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Sundays Will Never Be the Same
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(Poll Ballot) Sundays Will Never Be the Same by Darrell Waltrip - 3 stars
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You have made this sound really interesting and good. Dale Earnhardt's death sent shock waves around the world. There are many who echo Darren.
(cue crickets)
Despite my lack of knowledge, this was a good book. I can't say that Darrell Waltrip was a well-behaved young adult. A few too many police chases, speeding tickets and lots of drinking seemed to be his way of life. He was always interested in racing and made his first appearance at Daytona in 1965 when he was only 18. The race was going well until the engine blew up but a lifelong love of the track was born. He says to this day that the best decision he ever made was marring his wife Stevie. The two spent many years travelling from one race to another. There were many ups and downs for Darrell; years when he spent more times up against a wall than taking the checkered flag. My favorite story in the book was about the CBS agreement to televise NASCAR which was still considered a niche sport in the South. It was the 1979 Daytona 500 and the contract between CBS and NASCAR stated that the race must begin on time or NASCAR would get no money from the network. Of course it rained and as the televised start time was drawing near, NASCAR officials had a brilliant idea. They started the race under the yellow caution flag and the field of cars drove sedately around the track for 30 minutes until the rain stopped and the true competition could begin. No one said how fast they had to be going, right?
When Darrell retired from racing he was hired by NBC/FOX to be a commentator. His first national broadcast was on February 18, 2001. It would turn out to be his most memorable day at Daytona. Darrell's brother Michael was driving for Dale Earnhardt's team and Michael won the race, his very first. Dale Earnhardt himself was in the race and this would prove to be his last as he died on impact when his car hit the wall. Dale had been Darrell's rival/friend for years and this was a gut wrenching loss for himself and the entire racing world. It fortunately led to some much needed safety enhancements for the drivers but for Darrell - "Sundays will never be the same."