by Thomas K. Bowles
After a 29-year career, Darrell Waltrip will put on his driving suit, fire the engine, and race for what will probably be the final time in the Winston Cup Series this Sunday at Atlanta. Barring an incredible run, the final stats will read 809 starts, 84 wins, 276 Top 5's, 390 Top 10's, 59 Poles, and over $19 million in career winnings.
You could spend article after article talking about Darrell's stats, and they should pretty much speak for themselves. Unfortunately, to the majority of fans they're nothing more than numbers on paper. I remember reading a column this year about the first Talladega race, in which Darrell struggled throughout and fell off the lead draft early. Apparently, the majority of race fans jeered and made fun of Darrell as he ran around the track, calling for the "old man" to get off the track for good and make room for some young gun to take his place. All the time, reporters talk about a driver who has "fallen from grace" and a former champion who has stayed on far too long.
I'm not about to stand here and say, even as a diehard fan of Darrell for a dozen years, that he is leaving the sport at the top of his game. He's not. For whatever reason: bad equipment, bad chemistry, bad decisions, and/or a slight drop in driving ability- things haven't worked out for Darrell with Travis Carter. It's not that they haven't tried - for 2 years everyone associated with the 66 team, especially Travis and Darrell, have tried everything they know how to make the car driveable and Darrell competitive. Unfortunately, this was Darrell's last chance - there was no looking for another ride, no trying again with a new team. Every once in a while, they put it together (Indy being the one example this year), but for the most part, it's been a horrible on track performance during the Victory Tour, and I'm sure if Darrell knew how the last 2 years of his career would have turned out here, he'd have ended his career in 1998.
The one thing fans, and even reporters, don't seem to understand is that the person most disappointed with Darrell's performances is DW himself. While his fans have felt the pain and suffering that goes with each abysmal run, they can only imagine what it must be like for a former champion to find himself consistently running 40th on the track. There have been times it has been too much bear; he pulled the car off the track in Darlington earlier this year out of frustration with the car's handling, and has left a handful of others because he was just not competitive.
However, why should it matter at all? Why are people trying to let the last few years of Darrell's career tarnish his reputation? Richard Petty didn't win a race the last eight years of his career, and we never hear about his terrible ending, which was just as bad, if not worse, than Darrell's recent performances. I keep thinking about what Michael Waltrip said in an interview earlier this year. It was around the time that Jack Nicklaus was struggling to keep his golf career alive in the U.S. Open, and while he was struggling just to make the cut fans and golfers alike were still trying to find some way to keep Nicklaus playing on the majors in the PGA Tour.
Michael said, "Why can't people be talking about Darrell that way (praising his accomplishments)? Why cant they be saying Man, this is going to be the last time we see Darrell Waltrip in a Winston Cup car? Please just grasp this moment, he's meant so much to this sport. He's going to be gone.' Instead we're saying, 'Look at him. He had to use a provisional again.'...It doesn't seem fair."
All you fans who are new to the sport, you need to take a look at some of those Classic NASCAR races in the offseason, from the 1980s and even the early 1990s. There was a reason Darrell Waltrip was named Driver of the 1980s - because he dominated the sport. There was a time when Darrell Waltrip won 12 races in back to back seasons (1981-82). He won 42 races in a span of five years (1979-1983). That's more than all but a handful of drivers have won in their entire CAREER. And we're criticizing this man because he's riding a round a second or two off the leader's pace?? Who cares? It doesn't matter whether Darrell finishes 1st or 41st, he's earned the right to be on the race track as long as he wants to be there. From a fan's standpoint, my confidence has never wavered, and based on his 1998 performances in Steve Park's car (where he registered a Top 5 and 2 Top 10s in 13 starts) who's to say he still can't get the job done in a different situation?
On top of his incredible career, Darrell has shown himself to be a wonderful person off the track. A family man, he has had a loving relationship with his wife Stevie for over 30 years, and has two daughters who he deeply cares for. He is also a deeply religious man, with a strong belief in God and in reaching out and helping other people. I am so proud to follow Waltrip not just because of his racing ability, but because of the good-hearted person he is. All those who have insulted him in these last few years should be ashamed of themselves.
So this weekend, take some time, one final time, to appreciate Darrell and what he's meant for this sport. Sure, he'll be an award winning broadcaster next year, a job which certainly complements his outspoken personality, but it won't be the same. Because Darrell Waltrip won't be driving around the track, and I'll no longer have a favorite driver to root for. Sure, in time I'll find someone new, I imagine, but nobody can replace the superb driver and even better person that Darrell Waltrip is.