Three- time NASCAR Cup Series champion Darrell Waltrip, recently inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, has agreed to become a voting member of the SPEED Performer of the Year panel, giving the distinguished group six Hall of Fame racers, including Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney, Sir Stirling Moss, Don Prudhomme and Scott Russell. The winner of the annual award is presented the Mario Andretti Trophy on a special episode of SPEED Center in February. ‘Joining Mario and the other distinguished members of the voting panel is an honor,’ Waltrip said. ‘I look forward to helping select the next SPEED Performer of the Year. Choosing a winner from all disciplines of motor sports makes that person the best of the best. Let’s go racing boys!’ The SPEED Performer of the Year award, now in its seventh season, is presented annually to the racer who puts a premium on winning races, shines on motor sports ‘ biggest stages and does it all with a measure of sportsmanship and class. The SPEED Performer of the Year panel includes racing legends named above, as well as ‘Wind Tunnel’ host Dave Despain, veteran broadcasters Bob Varsha, Ralph Sheheen and Leigh Diffey, SPEED.com writers Robin Miller and Tom Jensen, versatile racers Tommy Kendall and Dorsey Schroeder and a select group of SPEED motor sports producers. The trophy, a true work of art created by bronze sculptor Elie Hazak, stands 38 inches tall and weighs 95 pounds. It features eight cars, including six of the most important in Mario’s rise to superstardom, as well as an array of artistic symbolism that captures the essence of the trophy’s namesake.(SPEED)(3-13-2012)
