|
Sept. 4, 2007
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. –Coming off a fiery crash at California, Michael Waltrip is ready to return to one of the “raciest” tracks on the circuit, Richmond International Raceway. Despite not being a Chase contender, the NAPA driver is expecting a very solid qualifying and race effort for the NAPA AUTO PARTS team. Overall, the two-time Daytona 500 champ has earned one second-place starting position and two top-10 finishes in Cup at Richmond’s three-quarter-mile oval. In Busch Series competition, he has one victory, five poles and six top-5 and 10 top-10 finishes. NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip:
Night racing at Richmond:
“For a race fan, which I am, night racing is the coolest thing, especially at a place like Richmond. The action is confined. It’s an oval that is three-quarters-of-a-mile, which means your eye balls are looking out and you can see the whole thing without moving them. The intensity of the fans and just the level of the excitement you feel are definitely enhanced when you go to a short track at night. As a driver, I don’t really notice it. When we threw the green at Bristol, we ran 125 laps before a crash; I think if you watch Trucks and Busch, you see more action because most of those guys want to go Cup racing. When they say go, those guys literally go. They have a tendency to run over each other. In Cup, drivers have a better understanding of what it takes to run a 400, 500-mile race, successfully. You just want to knock off a couple 100 laps so you can be in contention in the end. All of the races are intense to me. “I know how to race well at Richmond. I have been on the outside pole there. I have won the Busch race there. I have always been competitive at Richmond, so I know that if we have a decent car, I’ll be fine. I like the raciness about Richmond. I think that’s why the fans love it so much, too. You can compare Bristol in the same breath as Richmond. You can just race, and that’s all a driver really wants. You go down into Turn 1 at Richmond and if someone is blocking the bottom, you go to the top. It they want to roll the high side, you can go to the bottom. That’s what it’s all about.” How aware will you be of the Chase contenders on the racetrack? Will you race them any differently?
“In the past, I have always sort of considered it. It wasn’t really a big deal, but you thought about it. I think this time there is such a big discrepancy between 12th and 13th, you won’t really consider it. I remember a couple of years ago when Jeremy Mayfield had to win to get into the Chase – he pulled it off. I mean, so many crazy things happen at Richmond with drivers trying to get into The Chase. The biggest thing for me would be to win the race or run in the top 5 or top 10 in our Toyota. What those other people do, to be honest, I don’t care. I am not going to wreck someone who is running 30th or someone who is running in The Chase. None of that is my intention. It doesn’t make much of a difference to me.” The last time we visited Richmond, the team did not have a good practice, but was able to pick up over a second during qualifying. Unfortunately, the NAPA team did not make the race. What are your expectations this time around?
“I really expect to qualify and finish in the top 20. We have come a long way and have totally put the start to 2007 behind us. We have been able to consistently qualify in the top 25 in the last three or four races, so we are good. I believe we are heading in a great direction. Our future is bright, so I am not really concerned about what happened at Richmond in May. I do understand the intensity of qualifying at the track and what it feels like to go out there and get it done for a lap or two. Hopefully at Richmond, you can have two laps to go after it, so if we don’t get it done in the first lap, we have a legitimate shot at it on the second. We understand the intensity of it. It is over very quickly, and we better be right. We just weren’t right earlier this year. We had a terrible car in practice. We ended up changing 10 things and went out there and missed the race by just four thousands of a second. I believe we will be fine.” Talk about your crash at California. It looked pretty spectacular.
“Any time in the history of racing that you have a wreck, as soon as you look up, there are safety workers standing there. That’s a very comforting feeling. You know that you are going to get out OK. At the same time, with the current car, I raised my hand 10 years ago and said the cars were getting too little. It was getting too tough for me to get out of the car because of my size. I asked NASCAR to stop shrinking it, and I think they listened. Now with our Car of Tomorrow, I can get out of it pretty well. I am just thankful for David Hoots, Robin Pemberton and Mike Helton – all the people who run the race - because we were able to slow the cars down quickly in order to get the safety workers to my wreck.” Michael Waltrip Fast Facts
NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip will attempt to qualify for his 684th NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race when the 26th event of the 2007 season, the Chevy Rock & Roll 400, is held at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night. Waltrip will attempt to start in his 42nd race at the .75-mile track. His best start is 2nd (Sept. 9, 1990) and best finish is 9th in the NAPA machine on May 14, 2005. During his Cup career at RIR, Waltrip has earned 2 top-10 finishes. His average start is 23rd and finish is 25th. Waltrip has completed 14,586 of 16,393 laps (88.9%) at the track and has led a total of 81 laps in competition. In Busch Series competition, he has 1 victory, 5 poles, 6 top-5 and 10 top-10 finishes. Entering this week’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event, Waltrip is 49th in the driver standings and 46th in owner standings. The NAPA AUTO PARTS team will need to qualify for the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 on time since the No. 55 car is outside the top 35 in owner point standings. A total of 47 cars are entered in the Richmond race. Of the entrants, 12 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 Richmond International Raceway Statistics
| DATE |
START |
FINISH |
DATE |
START |
FINISH |
 |
| 2/23/1986 |
21 |
25 |
9/7/1996 |
22 |
14 |
|
| 9/7/1986 |
19 |
14 |
3/2/1997 |
14 |
27 |
|
|
| 3/8/1987 |
14 |
12 |
9/6/1997 |
29 |
35 |
|
| 9/13/1987 |
7 |
19 |
6/6/1998 |
33 |
40 |
|
| 2/21/1988 |
26 |
31 |
9/12/1998 |
31 |
26 |
|
| 9/11/1988 |
6 |
12 |
5/15/1999 |
38 |
22 |
|
| 3/26/1989 |
22 |
13 |
9/11/1999 |
36 |
38 |
|
| 9/10/1989 |
9 |
23 |
5/6/2000 |
38 |
19 |
|
| 2/25/1990 |
23 |
27 |
9/9/2000 |
40 |
43 |
|
| 9/9/1990 |
2 |
14 |
5/5/2001 |
12 |
35 |
|
| 2/24/1991 |
15 |
17 |
9/8/2001 |
41 |
20 |
|
| 9/7/1991 |
31 |
30 |
5/5/2002 |
27 |
24 |
|
| 3/8/1992 |
7 |
34 |
9/7/2002 |
26 |
36 |
|
| 9/12/1992 |
23 |
33 |
5/3/2003 |
37 |
12 |
|
| 3/7/1993 |
26 |
23 |
9/6/2003 |
33 |
32 |
|
| 9/11/1993 |
15 |
19 |
5/15/2004 |
18 |
10 |
|
| 3/6/1994 |
5 |
31 |
9/11/2004 |
19 |
13 |
|
| 9/10/1994 |
20 |
26 |
5/14/2005 |
23 |
9 |
|
| 3/5/1995 |
35 |
23 |
9/10/2005 |
28 |
31 |
|
| 9/9/1995 |
19 |
28 |
5/6/2006 |
30 |
31 |
|
| 3/3/1996 |
35 |
36 |
|
|
|
|
NAPA Camry Goes ARCA RE/MAX Racing Josh Wise will be piloting the No. 22 Eddie Sharp Racing NAPA AUTO PARTS entry at Chicagoland Speedway this Saturday. The race is scheduled to be broadcast live on the SPEED at 2 p.m. EDT. Chevy Rock & Roll 400 Broadcast Coverage Live coverage of the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway begins Saturday night, Sept. 8 at 7:00 p.m. EDT on ABC and can be heard on your local MRN Radio affiliate.
|
