What is Michael Waltrip's Net Worth?
Michael Waltrip is a former professional stock car racing driver, racing commentator, and racing team owner who has a net worth of $35 million. The younger brother of three-time NASCAR champion Darrell Waltrip, he is a two-time winner of the Daytona 500. As a commentator, he has done analysis for the NASCAR Cup Series and color commentary for the Xfinity Series and the Craftsman Truck Series on Fox Sports.
Early Life
Michael Waltrip was born on April 30, 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky. He is the younger brother of Darrell Waltrip, who also became a stock car racing driver; he is also the younger brother of Bobby Waltrip. As a child, Michael began racing go-karts at various carnivals and clubs in his area. Having won a number of races, he soon gained the attention of stock car driver Dale Earnhardt.
Racing Career in the 1980s and 90s
Waltrip started his stock car racing career in the early 1980s, and had his breakthrough when he won the Mini-Modified division track championship at Kentucky Motor Speedway. He went on to capture the Goody's Dash Series championship in 1983. Waltrip made his NASCAR Cup Series debut in 1985 in the Coca-Cola 600; driving for Dick Bahre, he came in 28th in the race, with his brother Darrell winning. He improved his performance in 1986, taking 11th place at both Martinsville and Pocono. The following season, Waltrip recorded his first career top-ten finish, which he claimed at Martinsville.
In 1988, Waltrip started taking part in Busch Series events and making starts for his brother's team. He posted his first career top-five finish the next year. Waltrip went on to have a rough 1990 season, marked by his horrific crash at Bristol Motor Speedway. He bounced back the following season to win the Winston Open and claim his first two career pole positions. Waltrip continued racing with the Bahari team until the end of 1995; he then joined Wood Brothers Racing and won the 1996 Winston Select. After leaving Wood Brothers at the end of 1998, he drove for Mattei Motorsports and recorded three top-ten finishes.
Racing Career, 2001-2010
Racing with Dale Earnhardt's team in 2001, Waltrip won the Daytona 500, ending his dry spell of 462 consecutive Cup races without a victory. However, the win was partly overshadowed by the death of Earnhardt Sr., who was killed in a crash on the final lap. Following that tragedy, Waltrip's results declined; he failed to record another top-ten finish until coming in second, behind Earnhardt Jr., in July's Pepsi 400. Waltrip posted another second-place finish at Homestead. In 2002, he won the Gatorade Duel and the Pepsi 400 and came in second at Talladega. The next season, Waltrip won his second career Daytona 500, and also claimed victory at the EA Sports 500 in Talladega. His 2004 season was less successful, as he was involved in a major crash at the Daytona 500 and failed to win any races. In 2005, he had seven top-tens and one pole. After that season, Waltrip joined Bill Davis Racing, and subsequently reached a deal with the team to create Waltrip-Jasper Racing with Doug Bawel. Waltrip failed to record any top-ten finishes in 2006.
For the 2007 season, Waltrip moved his Busch Series team to the Cup Series on a full-time basis. He was joined by Dale Jarrett and David Reutimann. After the first round of qualifying for the Daytona 500, NASCAR inspectors discovered evidence in the engine intake manifold that Waltrip, Jarrett, and Reutimann had used an illegal oxygenate fuel additive. They were consequently docked 100 driver points each. This caused Waltrip to languish in a negative points total for many months. He bounced back somewhat by finishing tenth in the Citizens Bank 400, and later winning the pole for the UAW-Ford 500. Among his highlights in 2008, Waltrip came in second in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 and made his 1,000th NASCAR touring series start at Atlanta. In the spring of 2009, he notched his first win as an owner in the Sprint Cup Series as Reutimann won the Coca-Cola 600. Waltrip also earned a pair of top-ten finishes at Daytona and Talladega. In 2010, he ran six races, including the Daytona 500, the Food City 500, and Aaron's 499.
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Final Racing Years, 2011-2017
Waltrip ran four races in 2011: the Daytona 500, Aaron's 499, the Quaker State 400, and the Good Sam Club 500. He also had an emotional win in the NextEra Energy Resources 250, which came exactly a decade to the day of the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. In 2012, Waltrip drove in the inaugural season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, and entered the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The following year, he drove in the Daytona 500 and the Great American Race, and came in fourth at Talladega. However, controversy emerged in September when NASCAR penalized Michael Waltrip Racing for manipulating the outcome of the Federated Auto Parts 400; the team was fined $300,000 and stripped of driver and owner's points. In 2014, Identity Ventures Racing began a satellite team for Michael Waltrip Racing, and Waltrip subsequently ran four races for the team. After the season was over, Identity Ventures shut down.
Waltrip returned to his team in 2015. He did Daytona and Talladega in the spring, but skipped the summer Daytona race. In the fall, Waltrip returned to Talladega. He again did Daytona and Talladega in the spring of 2016 while skipping the summer Daytona race. Waltrip had his last season of professional racing in 2017. In his final start in NASCAR-sanctioned racing, he drove the No. 15 Aaron's, Inc. Camry for Premium Motorsports in the Daytona 500. Avoiding a number of major wrecks, he finished in eighth place, bringing an end to his NASCAR career.
Television Appearances
Beyond racing, Waltrip acted in a two-part episode of the television sitcom "My Name is Earl" in 2009. Later, in 2014, he competed in the 19th season of the reality series "Dancing with the Stars," paired with professional dancer Emma Slater. Among his other television appearances, Waltrip appeared in a 2019 episode of "WWE Raw," helping Kyle Busch defeat R-Truth for the WWE 24/7 Championship.
Personal Life
With his ex-wife Elizabeth Franks, Waltrip has a daughter named Margaret. He has another daughter, Caitlin, from a previous relationship. Waltrip resides in Huntersville, North Carolina.
In 2011, Waltrip published the book "In the Blink of an Eye: Dale, Daytona, and the Day that Changed Everything." It was later adapted into the 2019 documentary film "Blink of an Eye."
