ANOTHER NIGHT TO WALK THE CAT

i tried. I really did. I had a long and boring day sitting in a conference room all day listening to meaningless discussions. I decided that last night I would sit back and watch the Camping World Truck Series from Nashville. I really like that speedway, I supposed, because it is different than the "cookie cutter" patterns we're so used to seeing. So, I kicked back, turned it on, watched Krista Voda get cake smashed into her face and all the laugher over that. Then here comes D.W. with his inane comments and a long discussion on the "ambient temperature" as if he even knows what that means. I'm sure he overheard Digger mention that once.

The race got underway and of course Kyle Busch goes to the front. All the talk was about Kyle and how he dominates everything he runs and D.W. goes on and one about how KB can take a one groove track and make it wide enough to pass.

They were talking about the Sam Bass guitar as how it is one of the most sought after trophies in all of sports. That is when I had the flash back of Kyle smashing that guitar when he won and then came up with the lame excuse he wanted all of the crew to have a piece of the guitar. Still, I was trying to hang in there.

Then D.W.started again. I am certain D.W. has visions of Kyle Busch walking across the Mississippi River, or any other body of water, and actually worships the kid. I would not be at all surprised if D.W. contacts the Pope about putting Kyle up for sainthood. I had to turn the tv off. Saw in the paper today that Kyle won. No surprise there. I did NOT see where he busted up the guitar this time.

This is not a rant against Kyle Busch. I have come to respect his driving ability and the more I learn about how he cares about many of the same things I do, I can handle his style for the most part. "It's not bragging if you can do it" fits Kyle.

But, I cannot, will not, subject my senses to anymore of that D.W. Goodbye FOX network. Goodbye Speed Network when you use D.W. to discuss ambient temperatures. Walking the cat is much more healthy for me than observing total stupidity for 2 hours.

Tim

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What a change! It's been awhile since I've checked in and I'm quite surprised. It may take me awhile to figure it our but first look it's really great.


updated by @tim-leeming: 03/10/17 04:09:00PM

Ladies and Gentlemen, You have just read a very well written description of the life and times of racing with ole DW. The guy has become rather self centered around his little world,kinda like Wayne s world, but in a sense Tim is right on his description of Mr Darrell Walthorpe.

A few years ago,well more than a few but Darrell used to be real mouthy but now he is living in Diggers World now,like with his head in a hole???

But Tim at least still has his on his shoulders even if he walks a cat that goes where it wants to anyway.

The best part is what Tim wrote was written by an non attorney spokesperson who is also a person of importance on Racers Reunion and a mouth piece for "NEXUS" Fuel products. Both are fast and famous.

Now Mr tomcat who walks Tim,well you make that conclusion.

I'm afraid I have to agree with you about DW, Tim, and don't know if you have the same opinion, but I pretty much have the same opinion of Larry Mac, too. I would think that two people who have spent as much time around race tracks as those two would be better at commentating............but I guess that what we are seeing is the best it will ever get. Now that's a sad thought. I wonder if their broadcasts have anything to do with the declining TV ratings.

How many of you remember Bud Moore firing DW in his rookie season? At Richmond, Jaws drove right into Baxter Price and started the worst fire I've ever seen at a racetrack. Bud told DW on the radio over and over to slow down - that a car was spun out blocking the track, but Darrell came around turn 3 and 4 and drove straigjht into the Price, destroying Bud's car and a bunch of others in the fire that resulted. That was enough for Bud. If you remember, the NASCAR rookie panel name Lennie Pond the Rookie of the year over DW that year - 1973.

Here is a direct quote from DW, confirming this event (DW's version, of course) that I witnessed and never forgot (especially after hearing Bud's personal description many years later!!) --

"I caused the biggest wreck in the history of NASCAR, bigger than the ones at Talladega, at Richmond driving for Bud Moore. Have you never noticed that Bud never mentions me. All of these drivers will get on stage and he'll talk about all the great drivers he's had and he never mentions my name and I drove seven races for him in 1973. But we were in Richmond and he was running a 351 against everybody else's, they said they were 427s but they were more like 494s -- whatever they were they were big motors. He thought he could win with a 351 and I'm a rookie so I believe he can too. Anyway, we're at Richmond on the old race track. I qualified on the outside pole, Bobby (Allison) was on the pole and I was on the outside pole. They dropped the green flag and a guy named Baxter Price started dead last. He didn't even try to qualify, they just started him at the back of the field. On the third lap we were lapping him. He spun coming off of turn four and, of course, that race track was real narrow. He spun coming off of turn four and I'm all over the back of Bobby and all of a sudden Bobby dives down pit lane. Well, I wondered why and it didn't take very long for me to find out because Baxter Price was sitting sideways on the race track. I hit him right in the fuel cell and when I did it exploded. I mean, it was full of fuel and it just exploded. Of course, the track is blocked and everybody was just piling in -- there must have been probably 20 cars. Well, the gas is running all down underneath of them and everything is catching on fire. I'm sitting there and, of course, every driver is scared to death of fire and the last thing I heard is, 'Get that radio. Cut that radio off that roll bar and bring that radio in. Don't let that radio burn up.' The car burned up, but he didn't want that radio to burn up."

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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

Well i agree with everbody i will not watch or listen to a race as long as DW is there calling it i just can`t do it i have tride and tride but just can`t i recken it go`s back to when Bobby Allison was racing i am watching the Nationwide race as i speek but i will not listen to DW on TV i just can`t do it sorry

I have never been a big DW fan, as you can probably tell, because of his mouthand thought it was quite appropriate when Cale hung the JAWS moniker on him. I grew up in Richmond, VA and was a big Lennie Pond supporter in 1973's Cup Rookie chase, claimed by Lennie over DW. I had previously watched DW get his tail whipped in the Late Model Sportsman ranks anytime he came to Virginia and tried to compete against Ray Hendrick and Sonny Hutchins. Later, Bud Moore and wife Betty became wonderful family friends and Bud, of course, voiced his opinion of ole DW from the seven races he drove for Bud before being fired. Then, while running the Wrangler Jeans program I sat in a back room at a seedy motel in Greensboro, NC with Junior Johnson, who wanted to replace DW with Dale, along with his Wrangler sponsorship. Junior claimed Darrell had his "bell rung" when he hit that inside concrete wall near the Goodyear tower at Daytona and would never again be competitive. When Junior later reneged on a deal we had to have Dale with him in a one car only operation, we voided our contract with Junior, called him what he was, and he continued with DW in one car and Neil Bonnett in a second. This all leads me to say, "HOWEVER"... HOWEVER, I witnessed Darrell do one of the nicest things I ever saw at a racetrack. In 1986 I was VP/GM of RABANCO racing out of Campobello, SC and we had taken Cup rookie, Derrike Copeto an open test at Charlotte to prepare to attempt to qualify for the World 600. It was Derrike's first time on a superspeedway and he was very uncomfortable getting into turn 3, especially not knowing how the car (a 1986 Ford T-Bird) should be acting getting in the corner. Darrell was parked near us and out of the clear blue, came over and told me how much he liked the way Derrike had come into the Cup series as a rookie and how much he respected the way Derrike was acting and asking questions. He then asked if I would like for him (DW) to get in Derrike's car and shake it down for a few laps? Of course, we said yes and DW (a GM factory driver at the time) took Derrike's independent T-bird out for us. When he came back after 5-6 laps, he said he didn't even know how Derrike had kept from spinning out - that he must be a pretty good driver. Then, DW went to his truck and came back with springs and shocks. He got under Derrike's car with our guys and suggested the setup we use. To make a long story short, Derrike made the Charlotte field because of DW's unsolicited and unselfish help and I have never forgotten that. Of course there were no tv cameras or reporters watching and Darrell was a totally different person than the one we watch on tv.. The funny thing is that it was the second time that season we'd been helped through a Junior Johnson connection. In April, at Martinsville, we had aan impact wrench malfunction during a pit stop and crew chief Tim Brewer in the pit next to us for Neil Bonnett grabbed his impact wrench, jumped into our pit and changed a rear tire for us. In the many years I was around it, I saw a lot of unselfish, unpublcized things done by racers to help other competitors. The really funny thing is that Derrike's funding dried up in July and the team shut down. My next job, ironically,was planning a press conference that November in Atlanta for DW, Rick Hendrick and Waddell Wilson for tha agency handling the Tide detergent account. We hade DW drive a Hendrick Tide car out of a huge box of Tide onstage to announce the "Dream Team", which soon acquired another name I shall not repeat here. Anyhow, it is a small world and sometimes the person you have bashed turns out to have another, very human side, as I found out unexpectedly.


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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

hey Tim he said maybe ole DW has a human side, you know of this?? I know of the other name but if Dave wont tell Im not either. But the turn of events Dave described in their escapades where Tim Brewer helped them during a pitstop was fairly common practice back before the media came into play. DW was a man of many faces off the track, I had the pleasure of being on the track with him in the early days and he was a person to keep in your mirror. But off he would show unique moments of kindness in helping others. He cant dance so I guess the Boggity Boggity is his way of doing the TWIST?? MAYBE -----------------------------memories

oh by the way where did the cat take you on y'alls walk in the dark???