NASCAR isn’t really a subject we cover a lot here at Nerdbot. Actually, sports in general aren’t a topic we cover much. There are so many other websites dedicated to sports that you’d normally be better off going to them instead of us. There are moments, though, where we can shine in this field with the right conditions. When John Madden passed away, for example, that was something that impacted sports and popular culture heavily. There was also that moment in 2022 when Antonio Brown up and quit mid-game. That kind of stuff never happens. Today is different, though. Today this author wants to talk about Darrell Waltrip and how I’m really heartbroken to hear about his diagnosis with a progressive brain disease.
I should note that I’ve come back to this paragraph after writing over the words that will follow. None of which have even discussed his medical issues. I’m going to get to that part, but there’s so much I want to say about Darrell. So I implore you, please stick with me for a while. We’ll get back to the breaking news element in a bit.
Darrell Waltrip – The NASCAR Legend
Darrell Waltrip will go down in NASCAR history as one of its greatest drivers. He won championships in 1981, 1982, and 1985. This was during one of the sport’s most competitive eras, too. When you had other legends like Bobby Allison, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Bill Elliott out there competing. Not to mention Terry Labonte and the highly competitive and consistent Harry Gant. Waltrip wasn’t out there stealing wins and championships away by exploiting the format and car setups. Something that became more common in the ’90s and 2000’s. We’re talking hard-fought victories.
Waltrip wound up winning 84 races across his career. His biggest failing was just not knowing when to hang it up. 1992 was the last winning season he had. He won three races that year and finished 9th in the final points standings. He remained somewhat competitive, despite not winning, until 1996. That year was the worst full-time season of his career to that point. It never got much better after that. He continued to putter around the field for three more years before finally hanging it up in 1999. Hate to say it, but that sentence should read, “gratefully hanging it up.” That sounds harsh, but there are few things sadder in NASCAR than watching a legend trying to keep up with the rest of the field and failing.
A Decline & Resurgence
That wasn’t a problem unique to Darrell, though. Many drivers continued to race past their prime. Even “The King,” Richard Petty, kept going for too long. His last win was in 1984, but he didn’t retire until the end of the 1992 season. Those years, from 1988 onwards, were especially bad. But while Petty would spend his retirement as a car owner and embodiment of the sport, Darrell would still be involved in the weekly racing scene more publicly.
The 2001 NASCAR season was a momentous one in good and bad ways. NASCAR had inked a deal that finally gave it a coherent schedule. Previously, the only way to find out what channel a race was going to be broadcast on was to comb through the TV Guide. There was no overall contract with networks. A racetrack could ink a deal with a channel to cover the race. ESPN, TNN, ABC, CBS; you get the idea. The 2001 schedule was easy. Fox had inked a deal to cover the first half of the season. TNT would have some races in the middle, and NBC would round out the back 40% or so. This meant that Fox needed to assemble a broadcast team. And there was Darrell Waltrip. Freshly retired. Very talkative. Well liked by fans and drivers.
The Best Broadcast Team & the Worst First Day Imaginable
Fox’s in-booth lineup featured Waltrip as the color commentator, former crew chief Larry McReynolds as the technical expert, and Mike Joy as the lap-by-lap commentator. That lineup would remain the same for 15 consecutive seasons. That’s one of the longest-running sports broadcasting teams in television history. And it worked incredibly well. Even though their first day was also one of the most tragic days in NASCAR. Their first official race call for the then Winston Cup Series was the 2001 Daytona 500. It’s the race that claimed the life of Dale Earnhardt.
Watching that race was amazing at the time. Darrell’s younger brother, Michael Waltrip, won the race, his first, in his very first start with Earnhardt’s racing team. The last-lap crash that claimed Earnhardt’s life was also Michael Waltrip’s victory. When you watch the race broadcast with hindsight, you can see Darrell is going through a range of emotions. He’s professional through the whole race, encouraged to let his emotions out as he sees his brother about to win, and then the experienced driver instincts start to kick in. He’s crying because Michael won. But he also saw the wreck that Dale was in. He knows that there was a powerful amount of deceleration that happened when Earnhardt hit the wall. You hear him say during the victory celebration, “I sure hope Dale’s okay.” Because he knows something’s wrong.
A New Broadcaster With an Old Soul
Later, a documentary about that day would reveal more about what was happening in the booth. This newly appointed team was starting to learn details that Earnhardt was unresponsive. They couldn’t talk about it, though. Confirmation of his status had to be obtained, family had to be notified, and boundaries had to be respected. Which they did. And because NASCAR drivers are very much like a large family, Darrell was also one of the first people to be there with Earnhardt’s family as the news was breaking.
To me, that whole event summarizes why I have so much respect for Darrell Waltrip as a figure in NASCAR and as a broadcaster. His love and passion for racing is matched by his love and passion for the people in the sport. He loves to watch a good race, and you could hear that love. To tackle a day like the 2001 Daytona 500 as your first REAL day on the job and even want to show up the next week… that’s tough. That’s heart.
Passion & Excitement for the Sport
But away from tragedy, he could be so much fun when the race was down to the wire. One of his greatest race calls was at Darlington in 2003. There was an epic battle taking place between Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch for the win. Busch was desperately trying to hold onto the lead in the final laps. Craven had the faster car in certain parts of the track, but the problem was trying to get around Busch without wrecking himself. They were side-by-side, smashing into each other’s side panels on the final lap. Somehow, by .002 seconds, Craven barely managed to cross the start/finish line first. Mike Joy asks in astonishment, “Have you ever-” and before you can tell if that was the full question or there was more to come, Darrell Waltrip exclaims just as enthusiastically, “NO I’VE NEVER!”
That kind of banter, that kind of energy, made watching race broadcasts so much fun. Even Darrell’s laughably bad but endearing catchphrase, “Boogity, boogity, boogity; let’s go racing boys!” is heartwarming to look back on. Which makes the news about his recent diagnosis so much harder to take. And now we’ve come back around to the problems old DW is facing.
Darrell Waltrip’s Diagnosis
On September 23rd, Darrell’s family announced he’s stepping back from public appearances. Waltrip had retired from broadcasting in 2019. Even then, he would still interact with fans at races and such. But the family notification revealed something pretty saddening. As they put it, Darrel “has been diagnosed with Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) complicated by possible Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) — likely from injuries incurred during his racing career.” If there’s any kind of consolation at all to be had in this, it’s that he’s 79 years old right now and again, his family notes, “While this disease will inevitably progress, thankfully it is currently limited to some minor noticeable symptoms.”
As someone who has seen a lot of family and friends pass away, that’s not nearly as bad as it could be. Many of us would be lucky to reach that stage in life at all, let alone with minor symptoms of a degenerative brain disease. If every day is a gift to spend with those we love, 79 years is a blessing in its own way. And I want to give credit to Waltrip’s family for being open about CTE. It would’ve been easy not to mention the impact racing injuries had on DW. Like Dale Earnhardt Jr., though, they’re putting it right out there. Jr. has already mentioned that he’ll be leaving his brain for medical studies because of the dangers of CTE. Waltrip also appears to be noting the issue and putting it up front. Not easy to discuss, but bless him for doing so.
Darrell Waltrip – This One’s For You
That’s why I wanted to talk about Darrel Waltrip now. As this news is being announced. I wanted to showcase his talents as a driver and a broadcaster while he’s in the news cycle. And I wanted to do it in a personal way that other outlets aren’t going to do themselves. If you’ve read this far, you’ve got the facts. But you also got a fan’s perspective on what the guy meant to at least one specific fan. I highly doubt that DW or his family will come across this piece. If they do, though, I want to say something to them.
The days ahead are going to be tough at times. I watched my dad slowly die from cancer. He was a NASCAR fan who grew up as a friend of Richie Evans. Dad got me into watching races, and I’ll always love him for it. I remember the good days, and I don’t let the bad ones detract from them. When you watch a loved one fade away, it can take a heavy emotional toll, but we all process things differently.
Take whatever productive path forward through grief and acceptance that you can. Be strong and allow yourself to be weak when you need to feel that way. Give love and embrace love whenever you can. And remember what, to me, was the greatest challenge: think not of the limited days in the future, but of the wonderful times that you’ve had so far. That we had the miracle of sharing the same time and space together for any amount of time at all. There’s beauty in that, and it will never be sullied.
