Home » Sports » NASCAR » At What Point Should Aging Drivers Hang Up Their Hats?

At What Point Should Aging Drivers Hang Up Their Hats?

© Thomas M. Sampson

Darrell Waltrip has been racing for years and in his prime he was one of the best. He has amassed 84 wins, collected four Winston Cup Championships, and won over $16 million over his career. DW roared into NASCAR in 1972 and was a force to be reckoned with.

But what about now? It seems that race after race he ends up in the rear and is one of the first drivers to be lapped. He also has used his past champions provisional to make the field several times over the last couple of years, causing younger drivers who are trying to make their break into Winston Cup to pack up and go home. Should NASCAR set an age limit of some sort?

Do not get me wrong, I like D W. He is always good for a funny word, and an amusing interview from the pits. He is also an excellent race announcer, as he has demonstrated during several Busch Series races.

Darrell won his last race in 1992, the Mountain Dew Southern 500 at Darlington. He has had only one top 5 finish since the 1995 season. That top 5 was early in the '97 season when he rallied and made a good showing for his 25th anniversary season. But that soon went to the way side with a struggling second half of the season leaving him 27th overall in driver's points with only 18 laps led and 1,233 race miles unfinished.

While D W is not the only driver whose age has gotten the best of him, he is the most popular and the most visible. As many of NASCAR's biggest and best get older and less adept, we will see an even larger controversy concerning drivers taking up space on the track.

I sincerely hope that D W will stick around the sport as an announcer or car owner, but as a driver I feel he needs to step aside and let the younger drivers take a shot at the same star that he is desperately hanging on to.

I am sorry, Darrell, but it is time to face facts and find a more productive way to support NASCAR.

UPDATE 11/5/04... Ol' D W has long since retired and has been doing a great job as a race announcer for the FOX TV network. It's always a pleasure to hear the spin that ol' "Jaws" puts on a race as he announces it. As ever, D W doesn't pull any punches, he still tells it like it is, regardless who's toes he has to step on!