Newspaper Page Text
8A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, April 24,2019
Darrell Waltrips missing ring and the eventual race day win
Chances are, that if you’ve
ever heard me speak more than
once, you’ve heard me tell the
inspiring story of working with
Darrell Waltrip in 1989 when
he won his only Daytona 500
by taking a big gulp of a risk.
Here’s a sub-chapter of that
story which I rarely tell but it’s
every bit as good:
Stevie Waltrip, Darrell’s wife,
is one of the dearest friends
I’ve ever had. Our friendship
goes back over 30 years. Stevie,
sweet and kind-mannered, has
always been terrifically amused
by me which encouraged my
storytelling. I cherish her.
The week leading up to that
Daytona 500 was dominated by
Kenny Schrader who won the
pole position with a stunning
speed. Darrell qualified second.
There’s not near as much pres
sure when your speed is the
second fastest. Schrader con
trolled the week, winning every
race possible and easily outpac
ing the field in daily practice.
RONDARICH
Columnist
On Tuesday, before the 500,1
stopped by the Waltrips’ motor
coach. Without knocking,
because they’re like family, I
opened the door and climbed
the steps. Stevie was tearing
cushions off the two sofas and
frantically thrusting her hands
in the crevices.
“What are you doin’?” I
asked, closing the door behind
me.
“Trying to find Darrell’s ’85
championship ring. He’s lost
it.”
I joined the search. Darrell
remembered having it on a cou
ple of days earlier but couldn’t
remember exactly the last time
he had it. In a bit, he came over
from the garage.
“Have you had any luck?” he
asked, worriedly.
Stevie shook her head.
“We’ve looked everywhere.”
Sadness clouded his face. My
heart hurt for him. Winning that
championship had been a miracle
because that year, Darrell had
been David going up against the
Goliath force of Bill Elliott and
his family team. The Melling-
owned Elliott race team had won
11 races, 11 pole positions, and a
million-dollar bonus. The circuit
left Darlington’s Labor Day race
with Bill as a newly-minted mil
lionaire and Darrell trailing in the
championship race by 11 points.
Darrell didn’t just race his
way into that championship, he
talked his way in. He was so
sharp, so funny, so cunning that
he was able to use that witty
advantage to psychologically
sidetrack any other competitors.
Two weeks after the season
ended, we gathered at the
Waldorf Astoria in New York to
honor the new champion. I
remember the pale green dress
with embroidery that I wore. I
think I still have it. When Bill
France Jr. presented Darrell
with the ring, he spoke of his
admiration for Stevie then sur
prised her with a matching
necklace.
On Daytona 500 race day,
Stevie and I were settling down
for the race atop the six-foot-
high toolbox when she began
digging into her sack-like purse
for her calculator - she scored
for fuel - and a pencil.
Suddenly, she froze. Her eyes
widened.
“Are you listening to me?” I
asked, stopping in the middle
of the story. Her frozen expres
sion melted into a wide smile
and she pulled her hand from
her purse.
“Look!” she screamed. She
held up the ring that had been
missing for a week.
“Oh, my gosh!” I exclaimed
as Stevie scurried down from
the toolbox.
“I’ve got to tell Darrell!” She
ran over to the crew chief and
excitedly explained. He radioed
Darrell with the news.
Moments later when he eased
down pit road, Stevie was wav
ing the ring at him. He stuck a
gloved hand out of the net and
waved. Putting pieces together,
we theorized that their toddler
had taken the ring from the
dresser where he had laid it then
dropped in her mama’s purse.
Stevie turned to me, smiling
happily.
“This is a sign,” I declared.
“Darrell’s going to win today.”
She took the words lightly but I
trailed behind her back to the
toolbox. “I’m serious. Just wait
and see. He’s gonna win the
Daytona 500.”
And, he did.
Ronda Rich is the best-selling
author of the new Let Me Tell You
Something. Visit www.rondarich.
com to sign up for her free weekly
newsletter.
FROM 1A
Ralston
court appearances.
According to Somerville,
53 percent of Ralston’s
continuances were applied
for when the State House
of Representatives was not
in session.
“Last year,” calculated
Somerville, “after taking
no less than 89 days of leg
islative leave outside of the
general and special ses
sion, and after accounting
for state holidays, Speaker
Ralston left himself with
only 87 working days and
only three intact weeks
(full 5-day weeks) to
accommodate court orders
to appear, to respond to
discovery requests, and
generally to tend to his
case load obligations.”
According to Ralston’s
critics, the Speaker inten
tionally abused his position
to delay criminal and civil
trials to benefit his clients.
William Perry, founder of
Georgia Ethics Watchdogs
claims that “this is the
worst abuse of power I’ve
seen in almost 25 years of
working in politics, includ
ing the last nine as a politi
cal ethics watchdog.”
Ralston, on the other
hand, insists that he has
done nothing wrong.
“I’ve never had a judge
or prosecutor say to me
that they’ve had concerns
or had problems with the
way I was utilizing the
leave,” said Ralston. “My
understanding is there
was no accusation that
any of those days were
not legitimate, it’s just the
number of days, and they
didn’t have anything criti
cal to say about my per
formance as Speaker.”
Somerville disagrees.
“Unfortunately, the
facts and a mountain of
documented court records
don’t appear to support
this statement. The most
poignant and unreported
example being when, on
October 7 of 2015, David
Ralston ... was held in
contempt of court by
Judge Stanley Gunter in
Towns County for ‘will
ful disobedience of this
court’s order granting
plaintiff motion to com
pel discovery,”’ he said.
Ralston is quick to dis
miss the criticism as a
political ploy.
“Well I think it was two
people who, frankly, do
not understand the legal
system ... and have
decided, for whatever rea
son, that this is a pathway
to relevance,” said
Ralston. “Mr. Clark will
have to answer for his
own motives.”
But momentum is
building to get Speaker
Ralston to step away from
his leadership role and
legislative seat, and sever
al other Representatives
have signed onto HR 328,
a resolution encouraging
Ralston to resign, includ
ing Rep. Sheri Gilligan,
R-Cumming.
Jessica Taylor Dawson County News
Georgia Speaker of the House David Ralston, shown addressing local law
enforcement, school officials and members of the House of Representatives
in May 2018 in Dawson County during the first House Study Committee on
School Security meeting, is facing criticism over his use of legislative leave
to delay court cases.
BE THE KEY
TO THEIR FUTURE
••«•••••••••• *
••••«••••••••••••
«••••«•»••••<••••
They are
following
your lead.
capa-ga.org
“The feedback we have received
from not only our clients but potential
buyers interested in our properties
have been 5 stars all around
“Advertising with Dawson County News is always a pleasure. We
truly appreciate the time and effort that Dawson News takes to
make sure that our home listings are reaching the community in
a professional and effective manner. The process to advertise with
them is simple. They pull data and pictures needed with minimal
effort from us and prepare proofs for us to approve before it ever
hits the community. The feedback we have received from not only
our clients but potential buyers interested in our properties have
been 5 stars all around. Getting the exposure that we require to
maintain our standards is essential to our team and Dawson
News provides this for us. Thank you and we highly recommend
advertising with Dawson News for all your local needs.”
Anna Duncan,
Realtor - Transaction Manager
YOUR HOMETOWN REALTORS
706-344-6909
886 Lumpkin Campground Rd, Dawsonville, GA 30534
www.welchproperties.com
Ls\A# KELLERWILLIAMS REALTY
r\W COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Dawson
bounty
News
To advertise your business,
PniintV ca// 706-265-3384 or email
VASuiiiy Alex at amathison@dawsonnews.com or
Brenda at bbohn@dawsonnews.com
DawsonNews > com