"I’ve written 10 speeches and threw them away": When Darrell Waltrip shared his decision to forgo a script for his NASCAR HOF speech

Former Cup Series driver Darrell Waltrip was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2012, further cementing his place in the sport's history. Waltrip, who has secured three championship wins, revealed a few days before the induction ceremony that he discarded every speech he wrote for the ceremony, opting instead to improvise when he got on stage. During his time in the Cup Series, the driver was a part of multiple teams, including Hendrick Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Junior Johnson & Associates, as well as his own team, DarWal Inc.

Speaking with the media in January of 2012, the HOF inductee discussed his preparation for the upcoming ceremony [via MassLive]:

“I’ve written 10 speeches and after the 10th one, I threw it away, and said ‘I can’t write a speech. I’m pretty spontaneous, so I’m just going to get up and say what I think and hope it’s the right thing.”

Waltrip was a part of the third class of the Hall of Fame, and joining him was fellow three-time series champion, Cale Yarborough, as well as nine-time Modified title winner Richie Evans (awarded posthumously), driver Glen Wood of Wood Brothers Racing, and crew chief of Richard 'The King' Petty, Dale Inman.

During his time racing in the Cup Series, Darrell Waltrip achieved 84 race victories. Additionally, he scored 13 wins from his time racing in the Xfinity Series, giving him a total of 97 combined wins across the NASCAR Nationals Series. This puts him at sixth place on the list of all-time combined winners, a position he shares with 2010 Hall-of-fame inductee, Dale Earnhardt.

Waltrip also achieved 276 top-five finishes, as well as 390 top 10s during his tenure racing at the Cup level, until his retirement from the sport in 2000.

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Darrell Waltrip explained how becoming a racecar driver was the "path I couldn’t resist"

FOX Sports broadcaster and former driver Darrell Waltrip talks with NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch (18) prior to the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. - Source: Imagn

Speaking with the media in 2012, the three-time Cup Series champion also explained why he chose to pursue a career as a racecar driver, despite having other aspirations for himself. Darrell Waltrip explained that he wanted to go into the world of show business, but decided that he couldn't beat the temptation that came with racing.

“I always thought it would be fun to be an actor, or a comedian, but I guess race car driving suited me. I like to make people laugh, which is better than making them cry, right? Some people take the path of least of resistance, but I take the path I couldn’t resist. I looked at everything I did, what if I did everything that everybody else is doing as they go down that path." [via MassLive]

After his retirement, Darrell Waltrip moved to the world of NASCAR broadcasting, joining Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds at Fox Sports in a role that he would hold from 2001 to 2019.