“Roger Penske called me; he said the deal’s off”: Dale Jr.’s guest Darrell Waltrip reveals how a businessman sabotaged his Team Penske deal

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s recent podcast guest Darrell Waltrip recounted when Roger Penske called off the deal despite hiring him to drive for Team Penske. The rejection stemmed from Waltrip's team DiGard Racing owner "businessman" Bill Gardner.

The three-time Cup Series champion savored plenty of success in Darrell Waltrip Motorsports but moved to DiGard Racing mid-season, beginning the 1975 Talladega fall race. However, according to Waltrip's account, working with Bill was different as he was a businessman who believed in written deals instead of verbal affirmations.

Waltrip partnered with the Garnder brothers, contributing 26 Cup Series race wins for DiGard Racing. But amid Team Penske's return to NASCAR after a two-year hiatus in 1980, Waltrip was about to ink a deal with Roger Penske. However, the conditions of Waltrip's contract left Penske with no choice but to call off the deal.

The former NASCAR driver recalled when Roger called to deliver the disappointing news, he expressed that neither the Penske owner nor Bill would race if the deal went through.

"I'm going to drive for Roger Penske and I'm pretty excited about that so I go to Roger's house and we had lunch we kind of made the deal. So we get back home and then next day Roger called me and said, 'Hey, tear that deal up, the deal is off.' I said, 'What happened? What's wrong?' He said, 'Bill Garnder called me and said, 'If I sign you to a contract you drive my car, neither one of us will be in racing anymore...so all those contracts were just getting in my way," Waltrip said (53:28).

Waltrip continued the 1980 season with DiGard Racing but moved to Junior Johnson's team the next year.

A look into DiGard Racing owners' unwavering desire to hire Darrell Waltrip

Before embarking on a journey with DiGard Racing in 1975, Darrell Waltrip piloted entries for his own NASCAR team, producing strong performances week after week. But the shakeup occurred after the Kentucky native outdueled Garnder's driver Donnie Allison at the 1975 Coke Zero Sugar 400 race hosted by the Daytona International Speedway.

He overtook Allison on the last lap to finish fourth. It didn't sit well with Bill, and he immediately fired the #88 Chevy driver. Moreover, Bill asked his brother Jim to pursue Waltrip into joining DiGard Racing.

"I passed Donnie on the last lap to finish fourth and it made Bill Garnder so mad that he fired Donnie, he fired him that day. His brother Jim kind of ran the race team and so Bill Garner said, 'I don't know who, I'm tired of that kid outrunning me, I want you to hire him," Waltrip said in the same podcast (47:42).

After initial skepticism to join hands, courtesy of Waltrip's faster #17 Chevy supremacy, the three-time Cup Series champion changed his mind. Darrell Waltrip's mindset shift happened after an unexpected encounter with Jim Gardner at a gas station. The duo chatted for a while and later that day, Waltrip finalized the deal with Bill.