Darrell Waltrip is considering retiring from Fox’ broadcast booth following the net’s coverage of the ’19 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, according to sources. While precise details of his contract are unknown, sources said that he is looking at retiring after Fox hands over the Cup broadcast package to NBC in late June. An announcement on his decision could come in the next couple of weeks.(Sports Business Daily)(3-29-2019)
UPDATE: Kevin Harvick says he has contracts through the 2021 season and does not plan to quit racing before then. There had been some questions about Harvick’s future with a report from the Sports Business Journal that Fox Sports analyst Darrell Waltrip may decide to retire after this season. Harvick has been used on numerous Fox Xfinity Series race broadcasts as an analyst. “I’m not getting out of the race car,” he said Friday at Texas Motor Speedway. “I feel really comfortable with where I’m at … in the race car, where my home life is. I feel fairly confident that being a part of TV side of things is something I want to do in the future but it’s not going to happen in the next couple of years, I can tell you that.”(NBC Sports)(3-29-2019)
UPDATE 2: After living life in the fast lane for the last 60 years, Darrell Waltrip is backing off the throttle. The 72-year-old NASCAR legend and Franklin resident says he will cross the finish line of his television broadcasting career at the end of Fox Sports’ NASCAR race coverage this season, which ends on June 23 with the Toyota/Save Mart 350 in Sonoma, California. Waltrip, a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame who has been in the booth since 2001, picked this week to make the announcement as he prepares to call the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he experienced his greatest success as a driver. “Bristol is my house. I’ve got 12 wins at Bristol, I’ve got a grandstand that has 43,000 seats in my honor at Bristol,” Waltrip said. “It’s in Tennessee. I love that racetrack. It’s been good to me. I could’ve waited until Charlotte or somewhere else down the road, but it’s been hanging over my head. I just wanted to clear the air, let people know what my plans are and then other people can make plans accordingly. Like who’s going to take my place or is somebody going to take my place?”(Tennessean)(4-4-2019)
