Mike Helton Honors Darrell Waltrip: ‘You Put Owensboro, Kentucky, on the Map’

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NASCAR executive Mike Helton paid tribute to Darrell Waltrip at a charity event honoring the three-time Cup Series champion, crediting him with helping bring NASCAR to a national audience. “You put Owensboro, Kentucky, on the map,” Helton said.

The tribute came a month after Waltrip’s family announced that the 79-year-old has been diagnosed with frontotemporal degeneration.

Helton: ‘You backed it up’

“Darrell, I wanted, on behalf of nearly 80 years of NASCAR history, there have been iconic personalities that have come along to establish that next threshold,” Helton said in a video of the tribute posted on X. “When you came along, you wore khakis instead of blue jeans. You put Owensboro, Kentucky on the map. A lot of people watched you come up through Nashville, and you didn’t stop there.”

“You made a name for yourself, and you had a little bit of confidence, but you backed it up, and through all these years, you’ve been a great contributor to our sport. One of the first people that crossed over and was in other forms of entertainment. You hosted a lot of shows on the national network here out of Nashville that helped make more NASCAR fans across the country.”

https://x.com/BrakingBob/status/2115618373719806260

Waltrip’s health

Waltrip’s family said in September that he has been diagnosed with “Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) complicated by possible Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE),” which they believe stems from his racing career, RACER reported. The family said the condition will progress but that his symptoms are minor for now, and that he is stepping further back from public life to spend time with his wife, Stevie, and their family.

His career

Waltrip, born in Owensboro, made his name at Nashville’s Fairgrounds Speedway before reaching the Cup Series in 1972. He won 84 Cup races and championships in 1981, 1982 and 1985, and won the Daytona 500 in 1989.

He joined FOX Sports‘ NASCAR broadcast team in 2001, where his “Boogity, boogity, boogity” call before green flags became a trademark, and stayed in the booth through 2019. He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2012.

Pit This Time sends its best wishes to Darrell Waltrip and his family.