By Steve Waid
Like so many before and after him, Darrell Waltrip began his NASCAR Winston Cup career on his own. He did have the help of crew chief Jake Elder and experienced a short and not-so-sweet tenure with veteran team owner Bud Moore, but for his first few years in NASCAR, his existence was little more than hand-to-mouth.
But that changed in 1976.
Waltrip got word that the fledgling DiGard Racing Co. was interested in his services. When the team was founded under the guidance of Bill Gardner and his brother Jim, it hired Donnie Allison as its driver.
However, the team soon determined that in order to reach its competitive goals, which included a championship, it would have to have a different driver.
That driver, it concluded, was Darrell.
But Darrell was not interested. “Why should I go there?” he asked himself. “I beat that team all the time.”
And the story would have ended there if not for fate.
On their way home from Daytona, Darrell and his wife Stevie stopped at a gas station. As luck would have it, Jim Gardner also stopped at that station.
He saw Darrell and pounced. He said DiGard was interested in his services and would he care to drive for the team?
Darrell got back into his car and told Stevie he had turned down the offer.
Stevie was aghast. She told Darrell that he should return immediately and tell Jim he would take the offer.
She must have known something.
Because for the next several years, Darrell and DiGard would, despite some turmoil and controversy, rise to the pinnacle of stock car racing.
For more than 32 years, Grand National/Winston Cup/NASCAR Scene writers and photographers were there to record NASCAR history as it was being made. Join hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid each week on The Scene Vault Podcast Presented by Q Ware as they take a look back at the extraordinary people, places and events woven into the rich tapestry that is our sport.
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