NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip diagnosed with cognitive disease

NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip has been diagnosed with cognitive disease, according to a statement released by his family Wednesday. 

Waltrip, 79, was recently diagnosed with "frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) complicated by possible Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) — likely from injuries incurred during his racing career," according to the statement, which also announced that the legendary driver and NASCAR broadcaster will be "stepping further away from the public limelight."

"While this disease will inevitably progress, thankfully it is currently limited to some minor noticeable symptoms," the statement read. "Be assured, Darrell is happy and otherwise healthy — spending time with his wife, Stevie, two daughters and his three young grandchildren."

A native of Owensboro, Kentucky, Waltrip raced in the NASCAR Cup Series from 1972 to 2000, an era of the sport in which safety, while certainly not as much of an afterthought as it was in the quarter-century prior, was still not nearly as advanced as it is today.