LIFELOCK.COM 400 - CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY

NAPA RACING PRESS BOX FEATURING MICHAEL WALTRIP

How do you rate the NAPA team right now?

"For the fourth race in a row, we have been pretty solid in our performances. We were really solid at Michigan. We drove up to the front. Infineon Raceway we had a good car, but needed better gas mileage. We had a good finish at New Hampshire because circumstances worked better in our favor. Saturday night, we put ourselves in a position to win the race. We were just like everybody else who was running up in the top 10 so I am proud of that trend. We are showing progress. We are showing that the NAPA Toyota is fast enough to get up to the front and make some headlines."

What happened with scoring after the race at Daytona? You were listed as 14thaccording to NASCAR's timing and scoring immediately following the race. However, when the results came out, you were scored as 27th. What happened?

"When we took the white flag, we were 14th and moving up when we were wrecked coming out of Turn 1. NASCAR ended up freezing the field to determine who won the race as well as the rest of the finishing order. Even though I did crash, I continued my momentum. I never stopped. I ran faster than the pace car speed. I believed I was running fast enough to maintain my position. According to NASCAR, I had to keep up with the field's pace. The field was basically running 170 mph. My car was not capable of that with the amount of damage we had. We did have a discussion with NASCAR after the race stating our case to be 14th place, but NASCAR ruled against us since I was unable to keep up with the pace of the field."

This weekend the Series returns to Chicagoland. There are a lot of 1.5-mile tracks on the NASCAR circuit, what makes Chicagoland unique?

"What is unique about is that it has a little kink in the backstretch. The back straightaway is not perfectly straight so it's just a fun track to drive. The kink makes it different so I like that."

This will be the first night race at Chicagoland. Do you expect racing under the lights to be different?

"Drivers won't be able to tell the difference. It will remain the same. The challenge will be directed towards the crew chiefs. They will have to deal with how to set up the car and keep track of how the track changes throughout the evening. I expect the track to change significantly because of it being raced at night.

"What I love about night racing is it makes everything more vibrant. Everything that you see is focused on the action on the track because that is what is lit. You can see the outside perimeters very well. All the action will be intense and it is right there in front of the fans. Because of that, I am a big fan of night racing."

How important is qualifying at Chicagoland?

"I think where you qualify can be a little bit overrated, especially as we move forward with this new car. Right now, qualifying is not everyone's focus. Some teams focus on qualifying modes on Friday and then on Saturday, they switch over to race modes. On the other hand, I see teams who put all of their focus on race modes on Friday and Saturday. Whether you qualify up front or not, you are still able to win. That's a pretty new trend in this sport, in my opinion. Now, we are seeing people spread all across the board on what they are looking to accomplish out of those Friday practices. I think as time moves forward, you will see more and more winners coming from weird starting positions like we've seen at in the past at Chicago."

NASCAR is contemplating a change to the testing policy. What would you like to see happen?

"No matter what NASCAR does, there will be a reaction by the teams in order to take advantage of any rule NASCAR makes. When you look at the rules now, there is unlimited testing when you think about it. We can go to Nashville and Kentucky as many times as we want. We spend a lot of money, and maybe that money could be spent more effectively if we are allowed to test at tracks where the cars race. If we are going to spend the money anyway, why not spend the money at the tracks we race? That will make the competition better, and a better race for the fans to watch.

"As an owner, I would like to talk to NASCAR to see what direction they are going. I am not opposed to unlimited testing. I think there could be some validity for that. However, I think there are other ways to be cost effective. What I would like to see happen when it is possible, is open the track one day early. That will allow the teams to put all their telemetry and computer gathering devices on the cars and then hit the track. We would test all day long on Thursday. When practice resumes on Friday, all the telemetry and computer equipment stays on the car until qualifying. Qualifying and Saturday practice sessions would remain the way they are now.

"The most important thing we do in the test is have data acquisition. We are able to look at exactly the way the springs are working. We can see how much travel we are getting in the shocks. We can study the attitude of the car. If we can have all the electronics on the car when we are actually on the track during the race weekend, it will speed up the team's learning curve tremendously. We can gather so much more information and dissect it. It would be so much better."

Michael Waltrip Fast Facts

• NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip will qualify for his 708th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race when the 19th event of the 2008 season, the LifeLock.com 400, is held at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday night.
• He will start in his eighth race at Chicagoland. His best start is fifth (July 14, 2002) and best finish is fifth (July 13, 2003) while driving the NAPA machine.
• Waltrip has completed 1683 of 1872 laps (89.9%) at the track and has led a total of two laps in competition. His average start is 27th and average finish is 25th.
• Entering this weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event, Waltrip is 29th in the driver points and 28th in owner standings. The NAPA team is guaranteed a starting spot in the LifeLock.com 400. A total of 45 teams are entered at Chicagoland.

Television Tidbits

2008 NAPA AUTO PARTS PIT CREW