Michael Waltrip to be on Dancing with the Stars

When Dancing with the Stars announced their cast for season 19 on Thursday, it surprised many when the name Michael Waltrip was announced.

Yes, Michael Waltrip will be one of the individuals vying for Dancing with the Stars’ iconic Mirror Ball trophy. The two-time Daytona 500 Champion will be dancing in the ballroom with partner Emma Slater (pictured above) beginning Monday September 15th (8pm on ABC) in hopes of scoring high points and taking home victory honors. Slater led  Bill Engvall to the finals in the previous season of the show. 

Waltrip becomes the second racecar driver to be on the show after IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves danced his way to victory honors in 2007 with Julianne Hough.

“(Castroneves) texted me last night,” Waltrip said. “He said, ‘You’ve got this, Mike. I know you can do it. You need to do two things. Make fun of yourself and hit on your dancer.’ I said, ‘Check, Check!’ I’m going to win I think. I’ve got this.”

The rest of the stars announced is as follows: Sadie Robertson, of the television show “Duck Dynasty” will join the cast along with Olympic track and field and bobsled star Lolo Jones; actor and Calvin Klein model Antonio Sabato Jr.; star of the television series “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” Alfonso Ribiero; MMA champion Randy Couture, YouTube star Bethany Mota, “Mean Girls” actor Jonathan Bennett, national radio personality and TV talk show host Tavis Smiley, ABC Family stars Janel Parrish and Lea Thompson, designer Betsey Johnson and Tommy Chong of the famed “Cheech and Chong.”