Darrell Waltrip, one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history, also happens to be one of its greatest storytellers.
He no longer will be telling them in public.
The three-time Cup Series champion will be "stepping further away from the public limelight," as the Waltrip family put it Wednesday, Sept. 25, in a statement that disclosed Waltrip, 79, has been diagnosed with a degenerative brain disease
.As the racing community processed the news, others filled in for Waltrip, who told many of his stories from the NASCAR on FOX broadcast booth. Waltrip's stories connected generations of fans to racing for almost two decades after his nearly 30-year NASCAR career driving for the likes of legendary team owner Rick Hendrick.
Hendrick, during an interview
with USA TODAY Sports, said of Waltrip, "He would tell me, 'Hey, I'm driving my guts out. And I look up at my mirror and it's almost the end of the race and (driver) David Pearson would flick his cigarette out the window and here he'd come.
“He wasn't afraid to mix it up with Bobby Allison or anybody else, you know?"
As Waltrip takes a step back, here are some of the NASCAR legend's defining moments, told by those who knew him best.
Darrell Waltrip: 'The John Madden of NASCAR'
Waltrip made his first start on the Winston Cup Series in 1972 at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. He made his debut as a color analyst in the NASCAR on FOX broadcast in 2001 at the Daytona 500.
David Hill, then chairman of Fox Sports Media Group, said Waltrip cried as his brother Michael won the race. The tears continued when Dale Earnhardt hit the wall on the final turn of the final lap in a crash that killed the racing legend.
“It was one of the most remarkable things I've seen, from tears of joy with his brother winning the Daytona 500 to bitter tears of sorrow when he realized that Dale Earnhardt had died," Hill told USA TODAY Sports. "It was something I'll never, ever forget.
"And we did a program later that night where Darrell spoke from his heart about how important Dale Earnhardt was and had been to NASCAR. It was incredible.
"He's an incredible human being, incredibly articulate and was able to explain the intricacies of the sport to the public in a manner. He was the John Madden of NASCAR.’’
Waltrip's nickname was "Jaws," because of his penchant for talking. His signature line was "Boogity, boogity boogity, let's go racing boys!"
At times he rankled viewers, NASCAR officials and drivers with his opinions, said Larry McReynolds, who worked side-by-side with Waltrip in the broadcast booth from 2001 to 2015.
"He invited fans one time to meet him in the Kmart parking lot in Franklin, Tennessee, if they didn't like what he had to say or (if) they didn't like the way he drove race cars," McReynolds told USA TODAY Sports.
'That was the deal': Darrell Waltrip, others, raced injured
Driver Kenny Schrader recalled the time Waltrip raced a lap with a broken leg to keep alive his championship points. It was around he same time Waltrip became the first driver to make $500,000 in annual salary.
"Now, that kind of money seemed like unbelievable amount of money at the time," Schrader, who drove with Waltrip for Hendrick Motorsports from 1988 to 1990, told USA TODAY Sports. "But you're climbing in this damn thing with a broken leg too, you know?"
Schrader suggested that Waltrip, like other drivers of his era, routinely raced with concussions. The Waltrip family said Darrell Waltrip's condition was "complicated by possible chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) – likely from injuries incurred during his racing career." CTE is a brain disease caused by repeated head injuries.
But when Waltrip raced, during a career that spanned from 1972 to 2000, drivers often stayed behind the wheel rather than let a backup driver take over, according to Schrader.
"That was that was the deal then, though," he said. "You didn't get out of your car, right? There's nothing worse than watching someone else drive your car."
'Jaws' could be quiet, when he was helping others
In 1987, Waltrip and his wife, Stevie, helped establish Motor Racing Outreach (MRO), a trackside ministry that accompanies NASCAR during a season that lasts about nine months.
It's one of the few things "Jaws" did quietly.
"He raised so much money to feed people," said Hendrick, the NASCAR team owner. "And he never talked a lot about it, but he did a lot about it."
Marcus Smith, a member of MRO's board of trustees, said Waltrip was involved in and effort to build playgrounds at racetracks. It was something his two daughters and other children could enjoy when they were away from home.
"That is really an amazing kind of human story aside from the competitor," Smith, president & CEO Speedway Motorsports, told USA TODAY Sports. "An amazing legacy that he was a key part of … very integral behind the scenes."
Making amends: The Darrell Waltrip, Rich Bickle Jr. feud
"Barnyard to Brickyard," a book published in 2019 offers an unflattering portrayal of Waltrip. The book was written by Rich Bickle Jr., who drove for Waltrip on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 1997 after Waltrip started his own racing team.
Bickle captured all three of his career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victories with Waltrip. But he blamed Waltrip for undermining his career and, according to the book, their relationship ended with a physical altercation in 1997.
About 15 years later, Bickle said, he got a call from his former boss and nemesis. Waltrip wanted to give him the No. 17 Sears DieHard Chevrolet in which Bickle won his three races, Bickle told USA TODAY Sports.
Bickle said got the call in 2023 and said at first he thought it was an April Fool's joke. Since then, he said he's let "bygones be bygones."
The truck is on display at the Southeastern Wisconsin Short Track Hall of Fame in Hartford, according to hall president Dick Melius. Bickle, who is from Edgerton, Wisconsin, was inducted in 2015.
"I know there was a falling out when Rich left (Waltrip’s team) and so forth," Melius said. "I was really glad that they settled that.
"Obviously, we're overjoyed to have (the truck) in our museum."
It may be one of the few racing stories Waltrip has never told in public.
"Darrell was a born-again Christian, and it was almost like he was selling the religion of NASCAR," said Hill, the former FOX Sports executive. "He was prophetizing, if you will."
Amen.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Darrell Waltrip's stories defined NASCAR. Racing legends are telling his tales now
