Darrell Lee Waltrip, who was born on February 5, 1947, is an American who currently works as a motorsports analyst and author and has previously served as a national television broadcaster and as a stock car driver. He competed in the NASCAR Cup Series from 1972 to 2000 (the series being known as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series when he was driving), most particularly driving the No. 11 Chevrolet for Junior Johnson, and he has won the Cup Series three times, in the years 1981, 1982 and 1985.
He ranks fifth all time in the NASCAR Cup Series in terms of total wins, being one behind Bobby Allison. In the modern period of NASCAR, only Jeff Gordon has won more races than Waltrip. He has a total of 59 pole positions, which ranks him fifth in the all-time list, and also holds the all-time modern era records with 35 poles on short tracks and eight on road courses. Having taken part in 809 Cup races over four decades and spanning 29 years (from 1972 to 2000), he has achieved 271 top-five finishes and 390 top-ten finishes, and set a modern NASCAR series record by securing 22 top-five finishes in 1983, as well as 21 top-five finishes in both 1981 and 1986.
With total earnings of nearly $19.9 million, he became the first NASCAR driver to receive over $10 million in career race winnings. Profile Summary CategoryInformation Full NameDarrell Lee Waltrip BornFebruary 5, 1947 (age 79) BirthplaceOwensboro, Kentucky, U.S. Achievements1981, 1982 & 1985 Winston Cup Series Champion; 1989 Daytona 500 Winner; 1992 Southern 500 Winner; multiple Coca-Cola 600, Winston 500, The Winston, Busch Clash, Snowball Derby, All American 400, World Crown 300 and Fairgrounds Speedway victories Awards1989 & 1990 Most Popular Driver; NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers (1998); Fairgrounds Speedway Hall of Fame (2001); Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2003); International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2005); NASCAR Hall of Fame (2012); NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers (2023) NASCAR Cup Series Career809 races over 29 years Cup Series Best Finish1st — 1981, 1982, 1985 Cup Series First Race1972 Winston 500 — Talladega Cup Series Last Race2000 NAPA 500 — Atlanta Cup Series First Win1975 Music City USA 420 — Nashville Cup Series Last Win1992 Southern 500 — Darlington Cup Series Wins84 Cup Series Top Tens390 Cup Series Poles59 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Career95 races over 14 years O’Reilly Series Best Finish22nd — 1986 O’Reilly Series First Race1982 Mello Yello 300 — Charlotte O’Reilly Series Last Race2006 Goody’s 250 — Martinsville O’Reilly Series First Win1982 Miller Time 300 — Charlotte O’Reilly Series Last Win1989 Goody’s 300 — Daytona O’Reilly Series Wins13 O’Reilly Series Top Tens53 O’Reilly Series Poles4 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Career17 races over 6 years Craftsman Truck Series Best Finish37th — 1996 Craftsman Truck Series First Race1995 Heartland Tailgate 175 — Heartland Craftsman Truck Series Last Race2005 Kroger 200 — Martinsville Craftsman Truck Series Wins0 Craftsman Truck Series Top Tens8 Craftsman Truck Series Poles0 NASCAR Grand National East Series Career1 race over 1 year Grand National East Series First Race1973 Salem 100 — Salem Grand National East Series Wins0 Grand National East Series Top Tens0 Grand National East Series Poles0 Age Darrell Lee Waltrip was born on February 5, 1947 (making him 79 years old) in Owensboro, Kentucky, United States.
Biography Waltrip was born in Owensboro, Kentucky on February 5, 1947. He began his career in go-kart racing when he was twelve years old and then took part in his first stock car race four years afterwards. Together with his father he built a 1936 Chevrolet coupe and drove it to a nearby dirt track close to their home in Owensboro. On their first night racing the young man, who was not yet old enough to drive on the road, crashed into the wall and seriously damaged the coupe.
Waltrip then stopped racing on the dirt and settled on asphalt, where the smoothness he had picked up while racing in the karts proved to be a valuable advantage. He graduated from Daviess County High School in Owensboro in 1965. Bratcher Radiator and Welding Co. Because of his success P. B. Crowell, who was both an owner and driver in Nashville, encouraged Waltrip to move to that area with a view to racing at the Fairgrounds Speedway, located at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in Nashville, where he then won two track championships, in 1970 and 1973.
More… In Nashville Waltrip drove the No. 48 Ford, which was owned by P. B. Crowell and sponsored by American Home, and when he appeared on a local television programme promoting the races he actively campaigned for the event and was not hesitant to take advantage of the local media unlike some of the other competitors. Among the infamous ‘on air’ trash-talking was his mockery of certain other local drivers such as Coo Coo Marlin (whose son Sterling later raced at the circuit and is a two-time Daytona 500 winner) and James “Flookie” Buford, whom he ridiculed on television.
In his early days, he became friends with Ralph Emery, the host of WSM radio, and this friendship had a significant influence on his career since Waltrip frequently appeared on Emery’s early morning television programme on the local Nashville television station WSMV and later took Emery’s place in the 1980s on the television show Nashville Now, which was broadcast on the former TNN cable network (now the Paramount Network).
He then used the success he had achieved at the Music City Motorplex together with the fame and public speaking abilities he had gained from his television appearances in Nashville as a launching pad into NASCAR’s top level. He converted to Christianity in 1983, but says it was several years later that God came to be the priority in his life. Racing Career Highlights Darrell Waltrip took part in the NASCAR Cup Series between 1972 and 2000, which established him as one of the legends of the sport.
Cup Series Championships 3 (1981, 1982, 1985) Career Cup Wins 84 (tied for 4th all-time) Career Poles 59 Major Victories 1989 Daytona 500, 1992 Southern 500 Halls of Fame Inducted in 2003 (Motorsports), 2005 (International), and 2012 (NASCAR) Broadcasting & Post-Career For FOX from 2001 until his retirement in June 2019, Fox Sports had him serving as their main colour commentator and NASCAR analyst.
Catchphrase: Made famous the famous broadcast opening, “Boogity, boogity, boogity, let’s go racing boys and girls!” Other ventures included writing a number of books (such as DW: A Lifetime Going Around in Circles) and providing the voice for Darrell Cartrip in the Pixar Cars films. Legacy In the eyes of the majority of people in the racing world, Waltrip is a genuine ambassador of motor racing, and he promotes all types of racing, particularly American stock car racing.
Because he works as a Fox Sports analyst and commentator, Waltrip’s opinions, views and comments are highly influential with drivers, team owners, fans and the top officials at NASCAR. He has acted as a design consultant on some of the more recent tracks, such as the Kentucky Motor Speedway and the Nashville Superspeedway. He was chosen for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2012 on June 14, 2011.
In that race, Waltrip retired after having completed 106 of the 188 laps. The irony was that Waltrip had replaced Allison at the DiGard No. 88 race team just two years before, and this was part of the long-standing tradition of the ‘Allisons versus Waltrip’ rivalry which continued for over 16 years. He has 84 wins in the Cup series and thus ranks fifth in NASCAR’s history, being one win short of Bobby Allison.
In 2011 Jeff Gordon achieved his 85th win in his career, thereby overtaking Waltrip to become the driver with the most victories in NASCAR’s “modern era”. Personal Life Waltrip lives in Franklin, Tennessee, where he has managed a number of auto dealerships as well as carrying on business with Rick Hendrick. He and his wife, Stevie, have been married since 1969 and are involved with Motor Racing Outreach, offering spiritual and community support to the families of racers.
He is also the older brother of the former NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip. The children are Jessica and Sarah Kaitlyn. Net Worth Darrell Waltrip’s net worth is said to be $25 million and he is generally regarded as one of the most successful drivers and broadcasters in the history of NASCAR.
