If you're a younger race fan, you're probably most familiar with Darrell Waltrip as the longtime color commentator of NASCAR on FOX's Cup Series coverage.
He'd drop witty one-liners, randomly burst into song, and begin every race with a call of "Boogity, Boogity, Boogity!" at the drop of the green flag. Whatever that meant.
It was the only post-driving career appropriate for a guy who never stopped talking. From the moment he first entered the NASCAR ranks, Waltrip wanted everybody to know he was there. By the time he hung up his helmet, he'd done more than enough to vindicate it.
Darrell Waltrip didn't just talk the talk; he walked the walk
Waltrip quickly earned the nickname "Jaws" due to his brash cockiness and tendency to get in other drivers' heads. He immediately became the villain of the Cup Series, seen by the old guard as an overconfident young punk who needed to be fed a slice of humble pie. But instead, he would soon be the one putting the Richard Pettys of the world in their place.
Beginning in his third full season in 1977, Waltrip won at least five races for eight straight years. He finished in the top five in points for 11 consecutive seasons. Between 1978 and 1984, he led at least 2,000 laps in every season. He was particularly outstanding on the short tracks, at one point winning seven races in a row at Bristol Motor Speedway.
It was one of the most dominant primes in Cup Series history, highlighted by three championships in 1981, 1982, and 1985. However, he would meet his match in the form of the equally abrasive Dale Earnhardt, who became his primary rival throughout the 1980s. And unlike the dynamic between Petty and David Pearson before them, they legitimately did not like each other.
They were two fiery antagonists competing for alpha status, and they each took it personally when the other had the upper hand. Their feud peaked at Richmond Raceway in 1986, when Earnhardt hooked Waltrip into the outside guardrail at the conclusion of a heated battle for the win after the Kentucky native had been talking smack about his team.
Earnhardt went on to win the title that year, and Waltrip, who was the defending champion at the time, would never do so again. It effectively ended his reign as NASCAR's top dog, but when all was said and done, his 84 career race wins remain fifth on the all-time Cup Series list.
Meanwhile, the humbler version of Waltrip that emerged later in his career turned him from a villain into a fan-favorite. He and Earnhardt eventually grew a close respect for one another, and when "The Intimidator" was killed on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, his old rival was making his debut in the broadcast booth.
After his initial jubilation from witnessing his brother Michael's first career win, his mood immediately turned to one of grave seriousness with four words that continue to haunt the NASCAR world nearly 25 years later: "I hope Dale's okay."
At the end of the day, Waltrip is not only one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history, but one of its most iconic characters. You may have loved him. You may have hated him. You may have wished he'd just shut up for once in his life. But he never did, and the sport is better off for it.