Michael Waltrip NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Samsung 500 Fast Facts

April 10, 2007

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – Michael Waltrip and the NAPA Racing team are hoping last weekend’s Busch Series race at Nashville Superspeedway was an indication of the progress teams are making with the new Toyota Camry. Of the three Toyotas entered, Michael Waltrip Racing driver David Reutimann finished second while Dave Blaney and Jason Leffler clinched third and fourth-place finishes, respectively.

Waltrip is optimistic about qualifying for the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway as he gets behind the wheel of a newly-bodied No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Camry. The redesigned intermediate car comes as a result of a closer collaboration between Michael Waltrip Racing and Toyota that began four weeks ago.

NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip:

What are some of the key areas the NAPA race team is focusing on with this new car that may have been missing at California or Las Vegas?

“Any time you build your next car, it is going to be your best car because you’ve taken everything you have learned up to that point and applied it. We have teamed with Toyota more closely on the construction of all of our cars as we go forward, and this was just the latest, greatest and most updated car we could build. I am really optimistic about going to Texas Motor Speedway with our new NAPA ride. We feel like we are doing some good things. Unfortunately, we are struggling for results. I am looking for that to all change at Texas. Texas has been a place I have run well at. I enjoy the place and love the people.”

Explain your downforce goals with this new car.

“There are all kinds of different ways of looking at downforce these days. You used to look at downforce as simply being downforce. Then you got side force, front downforce and rear downforce. Everyday things get more and more complicated because you learn more. Engineering is allowing us to learn as much as we have ever been able to, especially with our relationship and association with Toyota. We like where we are as a team as far as how we are preparing, and this car is certainly different in build from any car we have assembled here to date. We spend a lot of time chasing downforce, whether it is back, front or side force. How does side force differ from downforce? Downforce is pushing the rear deck lid down. Side force is what the right side of the car leans on when it goes through the corner – the side the air leans on. Those two things are very critical to how a car will handle, so we are focusing a whole lot on side force on our new cars and a little bit less on downforce. We feel like we lacked some side force in the past, and we are trying to address it.”

How hard is it to switch gears to the intermediate car program after two weeks on the COT program?

“It’s difficult. I think one of the key reasons why many people would like to see the switch made completely over to the Car of Tomorrow sooner rather than later is because of that. It’s just another challenge we are faced with and have to deal with. We certainly like the fact we had some time to prepare for Texas. Obviously, we weren’t too prepared when we got to California and Vegas earlier in the year, so that’s given us an opportunity to regroup and try something new and different.”

Michael Waltrip Fast Facts

  • NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip will attempt to qualify for his 677th NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race when the seventh event of the 2007 season, the Samsung 500, is held at Texas Motor Speedway.

  • He will attempt to start in his 13th race at the 1.5-mile track. His best TMS start is 4th (April 8, 2002) and best finish is 6th (April 17, 2005).

  • During his career at Texas, Waltrip has earned 3 top-10 finishes. His average start is 28th and average finish is 23rd.

  • Waltrip has completed 3591 of 4013 laps (89.5%) at the track and has led a total of 14 laps in competition.

  • Entering this week’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event, Waltrip is 54th in the driver standings and 50th in owner standings. The NAPA AUTO PARTS team will need to qualify for the Samsung 500 on time since the No. 55 car is outside the top 35 in owner point standings. A total of 51 cars are entered in the Texas event. Of the entrants, 15 are go-or-go-home teams. Waltrip will be competing for eight qualifying spots, one of which may be used as a past champion’s provisional by teammate Dale Jarrett, if needed.

  • Waltrip is a two-time Daytona 500 champion. He was victorious in 2001 and 2003.

NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip Texas Motor Speedway Statistics

YEARSTARTFINISHYEARSTARTFINISH
4/7/1997 21 9 3/30/2003 37 17
4/5/1998 40 9 4/04/04 41 20
3/28/1999 29 14 4/17/2005 21 6
4/2/2000 21 29 11/06/2005 31 41
4/1/2001 7 39 4/09/2006 42 26
4/08/2002 4 28 11/05/2006 38 43

Mikey’s NAPA Ride

Waltrip will be behind the wheel of chassis MWR-522 at Texas Motor Speedway. It is brand new.

Samsung 500 Broadcast Coverage

Live coverage of the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway begins Sunday, April 15 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX. If you can’t catch the race on TV, it can be heard on your local PRN Radio affiliate and Sirius Satellite Radio starting at the same time. Remember to check your local listings as dates and times of the race may change.