An Open Letter to Darrell Waltrip

Dear DW:

Earlier this week I wrote a blog post headlined: “In Need of a Boogity, Boogity, Boogity Break.”  You can find it after this one, along with more than 50 comments from readers. 

I wrote that I’d heard too much from you during coverage of the Darlington 500 about how great the Gen 6 race cars were.  I was tired of hearing how much Kyle Busch has matured and how Danica Patrick has improved.  While all three are true (at least I think Busch has matured), I felt it showed a lack of respect for true race fans, the heart of the sport, to keep telling them the same thing over-and-over.  We know a good race when we see one.  We know who’s driving a good race.  Who is getting better and who is showing more maturity.  We’re fans – real fans.  We get it. 

This wasn’t a spur of the moment blog post.  Twice before this season I started to write similar columns but stopped before publishing them.  I wondered if I was the only one who felt this way, that it might be unfair.  But Darlington was over the top.  I kept hearing how great the car and the racing was early on – and it wasn’t.  We were repeatedly updated on Patrick as she fell further and further behind.  Then there was the Busch discussion – about how much more mature he was and how badly Busch felt about crashing Kasey Kahne at Talladega.  That did it.

I was surprised – stunned would be a better word – by the response to my blog.  The 50 plus people commenting were easily more than I’ve ever heard from before.  By a wide margin.  More importantly, these must be considered diehard NASCAR fans, searching the hinterlands of the blogosphere for stories on the sport they love, before stumbling across my blog and taking the time to write a comment.

The vast majority of the comments were respectful (not always the case) and I was struck by the common themes expressed by many.  Like me, some had wondered if they were the only ones unhappy with the broadcasts.  They were tired of the incessant drumbeat in support of the Gen 6 race car.  Many acknowledged the car is a vast improvement (so do I), but it is not the be-all, end-all and we don’t need to be told it repeatedly how great it is.  It’s better.  We expect it will continue to get better.  But it’s not there yet.

Sorry, but it doesn’t look as if the Mikey and Darrell combination is being well received.   Many questioned a possible conflict of interest, given the relationship you and your brother have with Toyota.  I’ve never felt either of you have gone over the line, but others obviously have.  I am surprised that Fox would allow even the appearance of a conflict.  In a situation like this, broadcasters must be absolutely beyond question.

For many of those writing a comment, “boogity, boogity, boogity” has run its course.  Frankly, my original headline was more of a metaphor then a comment on the phrase itself.  To me, the racing season doesn’t start every year until I hear my first “boogity.”  But my wife hates the phrase – and so apparently do many others. 

Finally, please note that many wrote fondly of your days as a driver and even an announcer.  They long for the old Jaws.  They long for a voice.  With NASCAR instituting a virtual gag order on drivers, the sport – your sport and our sport – needs a critical voice. 

You could still be it.

#darrellwaltrip