Boogity, boogity, no more
Darrell Waltrip’s family broke the news themselves. In a statement released Wednesday, they confirmed the NASCAR Hall of Famer has frontotemporal degeneration, a brain disease that may be tangled up with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the condition tied to years of hard hits behind the wheel.
Right now, the symptoms are minor. Barely noticeable, even. The family says Waltrip, 79, remains happy and healthy day to day, surrounded by his wife Stevie, two daughters, and three grandchildren. But the statement doesn’t sugarcoat where this is headed: the disease will progress.
Try it for $0.99.
Eighty-four wins and three titles later
From 1972 to 2000, Waltrip terrorized NASCAR’s top circuit. Eighty-four career wins. Fifth on the all-time list. Three Winston Cup championships, back to back in 1981 and 1982, then again in 1985, with a dozen wins in each of those first two title runs.
Add 59 poles and 390 top-10 finishes to the ledger, plus a Daytona 500 trophy from 1989, and the resume speaks for itself.
The voice that outlasted the driver
Waltrip didn’t disappear when he retired. Fox handed him a microphone, and from 2001 to 2019 his call of “Boogity, boogity, boogity, let’s go racing!” became as familiar as the green flag itself.
Now that voice is fighting a new opponent, one no amount of racing instinct can outmaneuver.
Check out the latest NASCAR news on our mathodds site and app!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply