Waltrip news reminder of driver's greatness

Tributes from all over the racing world have poured in since the news that NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip would be stepping away from the spotlight due to his health diagnosis. Waltrip, 84, has been diagnosed with Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) complicated by possible Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). According to a statement from his family, it's likely from injuries during his racing career, much the same as seen by football players and boxers. Before he was a FOX television broadcaster or introduced to a new generation of fans through the "Cars" motion pictures, Waltrip was one of NASCAR's greatest drivers. Mark Martin, another NASCAR Hall of Famer, posted a photo on "X" of a time when Waltrip served as a substitute for him and won an ARTGO Series race. Waltrip is a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and his 84 wins rank fifth on the Cup Series all-time win list. His 12 Cup Series wins at Bristol are a track record with a remarkable streak of seven wins in a row from 1981-84. Waltrip won with four different car owners at Bristol. His first win came in the 1978 Southeastern 500 behind the wheel of the No. 88 Gatorade Chevrolet for DiGard Racing. He won the Volunteer 500 the next season with the DiGard team. But, the greatest success in his career was with the legendary Junior Johnson with three championships over a five-year span. At Bristol, he led 323 of 500 laps to start the seven-win streak in the 1981 Valleydale 500. He was more dominant in August leading 197 of the final 200 laps and finishing in the lead lap by himself. His next win was again by a wide margin, over 13 seconds ahead of runner-up Dale Earnhardt. The wins in the August 1982 and spring 1983 races saw him edge his fiercest rival, Bobby Allison, for the victory. Waltrip's pit crew got him out ahead of Earnhardt and Allison to win a rain-shortened Busch 500 in August 1983. The race was cut to 419 laps because of the weather. He beat Terry Labonte by two seconds to win the 1984 Valleydale 500, his last win among the seven. Coincidentally, Labonte was the driver to end the streak with his win in the 1984 Busch 500. The only other driver to win seven straight races at one track was Richard Petty at Richmond from 1970-73. During the time of the streak, Waltrip won back-to-back championships in 1981-82 and finished second to Allison in 1983. The Waltrip-Allison rivalry was intense as they combined to win 49 races during that three-year stretch. Allison finally was awarded an 85th Cup Series victory for a combination race with Grand American cars before his death, which broke a longtime tie with Waltrip. Back to Bristol, Waltrip won once more with Johnson in 1986. He drove the No. 11 Chevrolet to the win with Labonte again the runner-up. Waltrip then piloted the No. 17 "Tide Ride" Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports to the win in the 1989 Night Race. His final Bristol win was in 1992 driving for his own team. A week later, Waltrip would win the Southern 500 at Darlington for his final Cup Series victory. Struggling to keep pace financially in his own cars and driving for other underfunded teams, Waltrip didn't win his final eight seasons in the Cup Series. He gained even more notoriety as a FOX television analyst. His former broadcast partner, Larry McReynolds, tweeted, "He was my teammate for 19 years and DW, Mike Joy and I stood shoulder-to-shoulder for 15 years with NASCAR on FOX in the broadcast booth. Without sounding arrogant, I'm confident what we did with NASCAR race broadcast will never be duplicated!" Waltrip has often commented that being portrayed as "Darrell Cartrip" in the movie "Cars" has made him more well known to the younger fans than his Hall of Fame driving career. STEWART RETURN TO NASCAR Kaulig Racing announced that Tony Stewart will be returning behind the wheel of the No. 25 Ram Truck at Talladega. Stewart famously complained about the drafting tracks throughout his full-time NASCAR career. He drove the No. 25 in the season opener at Daytona where he finished 36th after being caught up in a crash. There was also a big announcement last week that eight-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher will be joining Tony Stewart Racing next season. Stewart's wife, Leah Pruett, will be stepping away from full-time competition to concentrate on family.