Diamond Resorts International®, a global leader in the hospitality and vacation ownership industries, brings its cutting-edge Events of a Lifetime® program to the race track and proudly announces an agreement and new alliance with legendary race car driver, Michael Waltrip.
As a part of the agreement, Waltrip will make personal appearances at Diamond Resorts’ increasingly popular Events of a Lifetime®, which deliver exciting vacation experiences that are truly unique and memorable. Diamond Resorts members and owners will have the opportunity to enjoy premium seating at races in Daytona Beach, Florida, Las Vegas, Nevada and Phoenix, Arizona. In addition to hosting a meet and greet and signing autographs, Waltrip will also provide members and owners with a behind-the-scenes tour of the race track, pit row and Fox broadcast facilities.
“I am proud to be associated with Diamond Resorts, a company that is passionate about delivering unique and memorable vacations that bring families together,” says Waltrip. “I’m looking forward to meeting the Diamond Resorts members and owners, helping them create some incredible memories and showing them a great time out on the race track; that’s what vacations are all about.”
Joining the ever-expanding roster of celebrity ambassadors, Waltrip introduces an exciting, new entertainment venue to Events of a Lifetime®. He is the first professional race car driver to represent Diamond Resorts alongside a roster of high-profile celebrities including country music stars Colt Ford and Jana Kramer, baseball Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson and Gaylord Perry, professional baseball player Bud Norris, PGA touring professionals Brian Gay, Brittany Lincicome and John Cook, Super Bowl XXVI MVP Mark Rypien and war veteran Chad Pfeifer.
“We are pleased to welcome Michael to our ambassador team and introduce the exciting world of stock car racing to our Events of a Lifetime® program,” says Michael Flaskey, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Diamond Resorts International®. “Michael is an icon in the automotive racing industry and our members and owners are going to be thrilled at the opportunity to meet him. These are the kinds of unique experiences that set the Events of a Lifetime® program apart and provide the unforgettable vacations that our members and owners deserve.”
About Michael Waltrip
Professional race car driver Michael Waltrip is a two-time winner of the prestigious Daytona 500, having won in 2001 and 2003. Waltrip’s career spans more than 30 years; he posted more than 130 top 10 finishes on NASCAR’s premier Sprint Cup series, including four career race wins. He scored 11 wins and more than 105 top 10 finishes in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series and even has a win in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series division. As an owner, Waltrip founded Michael Waltrip Racing, a team which competed in several of NASCAR’s divisions, and spent nine years as a full-time multi-car team in Sprint Cup, claiming seven wins and finishing runner-up in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship in 2012 with driver Clint Bowyer.
His dynamic personality, razor sharp wit and intricate knowledge of all sides of the industry have made him one of the top analysts on “NASCAR on FOX,” where Waltrip is a pre-race and in-race analyst on the Sprint Cup team, and an in-booth color analyst for Fox’s Xfinity and Camping World Truck series broadcasts. Waltrip has raced all over the world, competing in several sports cars events, including the 24 Hours of LeMans, the 24 Hours of Daytona, and events in Japan, Dubai and Europe.
Waltrip’s book “In the Blink of an Eye” spent 11 weeks on the New York Times best seller list in 2011. The book is a poignant story about his struggles to become a race car driver all the way to a minute-by-minute account of the day in which he broke a 462-race losing streak by winning the sport’s most prestigious event, the Daytona 500, only to find out that his boss, his owner, his best friend and the man who gave him a race winning car, Dale Earnhardt, died in a horrific crash off turn four at the same moment Waltrip took the checkered flag. Waltrip became even more recognizable to the general population after cameo appearances in a few television series shows, and as a participant in Season 19 of Dancing With The Stars, where Waltrip lasted eight remarkable weeks.
About Diamond Resorts International®
Diamond Resorts International®, with its network of more than 370 vacation destinations located in 35 countries throughout the continental United States, Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, Central America, Europe, Asia, Australasia and Africa, provides guests with choice and flexibility to let them create their dream vacation, whether they are traveling an hour away or around the world. Our relaxing vacations have the power to give guests an increased sense of happiness and satisfaction in their lives, while feeling healthier and more fulfilled in their relationships, by enjoying memorable and meaningful experiences that let them Stay Vacationed.™
Diamond Resorts International® manages vacation ownership resorts and sells vacation ownership points that provide members and owners with Vacations for Life® at over 370 managed and affiliated properties and cruise itineraries.
