Report: NASCAR driver to compete on “Dancing with the Stars”

Michael Waltrip (Getty Images)
Michael Waltrip (Getty Images)
Michael Waltrip (Getty Images)

NASCAR will have representation on the ABC hit show “Dancing with the Stars”.  The New York Daily News reports that Michael Waltrip will the season 19 cast is announced.  Waltrip is a two-time Daytona 500 champion and currently part owner of Michael Waltrip Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series.  His older brother Darrell Waltrip is a three-time NASCAR champion who now works as a NASCAR analyst for Fox Sports.

The 51-year-old Owensboro Kentucky native still races occasionally as well as provides color TV commentary for NASCAR races and programming.

Waltrip has made three NASCAR Sprint Cup starts this season, two at Daytona International Speedway and one at Talladega Superspeedway; his best finish was 19th at the Daytona race in July.  Waltrip’s last brush with the mainstream media came this past March when he thought he was meeting Donna Summer, who passed away two years prior.  Last season his team was embroiled in controversy when their drivers allegedly obeyed team orders to cause cautions in a race that decided the field for NASCAR’s 10-race championship playoff. MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.