Darrell Waltrip

Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports analyst, author as well as a former national television broadcaster and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series (known as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series during his time as a driver), most notably driving the No. 11 Chevrolet for Junior Johnson. Waltrip is a three-time Cup Series champion (1981, 1982, 1985). Posting a modern NASCAR series record of 22 top five finishes in 1983 and 21 top five finishes both in 1981 and 1986, Waltrip won 84 NASCAR Cup Series races throughout his career, including the 1989 Daytona 500, a record five in the Coca-Cola 600 (formerly the World 600) (1978, 1979, 1985, 1988, 1989), and a track and Series record for any driver at Bristol Motor Speedway with 12 (seven consecutive from 1981 to 1984). Those victories tie him with Bobby Allison for fourth on the NASCAR's all-time wins list in the Cup Series and place him second to Jeff Gordon for the most wins in NASCAR's modern era. He is ranked fifth for all-time pole positions with 59, including all-time modern era highs with 35 on short tracks and eight on road courses. Competing in 809 Cup starts over four decades and 29 years (1972–2000), he has scored 271 Top 5s and 390 Top 10s. Winning nearly $19.9 million in posted earnings, he became the first NASCAR driver to be awarded over $10 million in career race winnings. Waltrip has additionally won 13 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series races, seven American Speed Association (ASA) races, three IROC races, two Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) races, two NASCAR All-American Challenge Series events, two All Pro Racing Association races, and a USAC race. He competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona. He also holds the all-time track record 67 wins at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tennessee, including NASCAR, USAC, ASA, and local Late Model Sportsman NASCAR sanctioned series races. He still holds many NASCAR records, more than two decades after his retirement as an active driver. He has also won many awards in NASCAR.