Variety Spices NASCAR Hall of Fame’s Third Class

Variety Spices NASCAR Hall of Fame’s Third Class

Legends Inman, Waltrip, Wood, Yarborough, Evans Enshrined In Charlotte Ceremonies

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Jan. 20, 2012) — “A legend for everyone” describes the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s third class of inductees enshrined tonight, Friday, Jan. 20.

 

Here’s the versatile list. Dale Inman – an eight-time champion, he’s the first to be inducted based on his primary role as a crew chief. Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough – a pair of three-time NASCAR premier series champions, who won a combined 167 races. Glen Wood – the legendary car owner whose team has raced in seven decades, compiling 98 wins. And the late Richie Evans – a nine-time NASCAR Modified champion, the first to be inducted from outside NASCAR’s premier division.

 

Their induction ceremony – held in the Crown Ballroom of the Charlotte Convention Center – increased the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s membership to 15.

 

Inman, Richard Petty’s cousin, is generally credited with inventing the modern role of crew chief. He won seven championships with Petty Enterprises and an eighth with Billy Hagan and driver Terry Labonte in 1984. Randleman County, N.C.’s Inman, 75, who retired from the sport in 1998, won 193 times. The list of current NASCAR Sprint Cup crew chiefs learning at Inman’s side is a lengthy one.

 

“I’m kind of familiar with this ring,” said Inman, referring to his NASCAR Hall of Fame ring. “For the last two or three years Richard has put it in my face a bunch of times.”

 

As host Mike Joy said, “Tonight, Dale Inman and Richard are together again, as NASCAR Hall of Fame members.”

 

Like Ned Jarrett, a member of the second class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Waltrip is both champion driver and distinguished television broadcaster. Waltrip won championships in 1981-82 and 1985 driving for NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson. The Owensboro, Ky., native won 84 times in 809 starts ranking fourth on the all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup victory list with Bobby Allison, also a member of the Hall’s second class. Waltrip, 64, has been the lead NASCAR on FOX analyst since 2001.

 

“I was telling [wife] Stevie earlier this week that I hoped I wouldn’t get emotional tonight, but she reminded me ‘Honey, you always get emotional about the things you are passionate about,’” Waltrip said. “This night, these men, and the people in this room, they’re what inspire me.”

 

Wood, a four-time NASCAR premier series winner, left the driver’s seat to own the fabled No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford team. With his four brothers, who include NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee and crew chief Leonard Wood, the organization counts 98 victories, including its fifth Daytona 500 win in 2011 with 20-year-old Trevor Bayne. Those who drove for the 86-year-old Wood’s Stuart, Va.-based team included fellow inductee Yarborough, NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson, A.J. Foyt and road racer Dan Gurney.

 

“This is not just about me being inducted in the Hall of Fame,” said Wood. ”It’s also about the Wood Brothers. And it’s about NASCAR. And I’m proud to have been a NASCAR driver and car owner for the past 60 years, and I’m proud of this great honor.”

 

Yarborough, a native of Sardis, S.C., made NASCAR premier series history in 1978 when he won his third consecutive championship, a record that stood until Jimmie Johnson claimed his fourth straight title in 2009. Yarborough, now 72, won 83 times – sixth all-time – including four Daytona 500s. The majority of his wins came in cars fielded by Junior Johnson.

 

“Racing is like a big, tall ladder,” Yarborough said. “When you begin, you’re at the bottom. And it’s a long, hard climb. And tonight, I feel like I’m standing on the top step.”

 

Evans, nicknamed the “Rapid Roman” by virtue of racing out of Rome, N.Y., won nine championships over a 13-year span – including eight in a row – driving modified stock cars, primarily a race car fashioned from pre-World War II coupes and sedans powered by high horsepower engines. His bright orange No. 61 cars became legendary throughout the northeastern U.S. Evans won an estimated 475 times frequently racing seven nights a week. He lost his life at the age of 44 in 1985 practicing for a race at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia, having clinched his ninth championship a week prior.

 

“I know you’re here in spirit as the number 61 [Evans’ racing number] appears often in my life, even as I checked into the hotel the number 61 came up,” said Lynn Evans, who accepted on her departed husband’s behalf. “I’d especially like to thank the Hall of Fame voting panel for stepping outside the box and making Rich the first driver inductee not to have raced in NASCAR’s top series full time. You have now given hope to thousands of NASCAR competitors throughout the country to maybe someday reach their dream. “

 

The inductors for the five inductees: crew chief Billy Nacewicz for Evans; Richard Petty for Dale Inman; Jeff Hammond for Darrell Waltrip; Leonard Wood for Glen Wood; and Ken Squier for Cale Yarborough.

Special congratulatory videos opened each inductee’s segment, with a NASCAR legend starring in each. Those involved: Jerry Cook for Evans; Leonard Wood for Inman; Bobby Allison for Waltrip; Junior Johnson for Wood; and Donnie Allison for Yarborough.

The five inductee exhibits officially open Sunday, Jan. 22 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

DARRELL WALTRIP

DARRELL WALTRIP

b. 2/5/47)

Hometown: Franklin, Tenn.

Competed: 1972-2000

Starts: 809

Wins: 84

Poles: 59

A three-time NASCAR premier series champion (1981-82, ’85), Waltrip won all three with legendary driver/owner Junior Johnson. Waltrip is tied with Bobby Allison for third all-time in series victories with 84. His 59 poles rank fifth all-time in NASCAR Sprint Cup history. He competed from 1972-2000, another highlight being his 1989 Daytona 500 victory in a Rick Hendrick-owned Chevrolet.

Waltrip’s first series title came in 1981, when he finished with 12 wins and 21 top fives in 31 races. He won the title by 53 points over Bobby Allison. In his second championship season, 1982, he finished with 12 wins and 20 top 10s in 30 races, sweeping both races at four tracks (Nashville, Bristol, Talladega and North Wilkesboro). In his third championship season, 1985, Waltrip finished with three wins and 21 top 10s in 28 races.

Waltrip and his wife, Stevie, reside in Franklin, Tenn. He was nicknamed “Jaws” during his career because of an outspoken demeanor. He currently is a commentator on FOX’s NASCAR broadcasts. He was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics

Year Age Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Rank AvSt AvFn RAF Miles LLF 1972 25 5 of 31 0 1 3 0 1211 7 59 18.6 16.4 3 1658.8 0 1973 26 19 of 28 0 1 5 0 3783 50 29 10.6 21.3 8 5363.4 0 1974 27 16 of 30 0 7 11 1 4649 103 8 10.3 12.6 11 6024.8 1 1975 28 28 of 30 2 11 14 2 7240 562 8 8.4 15.5 13 7584.4 4 1976 29 30 of 30 1 10 12 3 7780 534 8 6.2 17.4 14 8235.4 4 1977 30 30 of 30 6 16 24 3 9301 948 4 5.0 8.3 23 10733.7 12 1978 31 30 of 30 6 19 20 2 9445 2173 3 5.9 10.4 21 10715.8 12 1979 32 31 of 31 7 19 22 5 9994 2130 2 4.8 7.0 30 11947.3 13 1980 33 31 of 31 5 16 17 5 9015 2022 5 5.1 12.8 19 9935.7 10 1981 34 31 of 31 12 21 25 11 9575 2517 1 5.3 7.2 27 11149.6 22 1982 35 30 of 30 12 17 20 7 9455 3026 1 3.8 9.1 22 10734.7 15 1983 36 30 of 30 6 22 25 7 9403 2363 2 7.1 7.7 26 10667.3 20 1984 37 30 of 30 7 13 20 4 9464 2030 5 5.9 11.2 27 10618.1 15 1985 38 28 of 28 3 18 21 4 8933 969 1 8.3 7.3 23 11098.0 17 1986 39 29 of 29 3 21 22 1 8327 573 2 8.6 10.0 22 10050.4 17 1987 40 29 of 29 1 6 16 0 8996 310 4 12.3 11.2 27 11203.3 9 1988 41 29 of 29 2 10 14 2 9065 520 7 10.1 13.5 25 10887.4 11 1989 42 29 of 29 6 14 18 0 9333 858 4 8.4 11.9 26 10972.5 15 1990 43 23 of 29 0 5 12 0 8138 297 20 13.5 12.4 23 9265.3 8 1991 44 29 of 29 2 5 17 0 9229 203 8 12.8 13.6 23 10877.0 11 1992 45 29 of 29 3 10 13 1 8706 513 9 13.7 14.6 25 10216.5 10 1993 46 30 of 30 0 4 10 0 9194 151 13 21.6 16.8 25 10791.2 13 1994 47 31 of 31 0 4 13 0 9905 60 9 24.2 15.8 30 11999.6 10 1995 48 31 of 31 0 4 8 1 8222 168 19 17.0 22.2 20 9557.5 8 1996 49 31 of 31 0 0 2 0 7766 2 29 26.6 25.9 20 8940.7 6 1997 50 31 of 32 0 1 4 0 8427 18 26 25.7 23.2 26 10947.0 9 1998 51 33 of 33 0 1 2 0 8995 17 24 35.0 24.8 28 11891.8 7 1999 52 27 of 34 0 0 0 0 7204 3 37 30.9 27.8 23 8941.6 3 2000 53 29 of 34 0 0 0 0 7018 5 37 31.5 31.8 22 9719.5 4 29 years 809 84 276 390 59 237773 23132 13.7 15.2 632 282728.3 286

Rapid Roman’ Richie Evans Rode Orange Chariot Into History

‘Rapid Roman’ Richie Evans Rode Orange Chariot Into History  

 January 18, 2012

 New York Star Won Nine NASCAR Modified Series Titles In Hall Of Fame Career

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 18, 2012) – Richard Ernest “Richie” Evans certainly was the face of NASCAR – and modified racing – in the northeast, winning an estimated 475 times in approximately 1,300 starts. It equates to a win in every three starts (a 36.5% clip), something unheard of in modern racing at any level.

 

Evans will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Friday, one of five members of the Hall’s third class comprised of the New York native, legendary crew chief Dale Inman, team owner Glen Wood and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough. He is the first of 15 inductees without a connection to NASCAR’s premier series.

 

The 2012 enshrinement ceremony kicks off NASCAR Acceleration 2012 weekend, which includes the NASCAR Preview 2012 Presented by Sprint, where fans can interact with the sport’s legends and current stars in person, get autographs and catch a sneak peek at the upcoming season. Fans can go to NASCARacceleration2012.com for more information.

 

Nicknamed the “Rapid Roman” by virtue of racing out of Rome, N.Y., he found a home in the modifieds – a car fashioned from pre-World War II coupes and sedans powered by high horsepower engines.

 

Evans won nine NASCAR national modified championships over a 13-year span, including eight consecutive titles from 1978-85. His signature No. 61 orange race car was a magnet for fans and a terror to his fellow competitors.

 

He worked on his own cars – up to 100 hours a week – and raced virtually every night of the week.

 

“Working with the car and working on it in the garage every week is an advantage,” Evans once said. “While I’m working on the car, I’m thinking about every lap I rode in that thing. It’s not like the mechanic who stood and watched it during the feature and then has to make some decisions.”

 

Evans lost his life at age 44 while practicing at Martinsville Speedway for the 1985 season finale of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. He’d earlier locked up the series’ first championship along with a fourth consecutive Whelen All-American Northeast Region title.

 

He was named one of NASCAR’s “50 Greatest Drivers” in 1998.

 

On Jan. 10, the New York State Senate adopted a resolution honoring Evans’ NASCAR Hall of Fame induction “remembering his extraordinary accomplishments in the racing area that were a direct result of his skill, dedication and commitment.”

 

“We are just so thrilled and excited. He has received a lot of rewards but this is the ultimate,” said his widow, Lynn, commenting on her husband’s election to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. “I know he is looking down and smiling ear to ear.”

 

Evans, one of six brothers and sisters, left his family’s Westernville, N.Y. home at the age of 16 to work as a gas station mechanic. In 1964 Evans began racing hobby stocks at Utica-Rome Speedway.

 

Evans’ first NASCAR championship came in 1973 – after a number of seasons winning race after race regardless of sanctioning body. The title snapped a two-year reign by fellow Rome resident Jerry Cook, who won four more championships before Evans reclaimed a crown in 1978 that he relinquished only after his passing.

 

The Evans-Cook rivalry was legendary – although they weren’t the only prominent figures in NASCAR modified racing, which included future NASCAR Sprint Cup star Geoffrey Bodine, Maynard Troyer, Ron Bouchard, Bugs Stevens, George Kent and Tom Baldwin Sr.

 

But they lived in the same town and each had a separate set of fans. Evans and Cook got along fine; the fans, however, were a different story. And they won every NASCAR Modified Series championship between 1971 and 1985.

 

The two also had distinctly different personalities. “The only thing we had in common was racing and there were times we didn’t even talk to each other,” said Cook, who became a NASCAR official following a racing career that ended in 1982 with nearly 350 victories. Cook currently is NASCAR’s Competition Administrator. “But we put on a show with it.

 

“He didn’t win everything. I beat him and other drivers beat him so it wasn’t like he won every single thing. But he did real well at it, that’s for sure.”

 

Evans won regularly and won with style and grace. He also was a promoter’s dream, his presence putting hundreds of additional folks in the grandstands.

 

“He was a hard-core guy, racing to put food on the table,” said John Bisci, a high school student who watched Evans race at Lancaster Speedway in New York and became the track’s program editor in 1976. Bisci is Public Relations Manager at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “You could talk to him any time. After the races he would give you an autograph and never said, ‘I’m too busy kid; come back later.’

 

“No matter how many times he won, nobody booed. He never disparaged the other drivers and told the fans, ‘I’m glad you were cheering for me.’ He was a ‘party guy’ but when it came time to race he was all business.”

 

NASCAR Sprint Cup owner Tommy Baldwin Jr., whose father competed against Evans, brought his No. 36 car to a recent event with an Evans retro paint scheme. “Richie was someone we all looked up to and when he came to town we knew we had to beat him to win,” said Baldwin. “He made us work harder and I think that prepared a lot of us for the Sprint Cup level.”

 

The color orange may not have made Evans’ cars go any faster – but it probably gave him a psychological edge in an era when few race cars were brightly painted. “He had a fast orange car in a sea of stock Detroit colors. There was no mistaking him for anyone else,” said Bisci. “You’d see him in the rear view mirror and you knew it was him that was coming.”

 

RICHIE EVANS

RICHIE EVANS

b. 7/23/41 – d. 10/24/85)
Hometown:Rome, N.Y.

Competed: 1973-85

Starts: 1,300 (estimated)

Wins: 475 (estimated)

The recognized “king” of Modified racing, Evans captured nine NASCAR Modified titles in a 13-year span, including eight in a row from 1978-85.

In the first year of the current NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour format in 1985, Evans won 12 races, including a sweep of all four events at Thompson, Conn.

Evans ranked No. 1 in the 2003 voting of the “NASCAR All-Time Modified Top 10 Drivers,” and he was named one of NASCAR’s “50 Greatest Drivers” in 1998. 

GLEN WOOD

GLEN WOOD

b. 7/18/25)

Hometown: Stuart, Va.

Competed: 1953-64 (Driver); 1953-Present (Owner)
Starts: 62 (Driver); 1,369 (Owner)

Wins: 4 (Driver); 98 (Owner)

Poles: 14 (Driver); 118 (Owner)

 

Glen Wood laid the foundation for the famed Wood Brothers racing team as a driver in the NASCAR premier series. Competing on a semi-regular basis, mostly at tracks close to his southern Virginia home, Wood won four times – all at Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. His best season was 1960 during which Wood won three times and posted six top-five and seven top-10 finishes in just nine races. He also won 14 poles during a 62-race career.

Wood, of course, is best known for his collaboration with brothers Leonard and Delano in Wood Brothers Racing. The Stuart, Va.-based team, which dates to 1950 and remains active, has amassed 98 victories in 1,367 races. The team’s all-time roster of drivers is a virtual who’s who of NASCAR and includes David Pearson, Curtis Turner, Marvin Panch, Dan Gurney, Tiny Lund, Parnelli Jones, Junior Johnson, Cale Yarborough, Fred Lorenzen and Bill Elliott.

The Wood Brothers have excelled outside the NASCAR world as well, winning the 1965 Indianapolis 500 with Jim Clark.

CALE YARBOROUGH

CALE YARBOROUGH

b. 3/27/39)

Hometown: Timmonsville, S.C.

Competed: 1957-88

Starts: 562

Wins: 83

Poles: 69

As competitive as the sport has always been, NASCAR has had very few dynasties. Cale Yarborough’s reign in the late 1970s, though, was one of them.

His string of three consecutive NASCAR premier series championships from 1976-78 was unprecedented – and unmatched until 2008, when Jimmie Johnson was crowned champion for the third straight year. Johnson won his fourth and fifth consecutive titles in 2009-10.

During his three-year dominance, Yarborough won 28 races – nine in 1976, nine in ’77 and 10 in ’78. His final championship points margin in those three years was never fewer than 195 points and was as much as 474 in 1978.

Those three years made Yarborough’s career, but he enjoyed success before and after. The fiery competitor was the series championship runner-up in 1973 and ’74 and again in 1980.

Yarborough totaled 83 victories in his 31-year career, ranks tied for fifth all-time. His 69 poles rank fourth all-time. And he won the Daytona 500 four times (1968, ’77, ’83-84), a mark that ranks second only to Richard Petty’s seven.

When NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers list was compiled in 1998, suffice to say that William Caleb Yarborough was a shoo-in.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics

Year Age Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Earnings Rank AvSt AvFn RAF Miles LLF 1957 18 1 of 53 0 0 0 0 31 0 $100 44.0 42.0 0 42.3 0 1959 20 1 of 44 0 0 0 0 219 0 $150 33.0 27.0 0 299.2 0 1960 21 1 of 44 0 0 0 0 114 0 $85 20.0 14.0 0 57.0 0 1961 22 1 of 52 0 0 0 0 135 0 $200 19.0 30.0 0 184.4 0 1962 23 8 of 53 0 0 1 0 727 0 $2,725 22.1 27.5 2 1050.7 0 1963 24 18 of 55 0 3 7 0 4528 0 $5,550 17.4 12.8 16 3448.2 0 1964 25 26 of 62 0 2 9 0 4990 10 $9,395 13.2 14.8 12 4238.3 0 1965 26 46 of 55 1 13 21 0 7724 166 $24,040 11.2 13.5 23 5506.2 2 1966 27 14 of 49 0 3 7 0 3831 252 $23,030 11.0 12.6 8 3976.2 2 1967 28 17 of 49 2 7 9 4 4114 908 $57,285 5.1 16.1 8 3977.0 5 1968 29 21 of 49 6 12 12 4 5661 1065 $134,136 3.6 11.8 12 5841.9 6 1969 30 19 of 54 2 7 8 6 4341 946 $73,540 3.8 16.8 8 5542.1 4 1970 31 19 of 48 3 11 13 4 5034 957 $115,875 4.8 10.7 11 6242.1 4 1971 32 4 of 48 0 0 1 0 564 13 $3,869 17.8 24.3 1 965.8 0 1972 33 5 of 31 0 1 4 0 1196 9 $11,332 11.8 13.0 4 1968.2 0 1973 34 28 of 28 4 16 19 5 9314 3167 $143,735 4.5 10.0 20 9970.6 8 1974 35 30 of 30 10 21 22 3 9398 3597 $226,025 3.9 6.7 23 11198.7 16 1975 36 27 of 30 3 13 13 3 7353 2542 $126,475 7 6.5 14.8 13 8143.3 5 1976 37 30 of 30 9 22 23 2 9269 3777 $294,591 1 5.1 8.2 25 10723.5 15 1977 38 30 of 30 9 25 27 3 9748 3218 $385,576 1 4.0 4.5 30 11529.3 20 1978 39 30 of 30 10 23 24 8 9758 3587 $423,630 1 3.6 6.0 28 11544.8 18 1979 40 31 of 31 4 19 22 1 9677 1320 $379,515 4 5.3 8.6 25 11370.5 12 1980 41 31 of 31 6 19 22 14 9440 2810 $432,325 2 3.1 9.0 26 11098.2 16 1981 42 18 of 31 2 6 10 2 4922 769 $150,090 24 9.2 13.1 11 7145.7 6 1982 43 16 of 30 3 8 8 2 3439 379 $218,340 27 8.8 15.8 8 5648.1 7 1983 44 16 of 30 4 4 8 3 3783 608 $254,535 28 8.0 16.6 8 5985.2 4 1984 45 16 of 30 3 10 10 4 4387 736 $385,853 22 7.4 7.4 14 7316.4 9 1985 46 16 of 28 2 6 7 0 3450 664 $260,465 26 9.4 18.6 7 5686.0 6 1986 47 16 of 29 0 2 5 1 3467 110 $106,010 29 12.8 21.3 6 5837.3 2 1987 48 16 of 29 0 2 4 0 2671 11 $88,525 29 20.3 24.8 7 4525.9 3 1988 49 10 of 29 0 0 3 0 1653 6 $56,065 38 26.9 23.5 6 3177.0 1 31 years 562 83 255 319 69 144938 31627 $4,393,067 8.2 12.6 362 174240.1 171

DALE INMAN

DALE INMAN

b. 7/19/36)

Hometown: Level Cross, N.C.

Competed: 1958-92

Wins: 193

Poles: 129

Behind every legendary driver, there is usually a legendary wrenchman.

That was Dale Inman, without whom Richard Petty might never have been The King.

Inman, Petty’s crew chief at Petty Enterprises for nearly three decades, set records for most wins (193) and championships (eight) by a crew chief.

Inman won seven of those championships with inaugural Hall Of Fame Inductee Petty (1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, and 1979), and another one in 1984 with Terry Labonte.

Credited with revolutionizing the crew chief position, Inman’s standout year was 1967. That season, Inman and Petty won a NASCAR-record 27 races – 10 of them consecutively. All 27 victories were in the same car they built a year earlier.

Inman retired from NASCAR in 1998, and in 2008, helped unveil the first artifact at the NASCAR Hall of Fame – the Plymouth Belvedere that Petty drove to 27 wins in 1967. 

Darrell Waltrip: Never Silent About His Talents – Which Were Many

 

 January 5, 2012

2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee Won Three Championships, 84 Races

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 5, 2012) – You always knew Darrell Waltrip was there from his racing beginnings at the Nashville Fairgrounds through three championships, 84 victories and a broadcasting career with FOX Sports and SPEED.

He was never silent about his talents and had the ability to back them up with results.

Fellow NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Cale Yarborough famously called Waltrip “Jaws” as the pair jockeyed for the NASCAR’s top rung.

“We knocked each other out of a lot of races,” Owensboro, Ky. native Waltrip remembers of the competition with his rival who, ironically, recommended Junior Johnson hire Waltrip. “So for all the bad things (I’ve said) about Cale, I forgive him.”

Waltrip, along with Yarborough, Richie Evans, Dale Inman and Glen Wood will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Friday, Jan. 20. They comprise the third class to gain membership in the Hall.

Waltrip, 64, made his NASCAR premier series debut in 1972 at Talladega Superspeedway driving the updated Ford that had carried Mario Andretti to victory in the 1967 Daytona 500. He finished 38th after the car’s engine failed.

Waltrip drove a self-owned Chevrolet to his first victory in 1975 in Nashville. He won 28 times between 1975 and 1980 – on short tracks, road courses and speedways – at the wheel of a DiGard Racing prepared car.

Driving for NASCAR Hall of Fame member Junior Johnson – succeeding rival Yarborough, who stepped away to compete on a part-time basis – Waltrip’s first series title came in 1981. He finished with 12 wins and 21 top fives in 31 races. He won the title by 53 points over NASCAR Hall of Fame member Bobby Allison.

In his second championship season, 1982, he finished with 12 wins and 20 top 10s in 30 races, sweeping both races at four tracks (Nashville, Bristol, Talladega and North Wilkesboro).

In his third championship season, 1985, Waltrip finished with three wins and 21 top 10s in 28 races.

Between 1977 and 1987 Waltrip never finished worse than fifth in championship standings.

“This sport would be nowhere near where it is today without people like him,” Waltrip said of Johnson in his autobiography “DW. A Lifetime Going Around in Circles” co-authored by Jade Gurss. “Junior taught me how to win more than just races. He taught me how to win championships.”

He finally won the Daytona 500 in 1989 driving for Rick Hendrick and later scored five victories with his own team, which he operated from 1991-98. Waltrip retired following the 2000 season.

Waltrip grew up in Owensboro, Ky., where his father Leroy was a truck driver. As a youngster, Waltrip would help his father on a Dr. Pepper route loading and unloading soft drink cases. His grandmother, Oda Palestein, took him to races at several area dirt tracks.

At age 12, Waltrip and his father bought a go-kart which they raced for several years. The elder Waltrip bought his son his first race car – a 1936 Chevrolet – when Darrell was 16. He towed the car to a track called Ellis Speedway in Newman, Kansas but spun out on his first lap of practice and hit the wall knocking out the radiator and tearing up the car’s right front suspension.

“I never made even one lap,” said Waltrip. “I was crushed.”

Fortunately, one of Owensboro’s dirt tracks switched to asphalt and Waltrip quickly became a winner, talking his way into driving faster cars for others. “If I won the feature at Whiteville, my share of the winnings would be $150 and two cases of beer,” he said. “In Owensboro, 150 bucks and two cases of beer were big time.”

He and wife Stevie moved to Nashville where Waltrip won the 1970 Fairgrounds Speedway championship. With sponsorship from the company for which his father-in-law was employed, Waltrip started his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in 1972.

Waltrip felt, from the beginning, the racing’s stars were aligned in his favor. There were few new faces in NASCAR and he was 10 to 15 years younger than the established stars Yarborough, Richard Petty and David Pearson.

“You know, time was on my side,” he said. “I guarantee I can wear ‘em out.”

He came close to winning his first championship in 1980, entering the season finale at the old Ontario Motor Speedway near the present Auto Club Speedway in Southern California, leading Petty by two points. He spun early in the race, lost a lap – and the championship.

“There’s no question in my mind: Petty didn’t win it – I lost the championship,” said Waltrip. “It was a lesson that was seared in my brain: Never beat yourself.”

Yarborough suggested Johnson hire Waltrip, who bought his way out what had been a tempestuous relationship with Bill Gardner, one of the three DiGard principles. It paved the way for Waltrip’s road to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Since retirement, Waltrip has been FOX Sports’ lead motorsports analyst. Those who listened to Waltrip’s many interviews during the 1970s and 1980s – the “Jaws” era – wouldn’t have been surprised. Early in his career, Waltrip forged a friendship with Nashville radio personality Ralph Emery and frequently subbed for Emery on his The Nashville Network interview show.

“Show me the mic; I was ready to talk,” Waltrip would say.

“When I look back at my life on and off the track, the same thought keeps coming back to me: Timing. It defined what I did as a race car driver but I’ve also been blessed with great timing all my life,” he said in the forward to his autobiography. “So many things outside of my control fell into place at just the right moment. Some say it was luck but I’ve always been told luck is when your hard work and effort successfully collide. So in the end, you make your own luck.”

 

Emmy Award-winning NASCAR Media Group produced a biography series of all five 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees that are currently airing on SPEED. The series started on Friday, Dec. 9 with back-to-back shows featuring Cale Yarborough and Dale Inman, followed by the feature on Richie Evans on Friday, Dec. 16.

The remaining biographies will air on SPEED this month. Darrell Waltrip on Friday, Jan. 6 at 8 p.m. ET and Glen Wood on Friday, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. ET.