Darrell Waldrips Head

Greg said:
The grey haired old man has my respect. Glad I got to see him race when he was in his prime.
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Hard to believe DW is 71! I missed his "prime" but I do remember the Tide Ride years and his early success with his own team.
 
KodiakRusty89 said:
Hard to believe DW is 71! I missed his "prime" but I do remember the Tide Ride years and his early success with his own team.
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I think his best driving was in the earlier years. The DiGard Gatorade # 88, and the first two years with Junior Johnson in the Mountain Dew # 11.

He dominanted in the Mountain Dew car.
 
KodiakRusty89 said:
Hard to believe DW is 71! I missed his "prime" but I do remember the Tide Ride years and his early success with his own team.
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I didn't see him in his prime either, I think he was driving the Tide car when I started watching NASCAR, and even then he was still pretty good. Unfortunately DW fell into the owner/driver trap like so many other drivers did in the 90's. Aside from Kulwicki, the results of that were usually all the same...competitive for the first couple years then mostly downhill thereafter.
 
Greg said:
The grey haired old man has my respect. Glad I got to see him race when he was in his prime.
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He was THE MAN at Bristol. And, that was back when Bristol was smash mouth racing. Three time champ too. He gets a little annoying, but he's earned his spot in the sports Hall of Fame.
 
Lotsa people may not know the DW used to wear the black hat and intimidated many. Guys like Dale and Rusty were good at Bristol but DW was in a whole different level.
 
Snappy D said:
I wish I was around earlier to see DW in his prime, I would have loved his @ss kicking mixed with the brash attitude. My earliest memories of him are the 17 Tide Ride and 17 Western Auto. Much respect to DW
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We must either be about the same age and/or started watching NASCAR around the same time. DW was also really good at 'Dega and Daytona in the Tide Ride but only had the '89 500 to show for it.

I was at the Pocono race in '98 (Mayfield's first win) when he took the lead in Parks #1. The crowd went nuts before reality set in a bit. He still had a good finish iirc.
 
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KodiakRusty89 said:
Hard to believe DW is 71! I missed his "prime" but I do remember the Tide Ride years and his early success with his own team.
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You're obviously a Rusty fan. Rusty could wheel with the best of them. He was one of the greats that came out of the ASA series. Youve probably seen it already, if not, check out The Winston 1989. Rusty and DW had a little run in. It was a great show.
 
Just spotted this thread and wanted to speak up for DW. I’ve been around racing a long time and saw Waltrip in his earliest days. He was talented, a guy who knew how to work on his car (and did...he was a master of chassis setup). Darrell waged some great battles with the legends, while being at the forefront of that era’s “next generation”. He admires KDB because he reminds him of himself. DW got the nickname “Jaws” for good reason. He had a big mouth and he was deadly on the track. He took big risks and wanted to dominate. He grew in his faith during his racing days, which led him to become a bit more humble within the racing community.

I’ve enjoyed him on Fox over the years. His gimmicks grew old, and he’s not as sharp with the wit as previously, but he still connects us to the Southern good ole boy heritage that is Nascar. He and Dale Sr really battled over the years. Thanks DW for all you’ve brought to the sport.
 
Conover said:
Just spotted this thread and wanted to speak up for DW. I’ve been around racing a long time and saw Waltrip in his earliest days. He was talented, a guy who knew how to work on his car (and did...he was a master of chassis setup). Darrell waged some great battles with the legends, while being at the forefront of that era’s “next generation”. He admires KDB because he reminds him of himself. DW got the nickname “Jaws” for good reason. He had a big mouth and he was deadly on the track. He took big risks and wanted to dominate. He grew in his faith during his racing days, which led him to become a bit more humble within the racing community.

I’ve enjoyed him on Fox over the years. His gimmicks grew old, and he’s not as sharp with the wit as previously, but he still connects us to the Southern good ole boy heritage that is Nascar. He and Dale Sr really battled over the years. Thanks DW for all you’ve brought to the sport.
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Agree 100 %, excellent summary.
 
The gray paired with the length of it had me laughing the other day it's like he looks balder than he is but his head is skewed forward or something.
 
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