NASCAR: Waltrip to return to FOX booth for Bristol Dirt Race

Given it is Easter Sunday and Fox was short one announcer, Darrell Waltrip is coming out of retirement for one race in a guest role. As Mike Organ writes at the (Nashville) Tennessean, Waltrip will join long-time play-by-play partner Mike Joy and analyst Clint Bowyer for Fox’s broadcast of the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway Sunday:

NASCAR Hall of Fame driver and Franklin resident Darrell Waltrip will be back in the FOX broadcast booth on April 17 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

…I’m thrilled to have the chance to drop in and call the Bristol Dirt Race,” said Waltrip, three-time champion and the winningest driver at Bristol with 12 victories. “When FOX first asked me, I was super excited because Bristol is, by far, my favorite track. If I could pick just one race to call, it would be Bristol. The track is honoring Easter with a special celebration service, and we’ll top it off with a great race that evening.”

Calling a dirt race, Waltrip said, makes his return even more exciting.

“I won a few dirt races early in my career, before they did away with the dirt track near me at the time, and I called Prelude to the Dream races at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway,” he said.

“That was a ton of fun. I’m really excited to see how the new car reacts to the dirt. Teams learn a little more about this car every week, and the racing seems to get better and better. I’m sure Bristol Dirt will throw a few monkey wrenches at them and hopefully make for a great race.”