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July 3, 2007
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup series comes full circle this weekend as 53 teams return to Daytona International Speedway for the running of the Pepsi 400. Michael Waltrip and the NAPA Racing team have put the drama of Speedweeks behind them and are gearing up to improve upon their 30th-place showing from earlier this season. Daytona is one of Waltrip’s favorite tracks, and the two-time Daytona 500 champion is confident of a strong run in his No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry.
NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip:
Are you looking forward to going back to Daytona?
“I certainly am. It is one of those tracks that makes me smile when I hear its name. I’ve certainly had some success there, but to me, it is what racing is all about. I can’t wait to get down there. We had a pretty competitive car in February. David Reutimann had a very competitive car at Talladega during the last restrictor-plate race, so we are very optimistic about our chances. We are looking to get all three Camrys in and then get them to the front once the race starts.
“This year has been a real struggle, obviously. We have learned so much, and I feel good about where we are right now as an organization. I am really looking forward to going back to some of these tracks and get something accomplished.”
How disappointing was last week at New Hampshire after such a good run at Michigan?
“It’s a shame we could not carry the momentum we had from Michigan into New Hampshire. New Hampshire turned out to be a terrible weekend for us. We’ve struggled somewhat with these Car of Tomorrow (COT) cars as a company at flat tracks. They just won’t turn in the corners, and that’s something that is very important at a flat track like New Hampshire. When you get into the corner, you want the car to turn left, and I can’t seem to get the NAPA Camry to do that. Dale Jarrett complained about the same thing.
“We tested at Milwaukee and knew when we left that we were off, especially after seeing a bunch of cars up there like Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. We went home and headed up to New Hampshire with a totally different setup. We tried to determine what we needed to do, and unfortunately, we came up short. We just didn’t do well. We are now faced with the fact and the realization that our cars on the flat tracks aren’t quite where they need to be. We will have to look at our geometry and the way our chassis are mounted and do all those things before we head to Bristol. Granted, Bristol is a short banked track, but the corners are real tight. It’s so important to have the same type of characteristics – a car that will really want to turn – and that is something we have not been able to accomplish with the COT. What we plan to do is regroup and put a full press on going to some tracks to test and learn some things before we go to Bristol in August. We’ve got some time, so we will keep digging.”
Michael Waltrip Fast Facts
NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip will attempt to qualify for his 679th NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race when the 18th event of the 2007 season, the Pepsi 400, is held at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night.
He will be attempting to start in his 43rd race at the “World Center of Speed”. His best start is 2nd (July 3, 2004) and best finish is 1st (Feb. 18, 2001, July 6, 2002, Feb. 16, 2003).
Waltrip has completed 6,744 of 7,434 laps (90.7%) at the track and has led a total of 347 laps in competition. His average start is 16th and average finish is 20th.
Waltrip has raced in three Busch Series events at Loudon. He has collected one top-five and two top-10 finishes. He has led 13 laps in Busch Series competition at the track.
Entering this weekend’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event, Waltrip is 51st in the driver standings and 48th in owner standings. The NAPA team will need to qualify for the Pepsi 400 on time since the No. 55 car is outside the top 35 in owner point standings. A total of 53 cars are entered at DIS. Of the entrants, 18 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 |
 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
7/4/1986 |
39 |
18 |
7/5/1997 |
8 |
35 |
|
2/15/1987 |
18 |
22 |
2/15/1998 |
6 |
9 |
|
| 7/4/1987 |
20 |
19 |
10/17/1998 |
29 |
31 |
|
| 2/14/1988 |
24 |
22 |
2/14/1999 |
13 |
5 |
|
| 7/2/1988 |
30 |
21 |
7/3/1999 |
13 |
39 |
|
2/19/1989 |
23 |
21 |
2/20/2000 |
10 |
39 |
|
| 7/1/1989 |
15 |
34 |
7/1/2000 |
41 |
42 |
|
| 2/18/1990 |
24 |
8 |
2/18/2001 |
19 |
1 |
|
| 7/7/1990 |
27 |
16 |
7/7/2001 |
22 |
2 |
|
| 2/17/1991 |
13 |
38 |
2/17/2002 |
4 |
5 |
|
| 7/6/1991 |
7 |
6 |
6/6/2002 |
7 |
1 |
|
| 2/16/1992 |
10 |
18 |
2/16/2003 |
4 |
1 |
|
| 7/4/1992 |
9 |
27 |
7/5/2003 |
6 |
11 |
|
| 2/14/1993 |
28 |
16 |
2/15/2004 |
9 |
38 |
|
| 7/3/1993 |
11 |
22 |
7/3/2004 |
2 |
13 |
|
| 2/20/1994 |
14 |
31 |
2/5/2005 |
3 |
37 |
|
| 7/2/1994 |
23 |
13 |
7/2/2005 |
17 |
40 |
|
| 2/19/1995 |
15 |
6 |
2/19/2007 |
30 |
18 |
|
| 7/1/1995 |
8 |
15 |
7/1/2006 |
19 |
38 |
|
| 2/18/1996 |
11 |
10 |
2/18/2007 |
19 |
38 |
|
| 7/6/1996 |
23 |
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
Media Opportunity with Micael
Waltrip will be participating in this week’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Wake-Up Call on Thursday at 3 p.m. in the media center at Daytona International Speedway.
NASCAR NEXTEL Pepsi 400 Broadcast Coverage
Live coverage of the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway begins Saturday, July 7 at 7 p.m. EDT on TNT. It can also be heard on your local MRN Radio affiliate at the same time.
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