a curse. Some people love it. Some people, they don’t even know how to start a race unless they start it that way. Other people think it’s the dumbest thing they’ve ever heard, so I’m caught in a trap. Some people want you to quit doing it, and other people said, ‘Please, please, don’t quit doing that!’ So you can’t make everybody happy.
“And my boss, I don’t run FOX Sports, I work at FOX Sports. If they didn’t like it, they would tell me, ‘Don’t do that anymore.’ If some of these people, Mike Helton or any of these people didn’t like it, they’d tell me, ‘Don’t do that anymore.’ They don’t tell you that. And so I do what I do. I feel like it’s part of my legacy. Kyle Petty told me this not long ago, ‘How’s it feel to be known as the man that says Boogity, boogity, boogity, let’s go racin’, boys, and nobody every knew you drove a race car?” It’s kind of the dilemma I find myself in sometimes.”
The next dilemma for the FOX Sports booth might come this weekend. Bristol Motor Speedway asked Waltrip to wave the green flag for Sunday’s Food City 500 (2 p.m. ET, FS1 PRN, SiriusXM), begging the obvious question.
“That’s the first I’ve heard about this, so immediately, I said, ‘Who’s saying boogity, boogity, boogity?'” said FOX Sports colleague Jeff Gordon. “I think they’ve got a plan for that. I don’t want to ruin it, but I think they have a plan. It’s not going to be me, no. There’s only one guy that can say, ‘Boogity, boogity, boogity.’ “