Dale Earnhardt’s legacy remains one of NASCAR’s most celebrated chapters, but not everyone who helped define that era is remembered with the same reverence. Over the years, there were many drivers whose careers peaked at the same time, and gave just as much of a challenge to Earnhardt as he did to the rest of the field. Yet, those drivers wait to be remembered, to be given half as much popularity as the 7x Cup Series champion.

There is no doubt that Earnhardt was one of the most legendary drivers of all time. He shaped an entire era of racing. But it was his limelight that put some of the other greats in darkness, and the fans now feel that it is time to pay a proper tribute to at least one of those drivers.

How did Dale Earnhardt manage to push out other drivers?

Dale Sr. was immensely popular during his years of racing. But some of the drivers that he shared the track with were just as talented. This included Darrell Waltrip. One of the finest drivers of his time, he clinched 84 race wins in the Cup Series and won the championship thrice. In fact, his career peaked even before Earnhardt began dominating. So why did he not reach that level of global popularity?

During the 1980s, NASCAR was still developing a global image. The sport was immensely popular nationally, but there seemed to be less of an international appeal. But by the time Earnhardt began dominating, the sport had crossed a new level of popularity, which kept him in the limelight.

Moreover, even after his death, his son Dale Jr. and daughter Kelley Earnhardt Miller have managed to keep his legacy alive in the sport. The Earnhardt name is still very prestigious in the sport.

But there is another dark factor to his immense popularity and just how he unintentionally managed to outshine others: his infamous death. Dale Earnhardt was still one of the top drivers when he was racing in the 2001 Daytona 500. After his crash in the final moments took his life, the fans grew ever more sympathetic towards him, and countless documentaries and series were released, capturing his life.

However, fans now feel that Darrell Waltrip also deserves the recognition. Not that Earnhardt doesn’t, it’s nothing to do with him, but Waltrip was just as impressive and talented as Earnhardt to take on the field.

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Fans demand Darrell Waltrip’s proper recognition

“It [his documentary] would crush. He was wildman in his early years, too.”

Waltrip proved himself as a promising racer right from his early years. He debuted in 1972 and managed to clinch two top-10 finishes out of his five starts that season. His competence in the field was regularly within the top, winning races early in his career and establishing himself as a dominating and enduring driver. This is what has sat with fans for a long time, and hence, they feel his coverage would do wonders. 

If it wasn’t his driving, Waltrip had another aspect that became the defining part of his public persona, which was trash-talking. It wasn’t just his racing that was aggressive; it was his talking, too. Waltrip was one of the most vocal, confident, and confrontational drivers in the garage, and fans resonate it to this day: “His shit talkin’ compilation alone would make bank on YouTube.”

But still, many feel that the real reason why NASCAR or other broadcasters have not focused on a big-budget documentary focusing solely on Waltrip is that they’re still stuck after Dale Earnhardt and his life. The special docu-series that was released in 2025 proves to be a testament.

“Everyone is too busy making the 17th Dale Earnhardt doc,” a fan wrote. At the same time, these documentaries on the 7x Cup champion make some of the fans feel that a similar documentary on Waltrip would be amazing.

“I was thinking of that when I was watching last years Earnhardt doc on Amazon… a DW doc in a similar vein would be awesome. There are lots of drivers from the 80s and 90s that have great stories,” another fan wrote on social media.

But as mentioned earlier, Waltrip or Earnhardt weren’t the only drivers in the garage who dominated the field.

“A movie of all the drivers for the Wood brothers. That would cover a lot of top names.” Cale Yarborough, Bill Elliott, and Rusty Wallace are just some of the many names that dominated at the time and made a name for themselves.

However, it was Dale Earnhardt whose sheer dominance and competence across several generations of racers that took the limelight away, even from a talented star like Waltrip.