Most younger NASCAR fans remember Darrell Waltrip for his nearly longtime stint as a broadcaster with Fox Sports. After all, his trademark call — "Boogity, boogity, boogity, let's go racing boys and girls!" — kicked off Cup races for nearly 20 years. But, if your knowledge of NASCAR history doesn't extend too much further than the early 2000s, then you may not be all that familiar with what Waltrip accomplished as a driver. Waltrip accrued 84 wins and 390 top-10 finishes in the NASCAR Cup Series, winning three Cup titles and two Most Popular Driver awards along the way.
Aside from his Hall-of-Fame-caliber accomplishments behind the wheel, Waltrip was also the king of the interview. Simply put, the man's been a character since day one. Take his interview the day of the 1991 Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, for example. Well, technically it was supposed to be the day of the Winston 500, but a rain delay had other things in mind. Before the race was officially postponed though, renowned racing commentator Dr. Jerry Punch took the opportunity to interview Waltrip, who was the owner-driver of the now-defunct Darrell Waltrip Motorsports. As you can see from the below clip, Waltrip showcased some of the charisma that led to him later becoming a legendary broadcaster.
During the interview, Waltrip switched between driver and owner in what can only be described as peak Darrell. Then, Ernie Irvan shows up and the two riff for a little bit before Jerry wraps it up. Hilarious stuff!
The Winston 500 — which later became the DieHard 500, the Talladega 500, and the Aaron's 499 — was delayed until the following Monday, and Waltrip actually ended up placing second in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series race. Clearly, DW could race just as well as he talked!
