Two of NASCAR’s greatest legends and the most successful driver and owner in Bristol Motor Speedway history, Darrell Waltrip and Junior Johnson, will kick off the Food City 500 in style with Waltrip waving the green flag while Johnson will serve as Grand Marshal.
Food City officials are thrilled to have such an accomplished duo taking part in the pre-race festivities.
“Food City is extremely honored to have two of NASCAR’s most successful personalities serve as honorary starter and grand marshal of the Food City 500, †said Steven C. Smith, Food City CEO/President.
“This year is cause for double celebration, as it marks the 15th anniversary of the Food City 500 and 20th anniversary of our Food City Family Race Night events. Junior Johnson was the obvious choice for grand marshal, as he appeared at our very first Food City Family Race Night in 1987. FOX commentator Darrell Waltrip was selected to waive the green flag in part due to his unmatched winning history at BMS. â€
Waltrip, who is a television commentator for FOX, which will be broadcasting the March 25 race, will be shown live on the air, waving the green flag to start the sold-out Food City 500 while uttering his famous “Boogity, boogity, boogity†phrase. This will be the first time Waltrip has been the Honorary Starter for a NEXTEL Cup Series event and is thought to be the first time an on-air personality has started a Cup race during a live broadcast.
The 60-year-old Waltrip, a three-time Nextel Cup champion and winner of 84 races at NASCAR’s top level, is the all-time leading winner at the World’s Fastest Half-Mile with 12 victories. While Dale Earnhardt, Cale Yarborough and Rusty Wallace all had nine wins at Bristol, the next closest active drivers to Waltrip’s mark are Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch with five wins apiece. David Pearson also had five BMS wins.
Named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers, he made history at Bristol when he won a remarkable seven consecutive Cup events from the spring of 1981 through the spring of 1984.
Waltrip’s first win at Bristol came in the spring of 1978 and his final came in August of 1992, which was the first race on concrete at BMS.
Johnson is the all-time leading car owner at Bristol with a remarkable 21 victories and was Waltrip’s car owner during his streak of seven straight wins. The next closest was the Holman-Moody team with nine wins while Richard Childress, Jack Roush and Roger Penske are the winningest active owners with eight each.
The 75-year-old Johnson, also one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers, captured 50 Cup wins over his distinguished career, including one at Bristol in the spring of 1965 when he served as both driver and owner. Johnson’s record of consecutive race wins at Bristol outshines Waltrip’s by one, as he won an amazing eight straight events on the high-banked oval, including the August night race of 1980 with Cale Yarborough behind the wheel.
The Food City 500 takes the flag on Sunday, March 25 at 2 p. m. Husqvarna Pole Day at BMS is Friday, March 23 while the Sharpie MINI 300 is Saturday, March 24 with a start time of 3 p. m.
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