Apr 5, 2019 5 min read

In the shadows of the Darrell Waltrip Grandstands, ol’ DW officially launched the second victory lap of his second NASCAR career.

The Fox Sports analyst kicked off his retirement tour Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway, where Waltrip is a 12-time winner and an entire grandstand is named for the Hall of Fame driver.

Waltrip was Fox Sports’ first hire when the network launched its NASCAR coverage in 2001, and 19 years later he said leaving the broadcast booth is far more difficult than it was giving up racing.

“You know, I thought when I retired from driving, I don’t know, I always thought that was my identity, the car, the uniform, being at the racetrack. Being in the race. I always thought that was my identity,” Waltrip said. “That was just my platform. This is the hardest thing. I’m older, so it was hard.”

Waltrip, who once won seven consecutive races at the bullring from 1981 through 1984, was presented with the gladiator-style sword presently awarded Bristol winners and asked to wave the green flag at the start of Sunday’s race.

Fox Sports said it will have Waltrip wired so he can also open the event with his signature “Boogity! Boogity! Boogity! Let’s go racing, boys” call.

His final race will be June 23 at Sonoma Raceway when Fox Sports concludes its portion of the NASCAR television schedule.

He was joined at a news conference by almost every member of the Fox Sports team, which was built around him when he climbed out of his race car for good at the end of the 2000 season. Waltrip won 84 races, tied for fourth on NASCAR’s all-time win list, and three Cup championships.

A fearless Kentucky boy who first showed up on the NASCAR scene in 1972 at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, Waltrip aggravated his competitors by beating them on the track and then running his mouth out of the car.

Rivals nicknamed him “Jaws” and Waltrip was at the forefront of parlaying his personality and fame into a lucrative side hustle of appearances, celebrity endorsing and, finally, the broadcast booth.

“This is my home for 60 years of my 72. I was holding onto the steering wheel for 30 years, I grabbed a microphone and I held onto a microphone for another 19 years,” he said.

“You get what you give, and I gave a lot, but I got a whole lot more in return. I devoted my time, my energy, my effort, my passion for this sport and it rewarded me time and time again, not just with trophies and the success on the track, but with friends and people that I’ll never forget.”

Waltrip said he first considered retiring after the 2017 season, two years after fellow Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon joined Waltrip and Mike Joy in the booth. Gordon was fresh out of the car and armed with recent knowledge that Waltrip couldn’t possibly possess so far removed from an active role in the garage. He said he knew before the start of the season that this year would be his last in the booth.

Elliott earns first short track pole: Chase Elliott earned his first pole on a short track with a fast lap around Bristol Motor Speedway in Friday qualifying.

Elliott turned a lap at 131.7132 mph Friday around the bullring to earn the fifth pole of his career. His previous four were at either Daytona or Talladega, the biggest and fastest tracks on the NASCAR circuit.

Elliott edged teammate William Byron for the top starting spot and an all-Hendrick Motorsports front row on Sunday.

Ryan Blaney qualified third in a Ford for Team Penske, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Erik Jones and Denny Hamlin in a pair of Toyotas.

Herta off to good start: Colton Herta hasn’t won since he was 18, so he’s eager for another taste of success.

OK, it’s only been two weeks since the IndyCar rookie became the youngest driver to win in series history, but that victory lap was packed with appearances, media interviews and the New York Yankees’ opening day game.

Six days after turning 19, Herta got the follow-up race weekend off to a good start at Barber Motorsports Park on Friday. James Hinchcliffe turned in the fastest practice lap at the 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course, finishing in 1:08.9994. But Herta’s time of 1:09.0084 was second, followed by fellow rookie Santino Ferrucci (1:09.0461).

Herta was happy to be back in his greatest comfort zone after all the attention: Behind the wheel.

“I couldn’t believe it when it happened, and it’s still kind of hard to believe,” said Herta, who won the inaugural race in Austin, Texas.

“And it was a blessing, but it was also terrible because now I just want to win every race now that I have that feeling of winning an IndyCar race, and it’s pretty incredible. It’s hard to describe. But yeah, I definitely have a little bit more of a fire in my belly to go out there and get it done this weekend.”