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Sept. 18, 2007
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – Despite sitting out the past two Cup events, Michael Waltrip has been anything but idle. His NAPA AUTO PARTS team is in Daytona participating in a two-day tire test, and the two-time Daytona 500 recently hired Dr. Eric Warren to serve as Michael Waltrip Racing’s first technical director.
Warren brings over a decade of NASCAR engineering expertise and a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from N.C. State to MWR. Waltrip sees Warren as a strong addition to MWR team and believes he will add depth to the organization that will help catapult his three NEXTEL Cup teams back into contention for race victories.
NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip:
About this weekend’s race at Dover International Speedway:
“The last two weeks have been disappointing to me, obviously. It is nice to go back to a track that helped us get our season finally going. Dover was a big boost to this NAPA team back in June, and I look to it as another opportunity to get us back on track on Sunday. It’s been tough, but when you know all the good things that are happening within Michael Waltrip Racing, it motivates me as well as my entire organization."
About the addition of Dr. Eric Warren to MWR:
“I am happy to announce that we just hired our first technical director, Dr. Eric Warren. He is here to run the show for us on the competition side. More changes and additions are coming. While I don’t like to dwell on the last two weeks, I do like to talk about how well we are going to do in the future. We are doing a bunch of things that will integrate nicely with the talented folks we already have in place. We just need more depth. The addition of Dr. Eric Warren is the first step in building the depth we need to get us more competitive on a consistent basis.”
Thoughts on the Car of Tomorrow after running 11 events:
“The first five or six Car of Tomorrow events, we had crazy finishes. There was lots of side-by-side racing and a bunch of beating and banging on each other. I thought that was great. The last three, Kasey Kahne dominates Bristol until Carl Edwards shows up and beats him; Jimmie Johnson gets the lead late and drives away from them at Richmond; and on Sunday, Clint Bowyer puts it to them. At New Hampshire, I obviously got to watch the race from the infield and got a very good feel for how the COT program has evolved. Even though Clint drove away and dominated the competition, I still saw great racing within the pack. From fourth to 40th, it was anyone’s game, and it was great to see all 43 starters make it to the end. I think we can expect another good race this weekend in Dover.”
Dr. Eric Warren, technical director for Michael Waltrip Racing:
About joining Michael Waltrip Racing
“I’ve known Michael for a long time. He’s given me the opportunity to come to his team, and I feel like I can help make a difference. I felt like it’s hard to do that at established teams that are in the position to win or are already winning. Because of my relationship with Michael and Toyota, I want to be here to contribute to the organization and build on their strengths to run better. David (Reutimann) is running well, and there is proof of performance capability. By providing leadership and getting process and structure in place, our goal will be to make all the races. Then we go after top-20s and top-10s, and gradually you build into a championship team.”
Michael Waltrip Fast Facts
NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip will attempt to qualify for his 684th NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race when the 28th event of the 2007 season, the Dover 400, is held at Dover International Speedway on Sunday.
Waltrip will attempt to start in his 44th Cup race at the 1-mile track. His best start is 1st (June 2, 1991) and best finish is 5th (Sept. 16, 1990 and Sept. 15, 1991). He has 2 top-5 and 8 top-10 finishes at Dover. Waltrip has completed 16,105 of 19,104 laps (84.3%) at the track and has led a total of 29 laps in competition.
Earlier this season, Michael Waltrip and the NAPA Racing team finished 28th after starting 23rd in the Autism Speaks 400 at Dover. A push condition and a spin on lap 337 hampered Waltrip’s drive to the finish. Regardless, he was able to persevere and learn a few things about the COT version of his NAPA Toyota Camry by race end.
Waltrip ran his first Busch race at Dover and won on Sept. 17, 1988. In total, he has raced in 19 Busch events at the Monster Mile. He has collected 1 pole, 2 victories (Sept. 17, 1988 and June 2, 1990), 2 top-5 and 8 top-10 finishes. He’s led 253 laps in Busch competition at the track.
Entering this weekend’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event, Waltrip is 51st in the driver standings and 47th in owner standings. The NAPA team will need to qualify for the Dover 400 on time since the No. 55 car is outside the top 35 in owner point standings. A total of 50 cars are entered at Dover. Of the entrants, 15 are go-or-go-home teams. Waltrip will be competing for eight qualifying spots.
Waltrip is a two-time Daytona 500 champion. He was victorious in 2001 and 2003.
NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip Dover International Speedway Statistics
| DATE |
START |
FINISH |
DATE |
START |
FINISH |
 |
| 5/18/1986 |
17 |
12 |
6/1/1997 |
24 |
7 |
|
| 9/14/1986 |
26 |
16 |
9/21/1997 |
20 |
42 |
|
|
| 5/31/1987 |
21 |
21 |
5/31/1998 |
21 |
14 |
|
| 9/20/1987 |
40 |
18 |
9/20/1998 |
32 |
20 |
|
| 6/5/1988 |
23 |
36 |
6/6/1999 |
25 |
42 |
|
| 9/18/1988 |
11 |
12 |
9/26/1999 |
35 |
19 |
|
| 6/4/1989 |
16 |
22 |
6/4/2000 |
15 |
39 |
|
| 9/17/1989 |
16 |
6 |
9/24/2000 |
19 |
24 |
|
| 6/3/1990 |
21 |
26 |
6/3/2001 |
27 |
43 |
|
| 9/16/1990 |
19 |
5 |
9/23/2001 |
27 |
39 |
|
| 6/2/1991 |
1 |
32 |
6/2/2002 |
4 |
21 |
|
| 9/15/1991 |
13 |
5 |
9/22/2002 |
37 |
12 |
|
| 5/31/1992 |
3 |
15 |
6/1/2003 |
16 |
16 |
|
| 9/20/1992 |
24 |
17 |
9/21/2003 |
10 |
42 |
|
| 6/6/1993 |
31 |
27 |
6/6/2004 |
8 |
6 |
|
| 9/19/1993 |
24 |
23 |
9/26/2004 |
5 |
16 |
|
| 6/5/1994 |
34 |
7 |
6/5/2005 |
18 |
13 |
|
| 9/18/1994 |
28 |
33 |
9/25/2005 |
27 |
26 |
|
| 6/4/1995 |
12 |
8 |
6/4/2006 |
33 |
32 |
|
| 9/17/1995 |
30 |
29 |
9/24/2006 |
29 |
28 |
|
| 6/20/1996 |
27 |
11 |
6/03/2007 |
28 |
23 |
| 9/17/1996 |
23 |
9 |
|
|
|
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NASCAR NEXTEL Dover 400 Broadcast Coverage
Live coverage of the Dover 400 at Dover International Speedway begins Sunday, Sept. 23 at 1 p.m. EDT on ABC. It can also be heard on your local MRN Radio affiliate starting at the same time.
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