Daytona 500 2000 - Waltrip prepares for emotional 500-mile sendoff

Waltrip prepares for emotional 500-mile sendoff
by Ron Buck, ESPN.com

"I won the Daytona 500! I won the Daytona 500! This is the Daytona 500, isn't it? Oh, thank God, I won the Daytona 500!"
-- Darrell Waltrip in Victory Lane following the 1989 Daytona 500.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- In a recent ESPN.com survey, those words and the little dance Darrell Waltrip did in Victory Lane, remain among the most memorable in the minds of NASCAR fans across the country. The video clip of his only Daytona 500 victory is among those shown hourly at Daytona USA. Sunday, good 'ol DW will take his final green flag in the Great American Race.

It may bring a tear to a few fans' eyes. But, not Waltrip -- at least not yet.


	Darrell Waltrip will wave goodbye to the Daytona 500 on Sunday.

Sunday is the first stop on the "Darrell Waltrip Victory Tour." It's his final Daytona 500. He'll be back to Daytona International Speedway in July for the Pepsi 400, but it won't be the same. Waltrip knows that, but still won't let himself get caught up in the emotional sendoff many of the 200,000 fans will give him Sunday.

The competitor in Waltrip won't let the emotions out. Not yet. Not until he does what he promised in his final season -- win his 85th Winston Cup race.

"It's really no big deal," Waltrip says with a straight face. "I think the emotion will grow and (my final season) will become a bigger issue as the season goes on. And it will really become an issue if I can get to where I can run competitive every week -- if I can get that victory I'm going for.

"I know I'm a sentimental favorite. So, that makes me feel good. People are rallying around me, they appreciate that I've had a great career and they appreciate the effort I'm putting forth to make the Victory Tour something very significant. And that's what my dream and hopes are. If that happens, then I think you'll see an pretty emotional guy."

Winning the Daytona 500, however, may be out of the question. Waltrip made the race solely on his '89 triumph at Daytona, getting into the 43-car field with a past-champions provisional. He'll start last, but that doesn't mean he can't provide a few more thrills just by taking the green flag. Waltrip, who won Winston Cup titles in 1981, 1982 and 1985, usually does that just by climbing into his No. 66 Ford Taurus.

Waltrip, 53, is one of the sport's old guard and remains its most popular driver despite not winning since the 1992 Southern 500. Always available to sign autographs, or flash his trademark smile in the direction of the fans, Waltrip will not disappear after the season.

After 29 Winston Cup campaigns, Waltrip heads into the broadcast booth to provide his candor and wit to TV audiences next season. There is also the possibility that Waltrip could someday get back into the car-ownership game. The winner of 84 Cup races as a driver, he's also won seven races as a team owner from 1972-75 and 1991-98.

But the simple fact that he won't be climbing into a race car after this season is tough for him to imagine.

"I think I'm going to miss the people that have been there my whole life. The environment, the people, the fans, it's a lifestyle that's all I've ever done. Ever since I was 12, that's 40 years, I've gotten up, put on my uniform and helmet, and raced somewhere," Waltrip said. "When it hits me, it'll be like a runner hitting a wall.

"Right now I have a whole year ahead of me. I've got the Daytona is coming up. I'm preoccupied. I don't have time to worry about not coming back here next year. I'll be back here in July. But I'm sure as time goes on, the emotions will get more swelled up inside."

When the media gathers around Waltrip, as they have every day during Speedweeks, and the more he speaks, the more Waltrip-the-driver turns into Waltrip-the-man. Ever slowly, Waltrip lets his guard down and conveys just how much Sunday's final ride at Daytona means to him.

After all, this is a man who tried for 17 years to win the Daytona 500. A man who has been both carried off the track on a stretcher after crashes on three occasions at this track, and also floated out of Victory Lane on an emotional high few drivers ever experience. He has 13 wins overall at Daytona in Winston Cup, Busch and IROC racing.

"It's a love-hate relationship, really," Waltrip says. "The injuries really stick out as much as the good runs and the good finishes. But on Sunday, coming down to get the green, and I'm by myself and looking into the stands and people are cheering, yeah that will be a big part of my final season. It will be big."

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