Portrait of Michael Waltrip

Birthday profile

Michael Waltrip

Michael Waltrip, American race car driver and sportscaster

Born
April 30, 1963
Age in 2026
63
Zodiac sign
Taurus
Birth year
1963

About Michael Waltrip

Michael Curtis "Mikey" Waltrip (born April 30, 1963) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, racing commentator, racing team owner, amateur ballroom dancing competitor and published author. He is the younger brother of three-time NASCAR champion and racing commentator Darrell Waltrip. Waltrip is a two-time winner of the Daytona 500, having won the race in 2001 and 2003. He is also a pre-race analyst for the NASCAR Cup Series and color commentator for the Xfinity Series and the Craftsman Truck Series broadcasts for Fox Sports. He last raced in the 2017 Daytona 500, driving the No. 15 Toyota Camry for Premium Motorsports. All four of his NASCAR Cup Series wins came on superspeedways driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc.. == Racing career == === Beginnings === According to his autobiography Blink of An Eye, Waltrip's career started at the age of twelve when he phoned his older brother Darrell Waltrip, who was racing in the 1978 Daytona 500. Michael asked Darrell to help him build a career in NASCAR, but Darrell advised him to stay focused on school. Michael then obtained assistance from his older brother Bobby Waltrip, who was very close to him in their childhood.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

Michael Waltrip timeline

  1. A year later, Waltrip entered the Goody's Dash Series, where he won the series championship in 1983 and was voted the circuit's most popular driver that year and in 1984.
  2. Waltrip is a two-time winner of the Daytona 500, having won the race in 2001 and 2003.

The world when Michael Waltrip was born

Michael Waltrip was born in 1963. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1963

  • #1 song"Sugar Shack" – Jimmy Gilmer
  • Top movieTom Jones
  • Top TV showThe Beverly Hillbillies
  • Best-selling bookThe Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentJim Clark wins his first Formula One World Championship
  • Top headlinePresident Kennedy assassinated in Dallas on November 22
  • Technology milestoneTouch-tone telephone introduced
  • Defining fadBeatlemania begins
  • Notable inventionLava lamp
  • World population3.20 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderJohn F. Kennedy / Lyndon B. Johnson
  • Sports championLos Angeles Dodgers (World Series)
  • Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
  • U.S. population189.2M

1963 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Michael Waltrip's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19632026
Gas$0.31$3.45/gal
Average home$13,100$435,000
Average income$8,200$67,500
Minimum wage$1.25$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.85$11.95
Postage stamp$0.05$0.73
Population189.2M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Driver Database. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.