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“DW: A Lifetime Going Around in Circles”
By Darrell Waltrip with Jade Gurss
Book Review by Gregg Leary
Category:NASCAR -> Sprint Cup
New NASCAR fans probably know Darrell Waltrip as the “Boogity, Boogity, Boogity” FOX racing broadcaster. If so, they don’t know the real DW. He should start his telecasts with, “Champion, Champion, Champion” because he won three Winston Cup Titles and 84 races. Besides, “Boogity, Boogity, Boogity” was used at least three times previously. Jerry Reed as Cledus Snow uttered the line in the 1977 film, “Smokey and the Bandit.” Chubby Checker sang it four times in the 1961 song “Pony Time,” and Barry Mann and Gerry Goffin penned it twice in their 1960 tune, “Who Put the Bomp?” Come on DW…you’re an original…NOT a copycat…please drop the “Boogity, Boogity, Boogity!”
“DW: A Lifetime Going Around in Circles,” is a fast ride from green to checker. The dust jacket cover photo captures DW’s joy after finally winning the Daytona 500 in 1989.
The book documents how he went from being one of the most hated drivers in NASCAR (T-shirts said: “I hate warm beer, cold women and Darrell Waltrip.”) to its Most Popular Driver in 1989 and 1990. Waltrip tells his remarkable life story as only he can.
”An autobiography? That’s a book about cars, right?”
His sense of humor is evident from the beginning. He states, “My career gets better every year I talk about it. We’re talking about NASCAR, so when did the truth or reality ever enter the picture? Plus, I hit my head pretty hard in a lot of those crashes. So who can blame me if the facts are a little fuzzy?” His self-deprecating sense of humor is refreshing. Waltrip admits, “I retired too late.” (He didn’t win a race in his final eight years of racing and his misnamed “DW Farewell Victory Tour” should have been a “Fan Appreciation Tour,” but Richard Petty had already claimed that slogan.) However, DW “’splains” to his readers:
“I’m among the best drivers in NASCAR history. I can say that without bragging, because the numbers prove it. You do the math. I won three Winston Cup Championships, and I won more races than anyone else in NASCAR Winston Cup history other than David Pearson and Richard Petty.” (He fails to mention Bobby Allison.)
Darrell Waltrip never lacked self-confidence. When asked if he was “with the show,” DW replied, “I AM the show.” Late in his career, some people said, “DW, it looks like your era is over.” He replied, “At least I had my era, and it lasted longer than most.” Brash? Cocky? You bet, but as the expression goes, “It ain’t braggin’ if you done it.”
Darrell began his racing passion as I did…going to the local dirt track with his grandmother. “I’m going to do that one of these days! That’s what I want to be!” Waltrip began racing go karts at age 12. When he was 16 he dubbed his first real race car “The Wild Child.” He mixed several different colors of paint together and came up with an “awful flat brown color. It looked like someone had vomited all over the thing after a few too many beers.” (It reminded me of Dale Earnhardt’s PINK K-2 car that was a mix of different colors of paint and the famous “Petty Blue” that came about when white had to be added to blue to come up with enough paint to cover the race car.) As DW tells it, “The Wild Child didn’t even make a full lap. My first night was smashing, not a smashing success. I thought my career was over before it had even begun.”
Darrell drove a sprint car at 17. “It scared me to death. I wanted to drive something I controlled, not something that controlled me. I was born to drive a stock car on asphalt. I never liked the feel of dirt, because I never felt in control. Asphalt was for me; it fit my smooth style.”
DW also had a knack for “stirring the pot”…generating publicity. Larry Woody said, “ If we needed a good story, we would call Darrell. If there wasn’t any news, he’d create some.” Some examples:
“Hi, I’m Darrell Waltrip. I’m here to retire Richard Petty.”
“I hope Rusty chokes on that $200,000!”
Waltrip was blessed with impeccable timing. He entered Winston Cup racing in 1972…the same year that Winston began the “Modern Era” in NASCAR. Darrell won three Winston Cup Titles for Junior Johnson in 1981, 1982 and 1985 and became a national celebrity as cable television began broadcasting the races nationwide. DW was the first Cup Champion honored when NASCAR took the awards banquet from Daytona to New York City. He won the first All Star Race. He retired from driving in 2000 and stepped into the TV booth in 2001.
The 291 page book includes 35 photographs and is divided into 26 Chapters.
1. Good Timing
2. The Wild Child
3. Santa Crashes in Stevie’s Yard
4. The Honeymoon?
5. Nashville
6. The Mercury and Daytona
7. Winston Cup Beginnings
8. Small Fish, Big Pond
9. Crazy Jake and the Number 95
10 Attitude
11. Rule Maker, Not Rule Breaker
12. Brittle
13. Anybody but Waltrip
14. Junior Johnson
15. Finding My Faith
16. Leaving Junior
17. The Dream Team?
18. The Most Popular Driver
19. You’re Gonna Win a Lot More Races
20. The Crash That Could Have Ended It All
21. Western Auto Says Yes
22. Owner/Driver/Father/Husband
23. Selling My Future
24. Driving for Dale
25. I Should Have Walked Away
26. The Biggest Moment
Rick Hendrick said: “He was the guy who changed the whole sport. Until he came along, it was like all the drivers were out of one mold, and he broke the mold. He was outspoken, but he could back it up on the track.” “DW: A Lifetime Going in Circles” earns four out of five lug nuts. “Bombs Away!”