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Home > Nascar > Nextel Cup Champions > Darrell Lee Waltrip
Darrell Lee Waltrip
Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947 in Owensboro, Kentucky) is a NASCAR driver, active from 1972 to 2000, who won three Winston Cup titles (1981, 1982, 1985), the 1989 Daytona 500, 1992 Southern 500, and is the undisputed Memorial Day major race record holder, having won an unprecedented five Coca-Cola 600 titles. His 84 Winston Cup race wins are the most by any driver in NASCAR's modern (post-1971) schedule format. Waltrip was one of many NASCAR drivers who got their start in racing in karting.
Waltrip started in the Cup level in 1972 with an old Mercury Cyclone which was originally the 1967 Ford driven by Mario Andretti to victory in the 1967 Daytona 500. As he moved into the Cup level in the 1970's, his aggressive driving and outspoken style earned him the nickname "Jaws", a reference to the 1975 film about a killer shark. At the heights of his NASCAR success in the early 1980s fans often booed Waltrip, but his wit and endearing silliness gradually won over the hearts of most of his critics. Waltrip's success helped bring the Buick GNX into prominence, since he drove a Regal (whose platform spawned the GNX) while being sponsored by Mountain Dew. When he switched over to the Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the mid-1980s, Waltrip also changed his sponsorship to Tide.
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