Darrell Waltrip Discusses his "Racing Experience"...
                         Picks Smoke to Win Bristol

August 23, 2008

By Rebecca Gladden

Rebecca Gladden

Starting in November, NASCAR fans the world over will have a new go-to destination for family fun that bears the name of one of the sport's greatest driving legends.

Currently under construction, The Darrell Waltrip Racing Experience is part of the $114 million, 26-acre Belle Island themed development in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It is located on an actual island in the Little Pigeon River surrounded by the picturesque Great Smoky Mountains.

I spoke with the three-time Cup Champion Friday morning about the Darrell Waltrip Racing Experience, a 25,000 square foot racing-themed attraction scheduled to open in November.

"We will be marrying the old and the new, the past and the present," said Waltrip. "It will be a unique place for the entire family, with something for everyone - grandparents and grandkids, moms and dads - to enjoy."

The DW Racing Experience is part museum, part interactive racing attraction, that pays tribute to NASCAR's past while embracing its future. The facility will incorporate state of the art technology, including an initial $1.5 million investment in audio-visual equipment throughout the park.

In fact, when Waltrip isn't on site - though he plans to be there often - a holographic DW will stand in for him, giving the appearance of a life-like Darrell Waltrip that will greet guests each time they visit the attraction. "That's scary, isn't it?" Waltrip laughed. "I haven't actually seen the real hologram yet, but I've gotten email pictures of how it will look. It will be a lighted 3D image, and Debbie Reynolds will also have a hologram at her museum."

That would be the Debbie Reynolds Hollywood Motion Picture Museum, another attraction under construction as part of the Belle Island complex. Also included will be Otter Cove by the Knoxville Zoo and the Belle Island Kid's Corner, along with specialty shops, more than a dozen restaurants and a resort-quality hotel.

The museum portion of the DW Racing Experience will incorporate historic cars, driver uniforms, trophies, and other NASCAR memorabilia, much of it from Waltrip's personal collection. "My first car will be on display, as well as the last car I drove - the K-Mart car - and lots of cars in between. We want to have race cars from all eras, starting with the 1950s all the way up to the COT."

Along with the museum displays, the themed attraction will have a variety of engaging hands-on experiences for all ages, like the mini Bristol Motor Speedway, which Waltrip said would use radio-controlled cars. There will be high-tech racecar simulators, an interactive pit crew experience overseen by DW's former crew chief Jeff Hammond (a partner in the venture), and a theater and soundstage with a studio-quality media set, hardwired to allow live television production.

"Some of my buddies from Fox Sports are going to be involved, and we'd like to simulcast some races there," said Waltrip. "'Digger' (the animated gopher from Fox's NASCAR broadcasts) is going to be our official mascot." He added that current NASCAR stars will be making appearances and participating in events at the park as well.

The attraction also includes a gift shop, an arcade with the latest in NASCAR and racing-related games, and a café.

DW credits the local mayor and city council members for getting behind the project early on and helping overcome obstacles along the way. Now a few short months from completion, with the buildings and attractions finally taking shape, he finds it hard to single out one main feature that will compel NASCAR fans to visit. Rather, it will be the totality of the experience that makes it special.

"We don't want anybody to walk through here in half an hour and say, 'Well, that's it. There's nothing left to do.' We're going to have a lot of exciting things to see and take part in. I can't wait for the 'Grand' Opening - and it's going to be just that."

With the Cup race in Bristol this weekend, I asked Waltrip, the all-time win leader at Thunder Valley with 12 victories, for his race prediction. "Well, Kyle Busch has already won here. I'll be on DirecTV Hot Pass on Saturday with Kevin Harvick - he's also won here and there's always Jeff Gordon. But I like Tony Stewart this weekend. I think he is going to get it done at Bristol, so I'm picking Smoke."

Waltrip said that the key to his remarkable success at Bristol was experience and preparation. "I had a lot of experience racing on steep, fast tracks before I got to Bristol, like the track in Nashville and a couple in Indiana, and that helped. But the most important thing was preparation, especially for the physical part of the race. Back when I was winning races, there weren't a lot of guys who were physically prepared to run 500 laps. I made sure the car was prepared, and then I did everything I could to make sure I was prepared to go that distance."

As the opening of the Darrell Waltrip Racing Experience approaches, DW hopes fans will start making their own preparations - to visit the attraction that bears his name. "With the grand opening in November, I think it would make a nice holiday trip for families to come to see us. We'll have a lot of fun."

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