Waltrip's last broadcast after a 19-year run at Fox Sports will be this weekend at Sonoma RacewayGETTY IMAGES
Fox Sports CEO & Exec Producer Eric Shanks said there are no current plans to replace NASCAR analyst Darrell Waltrip next year and instead could contract its booth from three people to two. Waltrip is retiring from his 19-year run with Fox Sports after this weekend’s broadcast at Sonoma, which is the last Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race this season before NBC Sports takes over next weekend. There has been speculation about who will replace Waltrip next year and join play-by-play man Mike Joy and fellow analyst Jeff Gordon, but Shanks told THE DAILY that it is not a sure thing he will be replaced. Shanks in an email wrote, “Darrell has defined FOX NASCAR coverage from Day 1. You can’t simply snap your fingers and replace someone like him. For now, there is no plan to add anyone to the booth for 2020 … we’re just focusing on saying ‘thank you’ to DW’” (Adam Stern, THE DAILY).
IN HIS OWN WORDS: Waltrip said he asks Fox execs: "Who’s going to take my place?" But so far, Fox has said they "don’t have anybody." Waltrip: "I think there is a chance there could be a two-man booth in the future. I’ve always thought that wasn’t a bad idea.” On potential replacements, Waltrip said Fox already has "some pretty good people” in-house like Regan Smith, Ricky Craven and Jamie McMurray, while Kevin Harvick “will be a star.” Waltrip: “It wouldn’t take a lot for them to become TV stars." He admitted his "approach has mellowed,” especially when it comes to criticizing NASCAR leadership, as he gives them the "benefit of the doubt now, maybe more than ever." Waltrip noted NASCAR's "audience changed," along with the sport itself and the drivers, but it is the "weekly change that has made it really difficult for all of us to do a good job like we feel like we need to." He said, "I never saw the downturn in attendance and the downturn in ratings coming. … In a lot of ways I think we just abandoned our core. We started looking for fans in all the wrong places." Waltrip: "We've overexposed the sport. ... If we were able to take care of ourselves and sustain ourselves we wouldn’t have to do all (the television appearances and exposure)" ("NASCAR on NBC Podcast," NBCSPORTS.com, 6/19).
PAYING TRIBUTE: MOTORSPORT.com's Jim Utter reported Roush Fenway Racing and Front Row Motorsports will "pay homage" to Waltrip with "special paint schemes" during Sunday's Toyota Save Mart 350. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s No. 17 Ford will "feature a special chrome numbered paint scheme." Waltrip "drove the No. 17 car in the Cup series" from '87-98. Front Row Motorsports will "run a paint scheme on David Ragan’s No. 38 Ford inspired by Waltrip’s No. 17 Western Auto Parts America Chevrolet which he drove" in the late '90s (MOTORSPORT.com, 6/19). Leavine Family Racing's Matt DiBenedetto also will "drive a throwback No. 95 ride that resembles the design campaigned" by Waltrip in '74 (NASCAR.com, 6/19).
