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May 22, 2007
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – Michael Waltrip and his NAPA AUTO PARTS crew are anxious to hit the track for this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Expected underneath the hood of the No. 55 Camry is a more powerful Toyota engine. Waltrip is hoping the boost in horsepower will help turn around the team’s qualifying efforts so that he can not only drive in the sport’s longest race of the year, but improve the overall performance of his multi-car team.
NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip:
What are your expectations for the new Toyota engine?
“Toyota is bringing a new engine this week that has a lot more power than we’ve had so far this season, and if you think about the fact that there have been five races that you can add up that I have missed by a total of 15 hundredths of a second, an increase in power will certainly help. Making six out of 11 races wouldn’t have been great but it certainly would have helped us and escalated our learning curve to allow us to gather more information. It probably would have made us a better organization too. I know Toyota’s new engine will help and I know our crew lineup that has evolved is the best it’s ever been. I will continue to be positive, optimistic and confident. We’ve been on this road with Toyota for 11 weeks now and to be honest, it hasn’t gone as well as we had hoped. I have worked for 25 years to have the opportunity to own a team and have worked hard to build a good reputation with the people in the garage, NASCAR and my sponsors. I am not going to let the start of this season define who we are. We will continue to dig down deep with Toyota to make sure our Camrys are fast and competitive so we can put the NAPA emblem out front where it belongs.”
Thoughts on racing at Charlotte and the Coca-Cola 600…
“I love the Coca-Cola 600. I’ve won a couple of Busch races at Charlotte and won the NEXTEL Open twice and the All-Star race. It’s a place I feel good about, and believe a place like Charlotte can help turn things around for me and my NAPA team. I have always said during the history of my career, ‘They might outrun me but they won’t outlast me because I will keep on going.’ I hope all goes well on Thursday because running 600 miles will help me prove it.
“Someone asked me the other day if I thought I was going to make the Coca-Cola 600, and to be honest, I thought I was going to make the last 10 races. I never thought I was going to miss a race – ever. People have been talking about our qualifying issues this season and that’s fine. One thing is for sure, despite what is being said out there, it is not going to get me down. I lost 462 races in a row once and was always confident I was going to win the next race. I finally did. I still get up the same way with the confidence to do what I feel fortunate to do – race cars and run Michael Waltrip Racing. I still feel confident about this weekend. We didn’t have a great NEXTEL Open, but we regrouped, and learned quite a few things that should help us with the setup on the car we are bringing this weekend.”
Michael Waltrip Fast Facts
NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip will attempt to qualify for his 677th NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race when the 12th event of the 2007 season, the Coca-Cola 600, is held at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Sunday.
Waltrip made his NASCAR Cup debut at Charlotte during the 1985 Coca-Cola World 600. He started 24th and finished 29th behind the wheel of the No. 23 machine owned by Dick Bahre. His brother Darrell was the race winner.
Waltrip will attempt to start in his 45th Cup race at the 1.5-mile track. His best start is 2nd (October 9, 1994) and best finish is 2nd while driving the NAPA machine on May 30, 2004. In total, he has 4 top-5 and 11 top-10 finishes. Waltrip has completed 14,302 of 15,959 laps (89.6%) at the track and has led a total of 71 laps in competition.
During his Busch career at Lowe’s Motor Speedway spanning 33 events, Waltrip has earned 2 victories (March 29, 1993 and Oct. 9, 1999), 12 top-5 and 13 top-10 finishes as well as 2 pole positions. He’s led 189 laps in competition.
Entering this weekend’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event, Waltrip is 56th in the driver standings and 49th in owner standings. The NAPA team will need to qualify for the Coca-Cola 600 on time since the No. 55 car is outside the top 35 in owner point standings. A total of 49 cars are entered in the Charlotte event. Of the entrants, 14 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 Bill Elliott, if needed.
Waltrip is a two-time Daytona 500 champion. He was victorious in 2001 and 2003.
NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip Coca-Cola 600 Statistics
| DATE |
START |
FINISH |
DATE |
START |
FINISH |
 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
5/26/1985 |
24 |
28 |
5/26/1996 |
8 |
8 |
|
10/6/1985 |
36 |
31 |
10/6/1996 |
11 |
9 |
|
| 5/25/1986 |
34 |
26 |
5/25/1997 |
22 |
17 |
|
| 10/5/1986 |
19 |
19 |
10/21/1997 |
30 |
27 |
|
| 5/24/1987 |
38 |
11 |
5/24/1998 |
37 |
18 |
|
10/11/1987 |
32 |
35 |
10/4/1998 |
27 |
13 |
|
| 5/29/1988 |
22 |
23 |
5/30/1999 |
26 |
37 |
|
| 10/9/1988 |
12 |
26 |
10/11/1999 |
23 |
14 |
|
| 5/28/1989 |
7 |
27 |
5/28/2000 |
12 |
18 |
|
| 10/8/1989 |
14 |
17 |
10/8/2000 |
14 |
22 |
|
| 5/27/1990 |
20 |
4 |
5/27/2001 |
28 |
28 |
|
| 10/7/1990 |
36 |
3 |
10/7/2001 |
21 |
18 |
|
| 5/26/1991 |
2 |
15 |
5/26/2002 |
11 |
8 |
|
| 10/6/1991 |
11 |
7 |
10/13/2002 |
15 |
11 |
|
| 5/24/1992 |
15 |
25 |
5/25/2003 |
9 |
6 |
|
| 10/11/1992 |
29 |
23 |
10/11/2003 |
30 |
14 |
|
| 5/30/1993 |
6 |
13 |
5/30/2004 |
12 |
2 |
|
| 10/10/1993 |
20 |
27 |
10/16/2004 |
6 |
28 |
|
| 5/29/1994 |
30 |
10 |
5/29/2005 |
23 |
36 |
|
| 10/9/2004 |
2 |
10 |
10/15/2005 |
32 |
29 |
|
| 5/28/1995 |
5 |
3 |
5/28/2006 |
43 |
41 |
|
| 10/8/1995 |
4 |
17 |
10/14/2006 |
23 |
38 |
|
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NASCAR NEXTEL Coca-Cola 600 Broadcast Coverage
Live coverage of the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway begins Sunday, May 27 at 5:00 p.m. EDT on FOX. It can also be heard on your local PRN Radio affiliate and Sirius Satellite Radio starting at the same time.
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