Darrell Waltrip on the Big Dust-Up in Atlanta

Darrell Waltrip had one piece of advice for the I-Man this morning: wear the hat.

“When you have your hat on, you’re like a driver,” Waltrip, a legendary stock car driver, told Imus. “Drivers are one way without a helmet, they’re another way with a helmet. They get an attitude when they’ve got their helmet on.”

If there’s one thing Imus is lacking, it’s definitely not attitude.

Waltrip fantasized for a few minutes about having his own show just like Imus’s, but confessed he loves what he does now as Fox’s lead NASCAR analyst.

“I drove with all the passion I had, and I still have that same passion,” said Waltrip. He thinks the difference between himself and other commentators is that he tells “the why” instead of “the what.”

Racing is having a good year, in Waltrip’s view, despite Imus seeing lots of empty seats during last weekend’s race in Atlanta. Many tracks, like the Atlanta Motor Speedway, were over-built when the sport was “in a boon,” Waltrip explained, and feature an abundance grandstands, condos, and suites.

“When you see races today, there’s usually still around 100,000 people at that event,” Waltrip said, which is still “a heck of a big crowd on a Sunday afternoon.”

But the big news out of Atlanta last Sunday was not attendance; it was driver Carl Edwards, behind 156 laps in the race, intentionally wrecking young star Brad Keselowski’s car. Edwards has since been suspended for a few races.

“I don’t think anyone expected for Carl to do what he did,” said Waltrip. “A multitude of things created this situation.”

Keselowski stuffed Edwards into a fence at Talladega a few weeks ago, in what Waltrip called “one of the ugliest wrecks we’ve had in a long time.” Keselowski also took Edwards out in Memphis, in an effort to solidify his reputation as “Bad Brad.”

“If you’re bad, sometimes you’re going to get bad,” Waltrip said.

At speeds of 195 miles per hour, there is danger in every little bump, never mind launching into the air and flipping over, as Keselowski did when Edwards hit him.

“There’s a key word when it comes to driving a stock car: anticipation,” said Waltrip. The cars, which weigh 3,400 pounds, move and slide around the track, requiring not only skill, but a whole lot of confidence to drive one. 

Ultimately, the risk is worth it: minimum wage for a top driver like Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson is $10 million a year. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has yet to live up to the expectations set for him, but Waltrip suspects one win would turn it all around.

“If you win a race, it’s like a cure for cancer…it makes all the difference in the world,” said Waltrip, who knows from whence he speaks.

-Julie Kanfer