"D-Dubya", Darrell Waltrip, The "Jaws" of NASCAR Chime's In

Welcome back.

Just as Junior Johnson was telling us how he convinced Richard Childress to quit driving, become an owner and hire a young brash driver named Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip walks in.

"My plane got fogged in and we had to wait", says a flustered Waltrip.

The first thing he did was hug his friend Junior in a way that showed love and great respect.

Darrell Waltrip was nick-named "Jaws" by Cale Yarborough for two reasons.

The first was his consistently mouthy aggression, which drew the ire of fans for many years.

The second was an on track incident between the two that cost Cale a race.

Their rivalry was something that only occured on a race track though.

"I like Cale", says Waltrip, "We are friends away from the track, I just hated him on the track".

Despite the on track antics, name calling, and fierce competition, it was Cale who called "D.W." and confided the following:

"I am leaving Junior at the end of this season, I think you should be the one to replace me".

The rest, as they say, is history.

Yet, even in Cale's absence, their rivalry persisted.

"Junior would come on the radio and say "Cale", this is what I want you to do", said Waltrip.

"I hated that, and I knew he was doing it on purpose".

"I finally told him after a race, "Junior, my name is Darrell, not Cale. It makes me angry when you call me Cale".

Junior said, "I know it makes you angry. It also makes you drive faster".

Waltrip won 3 championships while driving for Junior Johnson.

Barney Hall:

"Darrell, you had 84 wins in your career". "85", Waltrip stammers.

Waltrip is said to be the only driver to relieve another driver during a race and reach victory lane.

"I replaced Donnie Allison at Talladega" says Waltrip.

"I took over after about 100 laps and ended up winning the race".

"But since I didn't actually start the race, Donnie was credited with the win".

The afternoon turns to evening, and Waltrip keeps us laughing with more of his stories.

As he is ready to leave, Darrell stands and addresses the crowd one last time.

His tone of voice becomes direct, a serious look now engulf's his face.

"Ladies and Gentleman, everywhere I go, I hear people talking about the history of this sport".

"The men in this room, myself included, we ARE the history of this sport".

AMEN!!

Reporting as an honored guest, I am David Yeazell.