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Former NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip shared a rare memorabilia from his early racing days. The 61-year-old took to Instagram to post a Winston Cup Series golf ball he kept for a long time.
Waltrip is a former professional stock car racing driver who won four races in the Cup Series from when it was called the Winston Cup Series. All four of his wins were at superspeedway tracks, including two career victories at the prestigious Daytona 500.
Waltrip recently shared an image of his Winston Cup Series golf ball on his Instagram stories.
"Amazing, I haven't lost this ball yet," Waltrip captioned his story.
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The former NASCAR driver followed it up with a newer golf ball from Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG).
Waltrip's maiden win came in the Winston Cup Series era in the infamous 2001 Daytona 500, 16 years after his debut. He finished ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr., his teammate under the Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) team at the time.
The four-time race winner stayed two years with DEI when NASCAR introduced the Chase era, before moving to Bill Davis Racing in 2006.
In 2017, Waltrip entered his final race in the Daytona 500 before retiring from the sport at age 53.
Today, the Kentucky native serves as an analyst for Fox's coverage of the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series. He is enjoying the NASCAR off-season spending time with family and playing golf.
Michael Waltrip once shared his thoughts on 2001 Daytona 500 win
Michael Waltrip may have earned his first NASCAR win in the 2001 Daytona 500 but lost fellow competitor and friend Dale Earnhardt. Dale Sr. was involved in a final lap crash with Ken Schrader and Sterlin Marlin that took his life.
In an interview with SiriusXM in 2019, Waltrip shared his thoughts on his bittersweet Winston Cup maiden victory.
"I was in victory lane and everything was perfect, Chocolate. My family was there, there was champagne and confetti and I just kept looking over my shoulder at the gate into victory lane and I was wondering when Dale was gonna walk in. I just I wanted that hug [...] I wanted that [hug] more than I wanted the money or the trophy," Waltrip said. [0:42]
Although Dale Sr. didn't come out, Schrader caught up with the race winner to give him a heads-up. Waltrip was confused after his conversation with Schrader before later hearing about the driver's passing.
"It started me not understanding what all was going on. And then, shortly after learning that Dale had passed just a couple hundred feet... couple hundred years from where we stood, he had lost his life," the former NASCAR driver added. [2:47]
Waltrip went on to drive for Dale Sr.'s team and won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in 2002 and Daytona 500 in 2003, both held at the Daytona International Speedway. He bagged his fourth and final win at Talladega in 2003 before NASCAR transitioned to the Chase era the following year.
