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Boogity! Boogity! Boogity! Waltrip Set To Retire After Nearly Five Decades With NASCAR

April 5, 2019 / 10:49 AM EDT / CBS Detroit

Darrell Waltrip is set to take the checkered flag on his broadcasting career.

The Fox Sports analyst will retire at the end of the network's portion of the NASCAR schedule following the June 23 race at Sonoma Raceway in California. It will likely be the last time the Kentucky native will utter his "Boogity! Boogity! Boogity! Let's go racing, boys!" call to open a race.

CONCORD, NC - JANUARY 21: Darrell Waltrip at the Sprint Unlimited Announcement on January 21, 2013 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Jamey Price/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Waltrip is one of NASCAR's storied characters, one of the first to build a brand around his supersized personality, and he parlayed it into a lifetime as one of the sport's strongest ambassadors. He began his Fox Sports career with the 2001 Daytona 500, and the Hall of Fame driver had hinted on social media this would be the final season of his career.

CHARLOTTE, NC - JANUARY 22: Darrell Waltrip poses with his car during the NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee Exhibit Unveiling at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on January 22, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Now 72, Waltrip said it was finally time to go.

"My family and I have been talking this over the past several months, and I've decided to call 2019 my last year in the FOX Sports booth," Waltrip said Thursday. "I have been blessed to work with the best team in the sport for the past 19 years, but I'm 72 and have been racing in some form for more than 50 years. I'm still healthy, happy and now a granddad, so it's time to spend more time at home with my family, although I will greatly miss my FOX family."

CHARLOTTE, NC - JANUARY 29: Darrell Waltrip and wife Stevie Waltrip pose on the red carpet at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on January 29, 2014 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/Getty Images)

Waltrip won 84 races and three Cup Series races over his career before moving straight into the broadcast booth. He was inducted into the third class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in January 2012.

CHARLOTTE, NC - JANUARY 20: NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee Darrell Waltrip poses for a photo after the NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on January 20, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR)

"For nearly five decades, few people have been as synonymous with NASCAR as Darrell Waltrip," NASCAR President Steve Phelps said. "A Hall of Famer on the track and in the booth, Waltrip brought quick wit, tireless passion and a wealth of stock car racing knowledge to millions of NASCAR fans on FOX for 19 seasons. We are grateful for Waltrip's many contributions to the sport over the past 47 years, both as a champion driver and broadcaster."

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