|
August 23, 2007
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – The 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway did not boast the results the NAPA AUTO PARTS team was expecting. Despite the disappointment, the team did earn its best qualifying effort of the season with an 11th-place start. Qualifying remains the main focus for the team as they head to the half-mile bullring at Bristol Motor Speedway. The team has come a long way in its qualifying program, and the driver feels confident that he will compete in Saturday night’s Sharpie 500. Last season, Waltrip and his NAPA machine earned a 16th-place finish. The driver is prepared for Bristol and believes his Car of Tomorrow program has improved to produce the same kind of result.
NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip:
What have you done to prepare for Bristol?
“We tested two times at Winchester, Ind., with our COT cars to prepare for Bristol. My brother Darrell even participated. He drove the NAPA car, I drove the UPS car and Mark Green drove as well. We learned a lot. I haven’t really been able to feel good about our COT car. Everywhere we go, the front end doesn’t feel like it is up under the car. At Winchester, we worked all day long. We started off with basically that same feeling, but eventually we got the feel we wanted in both our cars. The cars ended up with really good front grip and I am happy about that.”
“Darrell got to run some laps. I love seeing him get in a car. He helped all day long with Randy Goss and our guys. Back in the day, when he drove, those springs we had in the front of our car were real similar to what he would have run. During the test, he’s talking spindles, A-frames, roll centers … all those kinds of things are what Darrell was so good at when he was winning races and championships in the ‘80s. It was good of him to help us out.”
The NAPA team has been consistently qualifying over the past couple of weeks. Are you finally seeing progress?
“We, as a group, are making progress, but we still need to get better. We sort of do as well as Toyota does. Toyota is a big partner of ours and as they get better, so will we. We continue to get more and more competitive. We will be back. I think qualifying at Michigan shows we are moving in the right direction. I am really proud of what we were able to accomplish there. The engine package at Michigan was a lot better than what we had before, which was part of the plan. Hopefully, we will continue to get more competitive and close in on that gap. I certainly believe that will happen.”
Michael Waltrip Fast Facts
NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip will attempt to qualify for his 682nd NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race when the 24th event of the 2007 season, the Sharpie 500, is held at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS).
He will attempt to start in his 43rd race at the .533-mile track. His best Bristol start is 3rd, three times (Aug. 26, 1995, Aug. 24, 2002 and Aug. 23, 2003) and best finish is 5th (April 5, 1994).
Earlier this season, Waltrip was a mere hundredths of a second away from a spot on the starting grid for the Food City 500. The NAPA Camry needed a fast lap of 15.60-seconds to make the race and fell short by just .078 of a second.
During his career at BMS, Waltrip has earned 1 top-5 and 8 top-10 finishes. His average start is 22nd and average finish is 19th.
Michael Waltrip Fast Facts (Cont’d) Waltrip has completed 18,186 of 20,842 laps (87.3%) at the track and has led a total of 64 laps in competition.
Entering this week’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event, Waltrip is 51st in the driver standings and 46th in owner standings. The NAPA AUTO PARTS team will need to qualify for the Sharpie 500 on time since the No. 55 car is outside the top 35 in owner point standings. A total of 48 cars are entered in the Bristol race. Of the entrants, 13 are go-or-go-home teams. Waltrip will be competing for one of eight qualifying spots.
Waltrip is a two-time Daytona 500 champion. He was victorious in 2001 and 2003.
NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip Bristol Motor Speedway Statistics
| DATE |
START |
FINISH |
DATE |
START |
FINISH |
 |
| 4/06/1986 |
24 |
32 |
4/13/1997 |
39 |
21 |
|
| 8/23/1986 |
22 |
13 |
8/23/1997 |
33 |
25 |
|
| 4/12/1987 |
23 |
13 |
3/29/1998 |
32 |
9 |
|
| 8/22/1987 |
12 |
14 |
8/22/1998 |
12 |
16 |
|
| 4/10/1988 |
22 |
12 |
4/11/1999 |
39 |
12 |
|
| 8/27/1988 |
32 |
31 |
8/28/1999 |
14 |
37 |
|
| 4/9/1989 |
7 |
11 |
3/26/2000 |
23 |
11 |
|
| 8/26/1989 |
11 |
32 |
8/26/2000 |
19 |
19 |
|
| 4/8/1990 |
20 |
20 |
3/25/2001 |
29 |
22 |
|
| 8/24/1990 |
27 |
9 |
8/25/2001 |
40 |
39 |
|
| 4/17/91 |
25 |
23 |
3/24/2002 |
9 |
30 |
|
| 8/24/1991 |
31 |
25 |
8/24/2002 |
3 |
22 |
|
| 4/05/1992 |
10 |
17 |
3/23/2003 |
28 |
25 |
|
| 8/29/1992 |
22 |
14 |
8/23/2003 |
3 |
42 |
|
| 4/4/1993 |
15 |
14 |
3/28/2004 |
8 |
10 |
|
| 8/28/1993 |
24 |
10 |
8/28/2004 |
36 |
27 |
|
| 4/10/1994 |
23 |
5 |
4/3/2005 |
27 |
19 |
|
| 8/27/1994 |
28 |
7 |
8/27/2005 |
22 |
15 |
|
| 4/2/1995 |
33 |
22 |
3/26/2006 |
34 |
32 |
|
| 8/26/1995 |
3 |
15 |
8/26/2006 |
29 |
16 |
|
| 3/31/1996 |
25 |
10 |
|
|
|
|
| 8/24/1996 |
6 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
Sharpie 500 Broadcast Coverage
Live coverage of the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway begins Saturday, August 25 at 7:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN. If you can’t catch the race on TV, it can be heard on your local PRN Radio affiliate. Remember to check your local listings as dates and times of the race may change.
|
