BRISTOL, Tenn. – After 19 years as a broadcaster on NASCAR television broadcasts, Darrell Waltrip has confirmed he is calling it a career.

Waltrip, a three-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion during a driving career that spanned 29 years, confirmed in an interview with The Tennessean Thursday that he’ll end his broadcast career when he calls his last race for FOX on June 23 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.

“I could’ve waited until Charlotte or somewhere else down the road, but it’s been hanging over my head,” Waltrip told The Tennessean. “I just wanted to clear the air, let people know what my plans are and then other people can make plans accordingly. Like who’s going to take my place or is somebody going to take my place?”

Waltrip ended his NASCAR driving career at the end of the 2000 season when he made the last of 809 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The following season he joined FOX as an analyst, a position he has held for the last 19 years.

His first race as a broadcaster for FOX was a memorable one, for good and bad reasons. He got to watch his younger brother, Michael Waltrip, drive to victory in the 2001 Daytona 500. It was overshadowed, however, by a crash on the last lap of the race that would ultimately claim the life of seven-time series champion Dale Earnhardt.

At 72 years old, Waltrip’s trademark “Boogity, boogity, boogity” phrase that he exclaims at the start of every race he covers has become his calling card.

Waltrip said he plans to spend more time with family following his retirement. His daughter Jessica gave birth to his granddaughter 14 months ago and he admitted that served as a wakeup call.

“A big wake-up call for me was when our first grandchild was born 14 months ago and I would come and go and it was just like when I’d watched my girls grow up,” Waltrip said. “They grew up at the racetrack and they were grown and married before I hardly knew it.”

Beyond spending time with his family, the 84-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner has not announced any addition plans for his future.

“Darrell has been the heart and soul of the FOX NASCAR booth since day one, so it’s incredibly bittersweet to know this is his final season,” said Eric Shanks, FOX Sports CEO & Executive Producer. “DW’s unmatched charisma and passion helped FOX Sports build its fan base when we first arrived at Daytona in 2001, and he has been the cornerstone of our NASCAR coverage ever since. We look forward to celebrating DW at Sonoma.”

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Sterling Marlin, a two-time Daytona 500 winner, underwent deep brain stimulation surgery earlier this week at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

The surgery, the third of four surgery stages, is a treatment for Parkinson’s disease. Marlin was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2012.

“On behalf of my father and our family, I would like to thank each and every one of you that have been supportive of my father throughout the years. It truly means the world to all of us,” said Marlin’s daughter, Sutherlin Marlin. “Parkinson’s is a roller coaster physically and emotionally for both the individual and family. After considerable thought, research and consultations with numerous doctors and specialists, my dad decided to undergo deep brain stimulation surgery. We ask that you send prayers for a successful final surgery and recovery.”

Deep brain stimulation delivers electrical pulses to brain cells to decrease symptoms. It is the most commonly performed surgical treatment for Parkinson’s.

Marlin underwent the first of the four surgeries on March 11. Once the final surgery is completed, recovery is expected to take four months, but can vary depending on the patient.

The 61-year-old Tennessee native made 748 starts in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series during his career, which spanned 33 years. He earned 10 victories during that time, including two in the Daytona 500 in 1994 and ’95.

The best seasons of his career came in 2001 and 2002. He won four times in two years and finished third in the Cup Series standings in 2001. He led the series standings for most of 2002 before an injury to his neck late in the year ended his season.

After running his last NASCAR Cup Series race in 2009, Marlin returned to his roots. He’s raced weekly at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville in Tennessee for the last several years despite battling Parkinson’s disease.

According to a statement released by his race team, the goal is for Marlin to return to racing once he recovers from the deep brain stimulation surgery.

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LAS VEGAS – When Ken Black first formed KB Racing in 2001, one of the things he stressed to Greg Anderson was the importance of performing well at his home track, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The four-time world champion has responded in impressive fashion over the years, winning eight times in Pro Stock at the facility.

The veteran will now have a chance to become the winningest driver in NHRA history at the track at this weekend’s 20th annual DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After struggling through the first three races of 2019, Anderson also hopes to get his NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season on track in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro at a race that has taken on new life since it went to the four-wide racing format a season ago.

“This track has become one of our bright spots and we’ve always had good luck there,” said Anderson, who has 91 career Pro Stock wins. “Last year was unreal (with the four-wide setup). The track was fantastic, it was a huge crowd and it turned out perfectly. You had four great lanes and a packed grandstands. The two races here are (Black’s) most important races, and we have to do well and put a smile on his face. It makes it important to do well and adds some pressure, but we’ve always kind of liked that.”

Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), J.R. Todd (Funny Car) and Vincent Nobile (Pro Stock) were last year’s winners of the event. It is the fourth of 18 races during the NHRA Pro Stock season and marks the only four-wide race of the year for the class. Anderson has grown to be a fan of the biggest spectacle in drag racing, embracing the uniqueness of the race, and hopes it provides a spark to his season.

He suffered two first-round losses to open the year before picking up his first round win of the year in Gainesville, where he also qualified second. Currently sitting outside the top 10 in 11th place in the competitive Pro Stock ranks, Anderson hopes it’s something he can build on heading to an important race of the season.

“As the season started, we kind of struggled and got lost with my car,” Anderson said. “We didn’t have a good set-up and come Sunday we struggled. I think we figured some things out Gainesville, but on Sunday I dropped the ball as a driver. The good news is the car performance is there and we expect to contend again. It’s a matter of me getting my head right as a driver, but I can fix that and I’m confident we have a good car.”

With a new 18-race schedule in 2019, eight races now follow Vegas before the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship begins. It’s nowhere near a dire situation yet, but with the class getting a six-week break following this weekend before returning in mid-May, Anderson wants to take momentum into the prolonged time off. It won’t be easy facing off with the likes of KB Racing teammates Jason Line and Bo Butner, the current points leader, Jeg Coughlin Jr., Erica Enders and Alex Laughlin, but Anderson has always performed well in these types of situations.

“With a shorter season, you can’t get behind and we’ve gotten a little behind,” Anderson said. “We can’t afford to fall any further behind. There’s more than 10 capable drivers of qualifying for the (Countdown to the Championship) and I’m not in the top 10 right now. We cannot throw away any more races, so we have to make the most of this weekend.”

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CARMEL, Ind. – Dreyer & Reinbold Racing announced Thursday the signing of teenage racing star Cole Keatts to campaign the No. 53 DRR ARX2 racing machine in the ARX2 class for the Americas Rallycross Championship.

Keatts, 17, is one of the most versatile drivers to have driven for the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Rallycross operation with a wide variety of racing experience including rallycross in Europe (RX2) and North America (ARX2), off-road short track (won a national championship), karting as well as competing in stock cars on the road course, pavement and dirt ovals (K&N East and West Series).

Last year, Keatts scored a third, fifth and sixth in ARX2 main events as well as two runner-up finishes in semi-finals.

“I’m very anxious to work with the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team in 2019,” said Keatts, a high school senior who’ll attend the University of Arizona in the fall. “DRR has been a past champion in rallycross and their technical director, Buddy Rice, is great to work with on the ARX2 Rallycross race car. The DRR crew has a tremendous amount of racing experience which is important for a young racer like myself who continues to learn. I have raced in many forms of motorsports and the ARX Rallycross race car is so much fun to drive. I think we’ll have a winning combination in 2019.

“We will be testing the DRR cars later this month and I can’t wait to get back on the track. I have been training hard in recent weeks to get ready for the 2019 season.”

Team owner Dennis Reinbold, whose team captured a rallycross series championship in 2016 as well as many main events, has followed Keatts’ career for several years and sees promise in the 17-year-old driver for the 2019 ARX Rallycross series.

“Cole has shown his talent in a variety of different racing disciples through his career and was impressive last year in the inaugural ARX2 season,” said DRR team owner Dennis Reinbold. “I believe the blend of our veteran crew, with Buddy, and an aggressive young racer like Cole will make our DRR ARX2 effort a winning one. We have prepared some very good equipment for Cole, and we know he has the ability to take our team to the top of the podium.”

The ARX2 Rallycross campaign is set to open with round one on June 8-9 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course followed by a doubleheader at Gateway International Raceway on July 13-14, a doubleheader at Grand Prix of Trois-Rivieres on Aug. 3-4 and single events at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on Sept. 28 with the championship rounds at Mid-Ohio on Oct. 5-6.

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LEEDS, Ala. – GESS Int’l is joining Harding Steinbrenner Racing as primary sponsor of the No. 88 Honda-powered Indy car for this weekend’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.

The company will also serve as an associate sponsor of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

An energy service company with 21 years of energy efficiency and renewable energy experience, Gess Int’l hopes to continue Colton Herta’s winning momentum following his victory at the Circuit of the Americas in the IndyCar Classic.

“We’re thrilled that GESS Int’l is joining Harding Steinbrenner Racing at Barber Motorsports Park,” said team co-owner Mike Harding. “I truly believe they are making a difference in the biogas community and know they will make a difference in the IndyCar community too. Very excited to see what we can do at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama with GESS Int’l on our car.”

“We are excited to have GESS International as our primary sponsor for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama,” said team co-owner George Michael Steinbrenner. “Biofuel is a growing industry, and GESS Int’l has expressed great interest in getting involved in motor racing.”

Located worldwide with offices in London, Ukraine, and throughout the United States, GESS international offers solutions in the field of green energy and energy efficiency for the private sector, budgetary organizations, and business. Their specialization includes energy efficiency, co-generation and renewable energy sources.

“Now is perfect timing for GESS Int’l, the largest and fastest growing biogas company, to be working with the fastest driver and growing team of Colton Herta and Harding Steinbrenner Racing,” said Shaun Lee of GESS Int’l. “Coming off the win at COTA, we’re ready for more edge-of-your-seat racing and connecting IndyCar fans to the benefits of biogas.”

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WEEDSPORT, N.Y. – William C. “Wee Willie” Allen, a standout Central New York racer in the 1950s and ’60s, died April 1. He was 89 years old.

Allen, from Skaneateles, N.Y., was inducted into the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame in 1993. A truck driver by trade, Allen began racing at the old Hemlock Speedway in 1953.

He went on to make his mark at Maple Grove Speedway, in Waterloo, N.Y., and Weedsport Speedway, driving for Dominic Tantalo, Otis Dunham and others. Because of his diminutive size and his immense personality, Allen was a popular favorite, especially with the kids in the crowd.

He fearlessly played the race-track villain, flying a skull-and-crossbones flag, opposite rival Glenn Reiners’ white-hatted hero. Allen won the sole track championship of his career at Weedsport Speedway in 1964.

He was also a top competitor at the New York State Fairgrounds, especially during the Labor Day Fair shows, and took a Sunday Open at Lebanon Valley during a rare road trip in his own No. A5 coupe.

His last stock car victory was a 100-lap special at Waterloo on Sept. 5, 1970. Allen wound down his career driving a DIRT Late Model, with his final ride coming in 1979. Throughout the 1980s, Allen continued to tour the Central New York tracks, serving as the official pace car driver for DIRT Motorsports.

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ELKO, Minn. – The Automobile Racing Club of America, Track Enterprises and Menards have jointly announced that the Wisconsin-based home improvement retailer will become the race entitlement sponsor of the July 13 ARCA Menards Series event at Elko Speedway.

The Menards 250 will take the green flag at 10 p.m. ET/ 9 p.m. CT July 13. It will be televised live on MAVTV.

“We’re excited to be a bigger part of the ARCA Menards Series event at Elko Speedway,” commented Jeff Abbott, spokesperson and promotions manager for Menards. “The ARCA race at Elko has a real big-time feel, and we love the kind of short track racing ARCA brings to a place like Elko.”

The Menards 250 marks the sixth ARCA Menards Series event at Elko Speedway. Current NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series driver Brennan Poole won the inaugural race in 2012. Other ARCA winners at Elko include ARCA Menards Series national champions Frank Kimmel (2013), Grant Enfinger (2014) and Austin Theriault (2017). Current NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series rookie Gus Dean earned his second ARCA Menards Series win in a late-race fender-banging shootout last July driving for former Elko Speedway late model champion Kevin Cywinski.

John Menard, along with NASCAR Vice Chairman Mike Helton and ARCA President Ron Drager, announced earlier this year that Menards would increase their involvement with and support of ARCA by becoming the series’ entitlement and naming rights sponsor. The ARCA race at Elko Speedway is the closest to Menards headquarters, which is located ninety minutes east of the Twin Cities in Eau Clair, Wis. The Minneapolis/St. Paul area is Menards’ second largest retail market.

“ARCA’s fans are Menards customers,” Abbott continued. “We enjoy the relationship we have with ARCA and (event promoter) Track Enterprises, and our customers support the events on a number of levels.”

The Menards 250 at Elko Speedway will be the sixth race of the 2019 Sioux Chief Short Track Challenge Series, a series within the overall ARCA Menards Series that crowns a champion on races held at tracks one mile in length at under. Kyle Weatherman was the inaugural Sioux Chief Short Track Challenge champion in 2015, while current NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Chase Briscoe won in 2016 followed by series champions Austin Theriault in 2017 and Sheldon Creed in 2018.

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HOUSTON – Risi Competizione has announced Brazilian Pipo Derani as a team driver for the 87th annual 24 Hours of Le Mans, set for June 15-16.

This will be the 25-year-old’s fifth appearance at Le Mans, having competed every year since 2015, including a fifth-place finish last year in a GTE-Pro Ferrari 488 and a podium in 2017 in a GTE-Pro Ford.

Additionally, in 2015 and 2016 Derani ran in the LMP2 class. This will be his first appearance with the Texas-based Risi Competizione Ferrari team.

“We are very pleased to have Pipo join the team for Le Mans this year,” said team principal Giuseppe Risi. “He’s a well-versed racing driver, including in the Ferrari 488, and is mature beyond his young age. His enthusiasm is infectious and we’re looking forward to having him as part of the Risi Competizione family. Le Mans is a classic race and this team is always prepared for it, or any race, and after having finished second and third in recent years, we are more than ready to be back on the top step.”

“I’m extremely excited to return to Le Mans in GTE Pro, which is the most exciting and difficult category at Le Mans and WEC,” added Derani, who recently won the 12 Hours of Sebring for Cadillac. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for me to be back, driving a Ferrari, since I was racing for Ferrari last year. I’m really happy to be leading the way and driving for Risi, a great team whose been showing the potential for Ferrari in America, but also at Le Mans. Hopefully we can do one place better than they did back in 2016 with their second-place finish, and hopefully with my experience at Le Mans I can help lead the way for a great result. I’m really happy to be joining the Risi team and to be back at Le Mans in a Ferrari. ”

Risi Competizione was one of three GTE-Pro Ferrari 488 GTE Evo entries accepted from a total of 17 in the class for the 60-car entrants this year.

Ten more reserve entrants were accepted out of 75 total entries submitted to the ACO.

Risi Competizione has fielded 14 cars over nine previous years at the legendary 24-hour race in Le Mans, France, including three victories (1998 in Ferrari 333SP, 2008 and 2009 in Ferrari 430GT), and five additional podium finishes, including last year’s third-place finish.

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ATTICA, Ohio – With rains falling throughout the day Thursday and more forecasted over night and throughout the morning Friday, Attica Raceway Park has moved the season opening race to Saturday, April 6.

Gates will open at 3 p.m. Saturday with racing underway at 6 p.m. on Construction Equipment & Supply/Murphy Tractor & Equipment/UBS Financial Services/Advanced Drainage Systems Night.

The Callie’s Performance Products 410 Sprints, Summit Racing Equipment UMP Late Models and Fremont Fence 305 sprints will be in action.

“It rained off and on all morning Thursday and there was a good chance of rain throughout the evening and into the morning Friday. It’s suppose to clear up a little Friday afternoon so moving to Saturday will give us more drying time. It’s suppose to be in the mid 60s temperature wise Saturday as well,” said Rex LeJeune, Director of Operations at Attica Raceway Park.

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