#21 - DW and DiGard ~ Breaking Up is Hard to Do
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06/14/2017 Matt McLaughlin |
(Editor’s Note) In 1997
- 1998, Matt McLaughlin penned a special Anthology of historical pieces in
honor of the 50th Anniversary of NASCAR entitled "50 Years of NASCAR
Racing." Matt has entrusted the entire collection, minus one or two that
were misfiled back then and cannot be salvaged, to my tender, loving care.
As NASCAR turns 70, the
Anthology itself will celebrate a 20th anniversary through 2018, and will run
again here on Race Fans Forever. As before, there is no record of which pieces
came first, so it will appear in the sequence presented earlier. Please, sit
back and enjoy as you take a journey back through the pages of history and
perhaps relive a memory or two.
As always, many thanks
to Matt, and God bless you my friend. ~PattyKay
These days it seems hard to believe car owners and
drivers once made agreements with little more than a promise and a handshake,
without a lawyer and a telephone book sized contract in sight, but that's how
it used to get done in the kinder and simpler days of NASCAR racing. There was
also a time when most car owners were retired drivers with a passion for the
sport, not businessmen looking to turn a profit. In those days, cars were still
sponsored by the local auto dealer, or maybe some small regional company owned
by a high school buddy of the driver. Among the first to break the trend was DiGard
racing, owned by Bill Gardner, his brother Jim, and originally Mike Diprospero. It wasn't long before DiGard, and their ace
driver Darrell Waltrip, got involved in an unseemly battle of words that went
on for years.
DiGard racing first appeared on the scene in 1973, the
second year of the modern era in NASCAR. Factory support money was no longer
available from the auto companies, and big-name national companies were
stepping into the void to sponsor stock cars. In 1973 and 1974 the cars of
Donnie Allison, a veteran campaigner and Bobby's brother, were sponsored by the
DiGard Company itself, but in 1975 the team obtained big-dollar sport from
Gatorade.
Darrell Waltrip appeared on the scene in stock car
racing in 1972, trailering a Mercury, with his wife listed as car owner, to
Talladega to run his first race. He continued running family-owned cars into
1975, with some support from Terminal Trucking. There was no questioning the
young driver's talents. He had already made a name for himself driving
Sportsman cars, primarily at his home track in Nashville. Even going into 1975,
having run a part-time Winston Cup schedule from '72 to '75, he had already
claimed 19 top-ten finishes, including a pair of seconds. Darrell had also
earned himself a bit of a reputation. In an era when "Opie Taylor"
haircuts were the norm for a Winston Cup driver, Darrell had long hair. In an
era when new drivers asked about having to compete against the likes of Richard
Petty, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough and David Pearson, were supposed to just
shuffle their feet with downcast eyes and reply, "Aw shucks I'm just
honored to be allowed to run on the same track with them", Darrell was
very vocal about the fact he was certain he could beat all of them, he was the
greatest driver ever born, and that they had best stay out of his way, because
he was coming through. "Arrogant" was a word often used to describe
Darrell in those days... one of the nicer ones actually. As TV became more and more essential to
NASCAR, Darrell was arguably the master of the medium, able to speak in sound
bites, get a laugh, or stir up controversy on a moment's notice when a camera
was pointed at him. DW backed up those strong words with a surprise win at
Nashville, May 10th, 1975. "I figured we would win one a lot sooner than
this." Mr. Humble told the media in Victory Lane.
Bill Gardner, who ran the day to day operations of
DiGard racing, was first and foremost a business owner. He had a big-dollar
sponsor to keep happy so he could continue to make a profit at racing, and
after the Firecracker 400 that year, Gardner decided Donnie Allison wasn't
getting the job done. The team had yet to win a race, and thus Gardner
summarily fired one of the most popular drivers in the sport. Darrell Waltrip
was offered the opportunity to drive for the team, and he jumped at the chance.
DW had been out there running hard, trying to impress some team owner, knowing
that fast race cars of the era ran as much on money as they did on UNOCAL 76.
DiGard had a big sponsor, a lot of money, and thus a fast car. In what was a
rather unusual move by the standards of the day, DW and Gardner signed a five
year contract. When asked if he felt that he could win in the DiGard car,
Darrell cracked he felt that they would have to work real hard… if they were
ever going to lose a race. Of course, it wasn't that easy, but October 12th
of that year Darrell took the DiGard team to Victory Lane for the first time.
He went on to finish seventh in that year's point chase.
The pairing hit a minor bump in the road in 1976.
Darrell had a habit of speaking his mind when it came to racing (and anything
else for that matter) and that year at Daytona, Waltrip and the team were
caught red handed with an illegal nitrous system aboard the car. Asked about it
by reporters, Darrell replied, "If you don't cheat, you look like an
idiot. If you do it and don't get caught, you look like a hero. If you do it
and get caught, you look like a dope. Put me in the category where I
belong." For his remarks, DW might have gotten an "A" for
candor, but he got an "F" for sponsor relations. Gatorade was less
than thrilled to have the team they backed labeled as "Cheaters" and
Gardner was furious as Darrell's memorable quote appeared in papers coast to
coast that week. DW redeemed himself a bit by winning his 125-mile qualifying
race (sans the nitrous oxide) but even after that the papers reported,
"Cheater wins the race". DW placed 32nd in that year's Daytona 500,
after blowing an engine. In what would be a hallmark of the stormy relationship
between DiGard and Darrell, he blamed the team for a lack of attention to detail
for the failure, and the crew accused Darrell of being the sort of driver who
could break an anvil. Still the team did go on to win a race that year, and
Darrell wound up 8th in the points.
It was in 1977, Darrell and the DiGard team came into
their own as serious contenders. The line on Darrell had been he was a good
short track racer, but hopeless on the big tracks. He put that notion to rest,
winning six times that year, including four times on Superspeedways.
(Interestingly enough, Darrell also took the checkered flag at Talladega that
year, having driven the final 23 laps in relief for Donnie Allison… the driver
he replaced at DiGard.) In a year when Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough just
flat dominated, Darrell added his name to the list of superstars. He wound up
fourth in the final points rundown. Even that dream season contained its fair
share of headaches however. During the off season, Darrell was quoted as
saying, "I don't know if I can finish a 500-mile race myself if the car
ever does", going on to point out the DiGard entry had failed to finish in
16 out of 30 races in '76, usually after an engine failure. Crew chief and
engine builder, Mario Rossi, quit the team because he couldn't stomach
Darrell's attitude. David Ifft took Rossi's place as
crew chief. But early in the season, Bill Gardner hired on Darel Dieringer as
Team Manager. Ifft claimed that Dieringer was
interfering with the relationship between him and Waltrip, and quit as well.
Darrell went on record as wanting Dieringer fired, saying the team didn't need
a "full time baby-sitter." Buddy Parrott replaced Ifft.
Late in the year, Cale Yarborough and DW began a war of words, occasionally
punctuated by the use of a front bumper on the track. At the Southern 500 in
September, Darrell and Cale were battling for the lead as they came up on three
lapped cars. Either Cale or Darrell had to lift. Neither did. A five car wreck
ensued. Yarborough felt since he had the lead Darrell should have lifted, and
dubbed DW "Jaws" both because his mouth was constantly running, and
he was as dangerous as the movie shark. DW shot back Cale was an old man, and
if he couldn't take the heat of battle he should retire. Either way, Darrell
and DiGard signed a new five year contract that would bind them together until
1982.
Things got better on the track, but worse off the
track for Darrell and the team in 1978. Darrell was in contention for the
points lead several times throughout the season and wound up third, having once
again won 6 races. Once again DW was certain the only reason he hadn't beat
that "Old man" Yarborough for the championship was the alarming
number of DNF's the team suffered. By midseason Darrell had also decided he
didn't much care for the new contact, feeling as a superstar in the sport he was
entitled to more money and a percentage of the post season awards. He began
searching for a new ride, despite the contract, and actively courting
sponsors... including Gatorade, unfortunately. In those days, if a driver
wasn't happy and let it be known, most team owners would let him leave,
occasionally on the spot. But when Darrell started telling folks that he would
be driving for Harry Ranier, who was not aware of DW's contractual obligations
at that point, Gardner let it be known that he felt the contract was a legally
binding document and any owner wishing to hire Darrell would have to buy out
the remaining years of Darrell's contract, and that the price wasn't cheap.
When Ranier approached Gardner about the price, suddenly Darrell's contract was
no longer for sale at any price. Waltrip kept on insisting he was leaving.
Gardner kept insisting he was staying. Gardner also explained to Darrell that
if he tried jumping ship, DiGard racing would take him to court in every state
that the Winston Cup series ran in , to get an injunction to keep DW from
driving for anyone else. Darrell was finding out the hard way, the Gardners didn't do things the way most race teams did.
Finally, in late October, Gardner and Darrell sat down to iron out their
differences after Gatorade started making noise they weren't thrilled by the
situation. To everyone's great surprise, once again DW signed a new five-year
contract with DiGard. He said he was happy with the arrangement and had gotten
every concession he asked for. The deal was announced on Halloween. And like
the ghosts and goblins that are symbols of that day, the problems between
DiGard and Darrell were also among the "undead."
1979 was the most successful year of the
DiGard/Waltrip association. He led in the points most of the year, on the
strength of seven victories. But once again, late in the season the team began
losing engines and Darrell watched his points lead over Richard Petty dwindle
as he suffered through DNF's. DW was vocal that the team was at fault for cracking
under pressure. Of course, Darrell didn't help his own cause much at that
year's Southern 500, suffering "brain fade" and slugging the wall
while leading by over a lap. On the restart, he once again slammed the wall
trying to regain the lead. Gardner and the crew were as vocal in their
criticism of the driver, as he had been of them. At North Wilkesboro, DW got
into an on-track feud with Bobby Allison while the two were running one-two. DW
shoved Bobby out of the way, and Allison responded by catching up to Waltrip
and putting him hard into the wall. The DiGard Chevy was behind the wall for
many laps and finished 13th. Gardner was furious, both with Allison and
Darrell. At the next race, at
Rockingham, the car suffered mechanical failure once again, leaving DW in
sixth, eight laps behind Richard Petty, who not only won the race but took the
points lead for the first time that year. Darrell finished one place higher
than Petty in Atlanta and thus carried a two point lead going into the season
finale at the Ontario, California track. At that race, Darrell spun out trying
to avoid another spinning car and went a lap down. He wasn't able to make up
the lap and finished in eighth while Petty finished in fifth place and claimed
his seventh championship by a mere 11-point margin. The Gardners
felt Darrell should have been able to avoid the spin. Darrell felt that his car
wasn't strong enough. They both agreed that Buddy Parrott had to be at fault,
and he was summarily fired. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and Parrott was
rehired for the 1980 season. Unfortunately, that meant Buddy wound up with a
front row seat for the final act of the DiGard/Waltrip soap opera.
In 1980 Bill Gardner decided to field a second team,
with driver Don Whittington piloting the second car. Whittington brought one
thing to the table…vast sums of money. Darrell was furious. Conventional wisdom
of the day said that no two-car operation could win, and Darrell, with a bit of
his usual flare for the dramatic, was quoted as saying, "I'm not happy
with it but there's nothing I can do. I'm just a lonely soldier doing my
job." Whittington failed to make the field at Daytona and left the team
soon thereafter. Darrell fared little better, losing an engine on the 20th lap
and winding up in 40th position… and he was in a very bad temper about it. Once
again he was vocal in saying the DiGard team's management was ruining his
career, and he compared himself to the hostages in Iran. The team seemed to be
either hot or cold that year. Either Darrell finished in the top five (and
occasionally won) or he suffered mechanical failures and fared miserably. The
day after the World 600 at Charlotte that year, Jake Elder, who was crew chief
for the point leader, Dale Earnhardt, announced he was quitting the team
because he couldn't get along with the team manager. Old Suitcase Jake packed
up his things once again, and became crew chief at DiGard, supposedly because
Darrell wanted him to replace Parrott, who was once again fired. "I'd die
before I'd turn another wrench on Darrell Waltrip's
car." Parrott announced to the media in a huff. The romance between Buddy
and Darrell was short lived. After a win and several strong finishes, the
DiGard Chevrolet once again lost an engine and Darrell fell to fourth in the
points. At that point he was quoted as saying, "I'll win championships,
but this team never will", a remark he later denied making. The next visit
to the Michigan track went even worse. Darrell lost engines on both qualifying
attempts and failed to make the field. Gardner had to buy a car from a
privateer to get Darrell in the race. The situation got that much more tense in September when Cale Yarborough announced he
was leaving one of the most prized rides in NASCAR racing of that era, Junior
Johnson's Oldsmobile. Yarborough had won three consecutive titles with Junior
from 1976-78, but wanted to cut back to a part time schedule in 1981, and Junior wanted to continue running for championships. Darrell
announced almost immediately he wanted that ride… and he wanted it bad. At
Charlotte for the fall race, he went on record as saying, "If I don't get
away from these Gardeners they're going to drag me right down the tubes with
them." Gardner made a surprise announcement the next day, saying he was
looking for a new driver for the next year, but he was not going to release
Darrell from the contract. Instead he would put his new driver in the Gatorade
car, and Darrell would be left running whatever junk was sitting around the
shop, with a second rate crew until his contract expired. Considering the
contract had three years to run, and Darrell was in his prime driving years,
the announcement was tantamount to saying Gardner was going to destroy
Darrell's career. He then went on to send a letter through his attorney to
Junior Johnson, threatening legal action if Junior continued to even talk to
Darrell about driving for him. Junior got some lawyers of his own and
threatened Gardner with the same if DiGard kept trying to hire employees of
Junior's team. On that day, perhaps, lawyers became as important as the pit
crew to Winston Cup teams.
The scorched earth tactics Bill Garner was using in
his war with Darrell were no solution. The sponsor was unhappy, and it was
clear to Gardner as well as Waltrip, with the amount of animosity between the
two parties, neither would ever earn the championship both wanted so much, as
long as they were together. On October 28th and 29th Bill and Darrell set down
and finalized the terms of their divorce. Darrell was let out of his contract,
but it cost him a good bit of change. While the amount was never released,
estimates were between four hundred and five hundred thousand dollars. DW went
heavily into debt to buy his freedom but was still elated. Speaking of the
agreement with DiGard, Darrell said, "I'm a free man. I'm committed to
running two more races for them, but after that I'm free. Now if only the
hostages in Iran would be set free too, my world will be in good shape."
The stormy relationship ended with a whimper and not a bang. Darrell finished
26th and 25th in the last two races of the season, suffering engine problems in
both.
AFTERMATH- The split-up worked to both parties'
advantages. Darrell signed with Junior Johnson and won the Winston Cup title
the next two years, and again in 1985. DiGard signed Ricky Rudd to replace
Darrell, but the relationship lasted only one year. Ironically Bobby Allison
signed on in 1982 to drive for the team that had once fired his brother. He
brought the Miller beer sponsorship to the team after Gatorade decided they had
had enough. Bobby and Darrell were the closest rivals for the championship in
1981, 1982, and 1983. Bobby finished second to Darrell in 81, and again in 1982
after signing with DiGard. In 1983 DiGard and Bobby Allison finally both got
their coveted first Championship, with Gary Nelson as crew chief, and some new
guy named Robert Yates building the engines. It must have given Bill Gardner
some special satisfaction to beat out Darrell, the driver he had wrangled with
all those years, by a mere 47-point margin. Stormy relationships with drivers
and crew members remained common at DiGard racing throughout its history in the
sport.
*Matt can no longer
field comments or email at Race Fans Forever. If you have comments or
questions, please leave them below and I’ll do my best to supply answers.
~PattyKay Lilley, Senior Editor.