Michael Waltrip to perform NASCAR, ‘Dancing With The Stars’ two-step

With two Daytona 500 victories, a well-known last name and a prominent job as a NASCAR analyst for Fox Sports, Michael Waltrip has some modicum of fame within racing circles.

That popularity has ascended to greater heights thanks to a current stint on Dancing With The Stars, the popular ABC reality show competition. Recently, an elderly couple approached Waltrip at a Los Angeles airport recognizing him not from his exploits on the track, but on the dance floor.

“She said, ‘You’re that dancer,’” Waltrip said Friday at Talladega Superspeedway. “I said, ‘Well, I’ll be darned. I guess I am.’

“I love that people are so happy to see that. It makes me happy. It says in the Bible you’re supposed to make joyful noise. Well, when we dance if it’s noisy a little bit and if it’s joyful, then it should work. I think?”

Paired with professional dancer Emma Slater, Waltrip has struggled in learning assorted dance moves. Several times he has narrowly avoided elimination with judges increasingly critical of Waltrip’s inability to perfect a routine.

“I had the best time last week doing my disco, and I was so proud of it until those four judges spoke,” Waltrip said. “They didn’t like my disco so much. One of them said, and I quote, ‘It was entertaining as hell, but I’m tired of being entertained.’

“Well, what the heck. I’m not trying to win a Pulitzer Prize or anything. I’m trying to dance, you know. Trying to dance. But it’s been a wonderful experience. It’s been so much fun.”

Waltrip will be performing a two-step of a different kind this weekend. In between practicing for Monday’s episode of DWTS, the 51-year-old will be competing in Sunday’s Geico 500 at Talladega.

Waltrip and Slater are rehearsing several hours Friday and Saturday in a YMCA nearby, with Waltrip returning to the track when required -- be it for practicing and qualifying his Sprint Car or his broadcast obligations with Fox Sports.

After Sunday’s race, Waltrip will then fly to Los Angeles, where DWTS is broadcast live. Waltrip and Slater are performing an Argentine Tango on Monday night.

“It’s quite a lot different than the disco,” Waltrip said. “It’s really romantic and sexy. I’m pretty happy about that.”