By admin 
Darrell Waltrip is one of the greatest drivers to steer a stock car and one of the most beloved commentators to ever sing into a microphone in a racetrack’s TV booth.
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That’s all true still — decades after his retirement from racing and years after his retirement from broadcasting.
But on Wednesday, Waltrip and his family announced he is stepping away from the spotlight.
The family wrote in a statement that the 79-year-old NASCAR Hall of Famer has been diagnosed with a neurological disease called Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD). The family said the diagnosis likely stems from his racing career — one in which drivers crushed bumpers and raced like gladiators without the safety protections found in the sport now.
“We wanted to share a health update with all of Darrell’s friends and fans who have supported him throughout his racing career,” Waltrip and his family wrote in a joint statement. “Recently, Darrell has been diagnosed with Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) complicated by possible Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) — likely injuries incurred during his racing career.
“While this disease will inevitably progress, thankfully it is currently limited to some minor noticeable symptoms. As a result, he will be stepping further away from the public limelight.”
The statement goes on: “Be assured, Darrell is happy and otherwise healthy, spending time with his wife, Stevie, two daughters and three young grandchildren. We are grateful for your continued prayer, love and support.”
The note then concluded with Waltrip’s favorite phrase he’d sing from the broadcast booth on race days during his tenure with FOX Sports: “Boogity! Boogity! Boogity!”
Darrell Waltrip’s very public life to date
Waltrip secured 84 NASCAR Cup Series victories and three Cup championships during his driving career. Those 84 wins is tied for fourth-most all-time with Bobby Allison. Waltrip, also known as “Jaws” for his shark-like ability matched with his outgoing personality, also holds the record with five victories at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s crown jewel 600-mile race — formerly called the World 600, now called the Coca-Cola 600.
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The Owensboro, Kentucky native then moved away from driving and continued elevating the sport in the broadcast booth. After retiring from racing in 2000, Waltrip signed with FOX to be the network’s lead Cup Series analyst and race commentator for the 2001 season and beyond, teaming with Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds. His first race was unfathomable to call: His younger brother, Michael, won the race — that year’s Daytona 500 — but the elation for Michael was shortly replaced by the harrowing realization that Dale Earnhardt, Waltrip’s longtime competitor and the sport’s titan, died in a crash on the last lap.
Waltrip continued calling races through 2019 — for nearly two decades screaming “Boogity, Boogity, Boogity, let’s go racing boys!” — but then retired thereafter. The last time he was in the booth to call a NASCAR Cup Series race was the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in May 2023, the first year NASCAR returned to the vaunted North Carolina track since leaving it in 1996.
As he later described to The Charlotte Observer when asked about calling that 2023 race: “It brought back a lot a good memories. I had a great driving career. I had a great TV career. And I quit TV probably a little too soon. I could’ve hung around a little bit longer. But anyway, it’s just nice to get back to a track where you’ve had success and see how other people do.”
What are FTD and CTE?
The brain condition Waltrip has been diagnosed with — Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) — is a group of progressive brain disorders that damage the parts of the brain that causes changes in thinking and behaviors. It could cause emotional problems, trouble communicating, challenges with work and difficulty walking.
According to Alzheimers.gov, FTD is not all that dissimilar to Alzheimer’s in that it is progressive — or gets worse over time. Some people live more than 10 years after a diagnosis, while others live less than two years, according to the website.
It’s possible that the FTD was caused by potential CTE, as the family wrote in the statement. CTE can only be diagnosed after death and is caused by violent and repeated hits to the head — something racers deal with.
CTE is a disease long associated with football. A highly publicized study from August via the British Medial Journal published that among the 1,712 NFL players who’ve died between 2008-21, 338 players’ brains were studied and 315 (93.2%) of whom had a diagnosis of CTE.
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