By Sarah Handy, Staff Writer
In this week’s edition of Flashback Friday, Kickin’ The Tires relives when NASCAR driver Darrell Waltrip won the Bud 500 from Thunder Valley’s Bristol International Raceway (now Bristol Motor Speedway) on August 29, 1992.
Bristol was a track where Darrell Waltrip became accustomed to visiting victory lane at.
That would prove to be the same when the Winston Cup Series visited the .533-mile short track for the 21st race on the schedule.
Waltrip started the event from the ninth position in his No. 17 Western Auto Chevrolet and would lead 222 laps, including the final 132.
Waltrip finished the race by an astounding 9.28 seconds ahead of second-place, Dale Earnhardt.
The victory would mark the 12th time the Franklin, Tennessee driver won at his historic home track.
Bristol had recently changed its surface from asphalt to concrete following the April 1992 race, but the change proved to be no problem for Waltrip.
“I’ll tell you one thing, it’s a lot better to run on top of concrete than into it.”, Waltrip said.
“The track is rough, but I’ve been here for the last 18 years and I’ve raced on this track in every type of condition imaginable. I never dreamed they would make it out of concrete, but it seemed to be all right. If they smooth it out a little bit, it will be an even better place to race.”
Waltrip would go on to win a total of three times in 1992 including back-to-back wins from Bristol to Darlington, and earn 10 Top-5s, 13 Top-10s and lead for 513 laps in 29 starts.
Career Update:
Darrell Waltrip went on to become a three-time NASCAR Cup Champion (1981, 1982, 1985) and finish runner up three-times (1979, 1983, 1986).
Overall, Waltrip found victory lane 84 times in NASCAR’s premiere series and amassed 276 Top-5s, 390 Top-10s, 59 pole awards, and led 23, 134 laps in 809 career starts. Waltrip was also inducted into the 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame.
After competing in his last Cup race in the 2000 NAPA 500 from Atlanta, Waltrip stepped into the broadcasting booth for Fox, something he did for 19 years with his final race in the booth coming at Sonoma Raceway in June of 2019.
In a Fox press release this past April, Waltrip said, “My family and I have been talking this over the past several months, and I’ve decided to call 2019 my last year in the FOX Sports booth.”
“I have been blessed to work with the best team in the sport for the past 19 years, but I’m 72 and have been racing in some form for more than 50 years. I’m still healthy, happy and now a granddad, so it’s time to spend more time at home with my family, although I will greatly miss my FOX family.”