DARRELL WALTRIP - 02/05/1947
after a successful career in the NASCAR series and being a NASCAR Champion in 1981, 1982, & 1985. After his 2000 retirement, Waltrip signed with Fox, to be lead NASCAR analyst and race commentator on the network's NASCAR telecasts, teaming with Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds. Waltrip had previously appeared on several IROC broadcasts for ABC, prior to his signing during the 1999, and 2000 seasons. Waltrip began his career with Fox, in the 2001 Daytona 500, the first race of 2001. His younger brother, Michael Waltrip, won the race, but Michael's victory was overshadowed by the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt and Waltrip were bitter rivals on the track during the 1980s. Earnhardt envied Waltrip's status as NASCAR's top driver. But, as the year's passed, the rivalry and bitterness gave way to a deep respect and close friendship between the two. On the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, Waltrip's joy at his brother's victory turned to sadness and grief on live national television as Waltrip called the final moments of the race. Earnhardt's car made contact with the car driven by Sterling Marlin. After Earnhardt's car contacted the Marlin car, Earnhardt's car suddenly veered right, and slammed hard into the retaining wall in turn four while simultaneously being contacted by the car driven by Ken Schrader. Earnhardt had died instantly during the crash from a basilar skull fracture. Waltrip later gave the invocation at the Earnhardt funeral and gave the invocation at the following week's race praying for Earnhardt and the promise of
moving on from the tragedy. A week after Daytona, Waltrip interviewed NASCAR President Mike Helton for a pre-race segment during the broadcast at North Carolina Speedway (Rockingham). Waltrip believed that four deaths in the previous ten months, all caused by basilar skull fractures incurred in accidents, were too many, and was not shy about asking Helton for an explanation. As a long-time advocate for motorsports safety, Waltrip then pushed for mandatory head-and-neck restraints, and two weeks later, demonstrated the device during the broadcast at Atlanta Motor Speedway, explaining the benefits and how the device worked. Seven months later, NASCAR mandated the devices after a crash during an ARCA Re/Max Series race, held after qualifying for the UAW-GM Quality 500, killed driver Blaise Alexander. Waltrip also lends his unique verbage to his commentary, speaking of "coop-petetion" when racers work together, but keep each other under a watchful eye, "s'perince" when talking about driving skills of a veteran driver, and "using the chrome horn", when a driver somewhat purposefully bumps a car that's in the way (bumpers on cars used to be made of metal and coated in chrome). In early 2007, Waltrip was nominated for an Emmy in the category "Outstanding Event Analyst". In March, 2011, FOX awarded Waltrip a 2-year contract extension, taking him through 2014, the same year the network’s NASCAR contract ends (although the broadcast contract has been extended to 2024).
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