Darrell Lee Waltrip was born February 5th, 1947 in Owensboro, Kentucky and started racing at the age of 12 behind the wheel of go-karts. His family would later build a 36 Chevrolet Coupe that he would race in local dirt track races. Even has a child, he was brash and outspoken but he dominated. Waltrip made his NASCAR debut at the age of 25 in the 1972 Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, and would finish 38th after an engine failure. His first win in the top series would come in the 1975 Music City USA in Nashville.

During the early years of Waltrip’s career, his wife, Stevie Waltrip, was the first NASCAR wife to attend the races and sit in the pit box, something almost all the NASCAR wives now do. Stevie learned to calculate gas mileage, a hugely important function in the sport, and would monitor the race listening to race communications between the crew chief and Waltrip.

From 1972-2000, Darrell Waltrip would win a total of 84 races, was a three time NASCAR Champion(1981,1982, and 1985), five time winner of the Coca-Cola 600(1978,1979, 1985, 1988, 1989) and he started on the pole for 59 Cup Series races.  He is a member of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

Waltrip is recognized by many in the sport as NASCAR’s first “total package driver.” He was media savvy, articulate, attractive, and possessed the driving skills that would take him to the pinnacle of the sport. Today’s NASCAR driver fits the mold that Waltrip first ushered in to the sport in the 1970s.

After his retirement from the sport, Waltrip became an analyst and broadcast for Fox Sports. His opinions, views, and comments carry considerable weight with drivers, team owners, fans, and high ups in NASCAR. He definitely isn’t shy about expressing his views.

Waltrip may be remembered most for his 1989 Daytona 500. His post race interview with CBS pit reporter, Mike Joy, became famous with Waltrip shouting “I won the Daytona 500! I won the Daytona 500! Wait, this is the Daytona 500 ain’t it?…Thank God!” and would go on to do the “Ickey Shuffle” dance in Victory Lane.

Come back tomorrow as we profile crew chief, Dale Inman.

William Caleb “Cale” Yarborough was born March 27^th, 1939 near Timmonsville, South Carolina. He played high school and semi-pro football in Columbia and was also a Golden Gloves boxer – a skill he showed off during the 1979 Daytona 500. He made his NASCAR debut in the 1957 Southern 500 at Darlington and raced periodically in the series throughout the rest of the 1950s and early 1960s; he won his first race in 1965 at Valdosta Speedway in Georgia.

Yarborough from from the mid 60s to mid 70s for a number of teams, including the famed Wood Brothers, Bud Moore Engineering, and Junior Johnson. He raced in the Indianapolis 500 in 1966, 1967, 1971, and 1972.  His highest finish in the race was 10th in 1972.  His three NASCAR Cup Series titles were ran under Johnson, who had purchased the team during the 1974 season.

Many race fans will remember Yarborough for his 1979 Daytona 500 fight with Bobby and Donnie Allison. Donnie Allison and Yarborough wrecked on the final lap of the race, the first NASCAR 500 mile broadcast on television.  That broadcast is often looked at as the start of the growth of NASCAR as a national sport.

Yarborough would retire from driving in 1988, but stayed in the sport as a team owner until the 1999 season. He ranks sixth on the all-time NASCAR winner’s list. Yarborough completed 560 races and in those races he won 83 and had 319 top 10 finishes. Besides his Cup Series titles, he was the 1984 International Race of Champions champ and a four time Daytona 500 winner.  When NASCAR’s “50 Greatest Drivers” list was complied in 1998, he was a shoo-in. He is also a member of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, the Charlotte Motor Speedway Court of Legends, and the Talladega Walk of Fame.  Yarborough even has a stretch of South Carolina Highway 403 that runs through his hometown named in his honor.

Come back tomorrow as we profile Darrell Waltrip.