Fast Facts: Darrell Waltrip

NASCAR Cup Series champion Darrell Waltrip, one of five 2012 inductees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, was nicknamed “Jaws” by fellow inductee and former driver Cale Yarborough because of his outspoken nature and aggressive driving style. Here are a few fast facts about the originator of “Boogity, boogity, boogity” on the NASCAR on FOX broadcasts, who was NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver in 1989 and 1990.

• Darrell Lee Waltrip was born February 5th, 1947 and grew up in Owensboro, Kentucky, racing go-karts as a youth then switching to more powerful stock cars both on dirt and on asphalt. He and his wife Stevie live in Franklin, Tennessee and have two daughters, Jessica and Sara.
• Waltrip got his professional start at Nashville Speedway, quickly earning a reputation as a skillful driver and as someone not afraid to speak his mind. In 1972, he made his NASCAR Winston Cup Series debut in the Talladega 500, finishing 38th following an engine failure.
• Waltrip earned his first of his 84 Cup Series win at his home track in Nashville. Waltrip excelled at the short tracks, especially Bristol (TN) Motor Speedway, where he won 12 races, and Martinsville (VA) Speedway, where he won eight poles. He went on to win three Cup Series championships in 1981, 1982 and 1985, each with legendary driver and car owner Junior Johnson, who was a member of the first NASCAR Hall of Fame class in 2010.
• Following his time with Johnson (1981 to 1986), Waltrip joined Hendrick Motorsports from 1987 to 1990. In 1989, he won his first and only Daytona 500 and entertained fans with his version of the “Ickey Shuffle” (the touchdown dance performed by Cincinnati Bengal fullback Elbert “Ickey” Woods). Waltrip spent time as an owner/driver from 1991 to 1998 before retiring from driving in 2000; he also spent a few years as a Truck Series team owner in the 2000s.
• Waltrip’s first race as a broadcaster with Fox was the 2001 Daytona 500, which was won by his younger brother Michael ; he later learned he had lost his good friend Dale Earnhardt, who was Michael’s team owner, in a last lap crash. Waltrip is now best-known for his green-flag catch-phrase “Boogity, boogity, boogity – let’s go racing, boys!” on the Fox broadcasts; he was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Event Analyst in 2007, and is signed with Fox through the 2014 season.
• Find out more about the NASCAR Hall of Fame at http://www.nascarhall.com/.