NASCAR: Why Darrell Waltrip Should Retire From The Booth
Sometimes in life and sometimes in NASCAR, veterans need to be told when to call it quits. Someone needs to pass that message onto Darrell Waltrip.
What have you done for me lately? While this is likely a phrase that no one wants to hear, especially from a relative or close friend, it’s still a good way of determining if something or someone still has value in their current condition? Harsh? Maybe, but sometimes harsh is what it takes to move forward.
Unfortunately for long time Fox Sports race commentator and multiple time champion, Darrell Walrip, he is not a part of this movement. In fact, he is one of the biggest obstacles in NACAR’s way and will continue to be so as long as he continues to serve as a race commentator for half of NASCAR’s 36-race season.
Why is Waltrip holding NASCAR back you may ask? Well, simply put, its his relatability factor to the fans and drivers of today. Sure, Waltrip can go on a long tangent about the days of heated rivalries and races of yesteryear, but how much can he really relate to what the drivers and teams are going through in present day NASCAR?
Not only that, Waltrip is also not a good selling point for newer and younger fans of the sport. That’s not to say he is the single biggest factor in younger audiences not enjoying the sport, but it really can’t help when one of your top announcers is an older looking man that kind of reminds you of your loud uncle at Thanksgiving dinner.
All jokes aside, that’s not what NASCAR needs if it wants to make a better impression on the younger crowds. What it does need, is a younger, more knowledgeable and more attractive personality in the commentary booth. Fortunately for Fox Sports, they have newly retired Sprint Cup veteran, Jeff Gordon, who will be starting his first season in the booth this February.
Not only is having Gordon in the booth a great way to retain some of the older fans that might have thought about leaving the sport after Gordon’s retirement, it even provides younger audiences with a more relatable, younger and more vibrant personality behind the microphone. Gordon’s later years in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series also lend him major credibility when discussing the current chase format and the experiences of drivers in the Sprint Cup Series.
In all honesty Waltrip hasn’t raced at the Cup level in over a decade and the only information he really has regarding todays experience at the Cup level is a bunch of notes and fading memories. Sadly, that’s just not want NASCAR needs if it wants to move forward. They need a guy who has actually raced at the top level and can discuss in great detail the kind of pressure these drivers are going through today.
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The addition of Steve Letarte to the NBC broadcast was a wildly successful move because of his recent exposure to the series combined with his talent and intellect. Gordon is sure to provide a similar experience over at Fox in February.
In the end, its a huge image problem to have Waltrip in the booth for too much longer. His southern draw and stories about the good old days of Petty and Earnhardt might be charming to an older NASCAR audience, but to younger fans, its just the past and that’s where NASCAR desperately needs to move on from.