Darrell Waltrip Biography

Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports analyst, author, national television broadcaster, and former racing driver. He is also a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion (1981, 1982, 1985) and a three-time NASCAR Cup Series runner-up (1979, 1983, 1986). 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, 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 second for all-time pole positions with 59, including all-time 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 5's and 390 Top 10's. Winning $19,886,666.00 in posted earnings, he became the first NASCAR driver to be awarded over $10 million in race winnings, more than $26 million in today's currency. Waltrip 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 a decade after his retirement as an active driver.

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