Waltrip Doesn’t Dread Daytona 500 Now : Auto racing: Last year’s victory was a relief to the veteran driver who had never won the race before.

A foolish grin crosses Darrell Waltrip’s face just about every time the thought pops into his head that he is the defending champion of the Daytona 500.

He will suddenly launch into an impromptu dance step or blurt out something like “Yeah! All right!” when he thinks about the victory that kick-started a nearly dormant career.

For 17 humbling and frustrating years, the 2 1/2-mile, high-banked oval at Daytona International Speedway brought Waltrip to his knees and made him wonder if it simply was ordained for him to never win the crown jewel of NASCAR Winston Cup stock car racing.

But Waltrip, 43, finally won the big one last February, taking the monkey off his back forever by taking the risk of running the last 125 miles without pitting for gas.

He finished the race with little enough in his tank that crew chief Jeff Hammond said, “I could have drank what was left without getting sick.”

They won that race in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo--the winningest model in NASCAR history. But Chevy introduced the Lumina to the NASCAR wars just before mid-season and this will be the new model’s first Daytona 500, although the cars were used here in last year’s Pepsi 400 in July.

Waltrip, who was fourth in the 1989 season standings behind champion Rusty Wallace, said, “We’re pretty happy with the Lumina at Daytona. We don’t have a big advantage, but it will be as good or better than anything than will be there. I’m counting on it getting some good gas mileage.”

Qualifying for the Feb. 18 season opener begins this weekend, with Waltrip among the favorites to win the pole and the race.

As much as Waltrip enjoyed winning the race last year and aborting the “Why can’t you win at Daytona?” questions, it’s now another season. Last year’s victories--six in all--have to be put aside while Waltrip, rejuvenated not only by his Daytona 500 victory but also by being voted the 1989 most popular driver by the fans, concentrates on getting a good start toward what he hopes will be his fourth Winston Cup championship and first since 1985.

Ironically, Waltrip, who was suspected of being over the hill or not hungry any more after poor seasons in 1987 and 1988, heads into 1990 as the favorite of many racing people to win the title.

“I think they’re right,” Waltrip said enthusiastically, a grin lighting up his face. “We feel like we’ll win the pole at Daytona; we feel like we’ll win as many races as we did in 1989, and we think we’re gonna win the championship in ’90. Do I sound optimistic?”

Waltrip came to Hendrick Motorsports in 1987 after a very successful six-year run with Junior Johnson, who helped the driver to all of his Winston Cup titles. Only three victories and few other successes came along in the first two years carrying Rick Hendrick’s banner.

“Eighty-seven was a particularly tough year,” said Waltrip, who considered retiring when he turned 40. “Stevie (his wife) was pregnant, there was a lot of tension there and nothing was going right at the race track.

“I got to a point (in 1988) where I didn’t have a lot of confidence in the car or in myself,” Waltrip said. “I got to thinking that my decision to quit (driving) at 40 was the right one.

“But, by that time, we had (daughter) Jessica and we started out last year by winning the Daytona 500 and, now, I’m right back where I was in 1980. I’m starting the 1990s the same way I started the ‘80s. Last year was as good a year as I’ve had since the early ‘80s. I’m proud of it. This team did a great job (in 1989).”

Waltrip was the winningest driver of the last decade, winning 57 races and 34 pole positions, as well as tying Dale Earnhardt for the most season titles during that period.

But, despite his success last season, some people have accused the Franklin, Tenn., resident, of lacking the killer instinct on the track, where the most recent superstars of Winston Cup racing--Earnhardt and Wallace--have gained a reputation for aggressive and sometimes nasty driving.

“There are some guys out there who seem to be thinking lead at all costs, win at all costs,” Waltrip said. “I just want to lead the last lap--or the last three feet. I’m not willing to take the chances that some of these guys are.

“If the gain is worth the chance, I’ll go for it. If it isn’t, I just won’t do it. I’ve been able to win without taking those chances. If everybody races liked I do, it’d probably be boring for the fans, but there are enough guys out there who race the other way.”