"I had a lot of talent and no money": When Darrell Waltrip fought to establish himself in NASCAR

With 84 NASCAR Cup Series victories and three Cup championships, there was no surprise when Darrell Waltrip was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2012. However, the Tennessee native didn't have a direct path to success.

Back in 2012, the same year he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, Waltrip was interviewed by Cory McCartney for a Sports Illustrated column. In the article, the 1989 Daytona 500 winner discussed a litany of topics, including the trials and tribulations of his storied racing career.

Waltrip always believed he was capable of winning races being a successful NASCAR driver, but early in his career, he didn't have the financial capabilities to do so. He said:

"I could wheel a car with anybody, but it took money and I didn't have any. I had a lot of talent and no money and that just didn't get you very far back in the day. I struggled and I did it mostly out of my own pocket with my own cars and my own people to establish myself, to let people see who I was."

However, that changed in 1975 when Waltrip joined DiGard Racing to drive the #88 car, a team he'd win 26 races with spanning across five-and-a-half seasons. Waltrip then joined Junior Johnson & Associates in 1981, the team he'd win his three Cup Series titles with in 1981, 1982, and 1985. In 1987, Waltrip joined Hendrick Motorsports and spent four seasons at the seat of the #17 car. His time at HMS was notable for his 1989 Daytona 500 triumph.

While he had one of the most successful careers in the sport's history, Waltrip never had an idea of where racing was going to take him. In the end, it led to a memorable career that earned him a spot in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

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Darrell Waltrip ventured into full-time NASCAR broadcasting after driving career

After retiring from full-time NASCAR competition after the 2000 season, Waltrip joined Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds in the FOX Sports booth for the network's inaugural season in 2001. It's a position Waltrip held from 2001-2019.

Waltrip's first race as a full-time broadcaster was the 2001 Daytona 500, most notable for being a rollercoaster of emotions for the former champion driver. As he called his younger brother, Michael Waltrip, to his first career Cup Series win, his friend and former competitior, Dale Earnhardt, tragically lost his life in a last-lap crash.

Waltrip was most known for his "Boogity, boogity, boogity" catchphrase, something he'd say at the beginning of every race. He retired from broadcasting duties at the end of FOX's portion of the 2019 season.