In 23 full-time seasons racing in the NASCAR Cup Series and 784 total starts, Michael Waltrip has just four wins. And the now-retired driver waited an incredible 15 full-time seasons for his first victory, which came during possibly the most heartbreaking race in NASCAR history.
Driving the No. 15 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Waltrip’s first checkered flag was at the 2001 Daytona 500, the biggest race of the year. Tragically, that was the same race where Earnhardt died as the result of a crash on the last lap.
Waltrip’s career, experiences and friendship with Dale Sr. — along with the circumstances leading up to that Daytona 500 and the devastating aftermath — are documented in the new film, Blink of an Eye, directed by Paul Taublieb.
It’s scheduled to premiere in select theaters September 6 and nationwide September 12.
“People are obviously capable of handling the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. God made us that way. But I don’t know how many people have had to experience them within seconds of each other,” an emotional Waltrip — who’s now a NASCAR broadcaster for FOX Sports — recalls in the opening minutes of the film.
The film is based on the 2011 book, In the Blink of an Eye: Dale, Daytona, and the Day that Changed Everything, by Waltrip and Ellis Henican.
In addition to Waltrip, it includes interviews Dale Earnhardt Jr. — who was also driving for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. at the time and finished second in the 2001 Daytona 500 — Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip and Ty Norris, who was the executive vice president of motor sports for the now-defunct Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
