NASCAR Icon Darrell Waltrip Diagnosed with Progressive Brain Disease, Stepping Away From Public Life

NASCAR Hall of Famer and former FOX Sports broadcaster Darrell Waltrip announced that he has been diagnosed with frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) , per a statement released on Wednesday by him and his family, who wrote that the 79-year-old "will be stepping further away from the public limelight."

Waltrip, born and raised in Owensboro, Kentucky, was NASCAR's top driver in the early to mid-1980s. He won the NASCAR Cup Series (then the Winston Cup) championship three times (1981, 1982 and 1985) and won 37 races from 1981-1984, including 12 each in 1981 and 1982.

Waltrip drove in 809 NASCAR Cup Series from 1972-2000, and his most famous one occurred in 1989, when he broke through for a Daytona 500 victory and celebrated by spiking his helmet and doing the "Ickey Shuffle," a touchdown dance popularized by then Cincinnati Bengals running back Ickey Woods.

Waltrip famously stretched his fuel over the final 53 laps of the 200-mile race after one last pit stop.

Waltrip served as a full-time broadcaster for FOX Sports from 2001-2019. His energy and larger-than-life personality shone brightly on television, and fans knew when the race started by his classic line : "Boogity, boogity, boogity! Let's go racin', boys!"

Dan Rorabaugh of USA Today may have explained Waltrip's impact best.

"Few have been as strong an ambassador to NASCAR and auto racing than the legendary Darrell Waltrip, whose excitable and eccentric personality have captivated fans across generations."

Waltrip is a member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2003), the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2005) and the NASCAR Hall of Fame (2012).