| | By Bruce Martin
SportsTicker
INDIANAPOLIS -- Tony Stewart summed up the feelings of those at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Thursday when, for about 30 minutes, Darrell Waltrip was on the pole for the Brickyard 400.
"Are you kidding me?" Stewart said incredulously after Waltrip's lap at 180.923 mph established a Brickyard 400 track record until he was later knocked off by Ricky Rudd's lap at 181.068 mph. "Don't get me wrong, there is nobody I would rather see break the track record here than Darrell Waltrip."
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This is my favorite race track and it
has been ever since I was a kid back in
Owensboro, Kentucky. This is the
place you want to perform. (It's) 'The Holy Land.' I like
walking around this joint. ” |
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— Darrell Waltrip |
Yes, this was the same Darrell Waltrip whose career recently has been tarnished with a long list of uncompetitive efforts. Waltrip set the standard for using the champion's provisional starting position so often, it had almost become a joke. In
fact, many referred to the 43rd and final starting position as the "Darrell Waltrip provisional."
But Waltrip is in the final season of his NASCAR Winston Cup career. After the season finale at Atlanta in November, Waltrip will climb out of his race car for good and will be in the broadcast booth for FOX Sports when it begins NASCAR telecasts next season.
Waltrip is a three-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion who used to be the most feared race driver in the series. The only thing sharper than his drive behind the wheel was his quick wit and ability to use mental pressure on his competitors to get them to wilt under the pressure.
But Waltrip hasn't won a race since the 1992 Southern 500. His career accomplishments have been in rapid decline. So realizing it was time to save his career any further embarrassment, the 53-year-old driver from Owensboro, Kentucky decided this would be his final season as a driver.
Long before Waltrip had become a NASCAR Winston Cup driver, he used to peer over the Ohio River at the land on the other side. That was the state of Indiana, which had the most famous racing facility in the world in its capital city -- the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Waltrip would go on to win the Daytona 500, the Southern 500 at
Darlington and Charlotte and the other famous race tracks in
NASCAR. But he always had a special place in his heart for a
track that wasn't on the NASCAR Winston Cup schedule until 1994
-- the 2.5-mile facility known as The Brickyard.
"This is my favorite race track and it has been ever since I was
a kid back in Owensboro, Kentucky," Waltrip said. "This is the
place you want to perform. It's like Daytona -- big purse, big
audience, big TV.
"The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is 'The Holy Land.' I like
walking around this joint. There is no place in the world that
has had a hall of fame like this place has. From 1909 until
today, the greatest drivers, not just from the United States,
not from the Carolinas or down there, the greatest drivers in
the world have walked through these hallowed grounds. That does
happen to me. It puts a lump in my throat. If you are a true
race fan, this is as good as it gets right here. I get so
emotional when I come here."
The reaction from the 40,000 fans at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway was a thunderous ovation for Waltrip that lasted for
minutes until he finally climbed out of his car.
"The fans up here are different than anywhere else we go because
of the tradition of the Indy 500," Waltrip said. "Just making
the Indy 500, to be in the 33-car field, that is a great
accomplishment. When you make the field here, that is the
accomplishment.
"The fans here are the most ecstatic I've ever seen because they
are so close to the track here."
Waltrip knows how important preparation is to having a good
qualifying run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But the track
is one of the most temperamental facilities in the world. If
the sun peeks out from the clouds, it can raise track
temperatures just enough to offset the race setup.
That could be the difference between winning the pole or
starting further back in the field.
"I was watching the clouds, and all of a sudden, it comes down
to one guy," Waltrip said. "And that one guy was me. I was
pumped, the car was good and we got most everything out of the
car. If I could go over it again, we could do a little bit
better, but that was fun for a little while -- to be on the pole
and break the track record.
"I think we can win this thing on Saturday. Everybody says, 'Right, D.W.' But, I'm telling you, I've run good here. I get excited about coming here."
Last Sunday night, Waltrip ran at a quarter-mile track near Owensboro. He admitted he had more fun at that track for one hour than he has had in four or five years of Winston Cup.
"It was car No. 100 that I drove 35 years ago. It had street tires on it, a late model stock car," he said. "Me and Michael Waltrip and Jeremy Mayfield, we had a ball. It was real racing. It was what racing is supposed to be about. We were bumping into each other and having a good time.
"Man, it's hard to have a good time in this sport. That is what
I hate the most."
When Waltrip had his magical moment at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway today, his wife Stevie and one of his daughters,
Jessica, were in attendance.
Jessica is Waltrip's oldest daughter and will turn 13 next
month. His other daughter, Sarah, is 8.
When Waltrip was winning all the NASCAR Winston Cup races, his
daughters were too young to experience his success. That is why
today was so important to him.
"I'm glad they have SpeedVision and I'm glad they have ESPN
Classic because my girls would have never seen me win, if it
hadn't been for that," Waltrip said. "Today gives me a little
credibility where my daughters can say, 'Well, Dad, maybe you
did win all of those races.
"I don't have to win, I don't have to be on the pole," Waltrip
said. "As long as you leave here this weekend and say, 'Old DW was up there.' That's all that matters to me."
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 An excited Darrell Waltrip electrified the crowd at Indianapolis.
avi: 1470 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Darrell Waltrip had a fine run and believes there is more left for Saturday.
wav: 780 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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