THE ALLSTATE 400 AT THE BRICKYARD - INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

NAPA RACING PRESS BOX FEATURING MICHAEL WALTRIP

Indy is a unique track. What is your impression?

"What is really interesting about this track is it is basically symmetrical. It might be a foot or two different, but both ends are alike. However, visually, because of the grandstands, it looks like you are going to go into a tunnel with all the people. It makes Turn 1 look twice as tight as Turn 3, when in reality, they are exactly the same. For some reason, it is tough to get that in your brain that there are no differences. You have to fight yourself to try and drive both ends the same way. The corners are also sharp which just makes momentum be the name of the game. If you can somehow get your car set entering the corner a little bit before the guy ahead of you, and get that gas down and hold that inside, the momentum you make off the turn is how you pass people."

You are bringing a new car to Indy. What gains have been made at MWR with your cars as well as your organization?

"This is a new build of a car. This is part of our future at Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR). This is probably generation three of our COT program. It is lighter. It has a lower center of gravity. To me, those two things are key elements to what this new car needs. Drivers talk about how this car is heavier than the old cars. That means the center of gravity is very critical. A way that I can explain this is if Jeff Gordon and I are racing, and if he has a lower center of gravity in comparison to mine, then he will have the ability to make it through the corners faster. We have to make sure that our cars are the best. That's our challenge and charge here at MWR. We have been able to lower our center of gravity by 5/8th of an inch. That may not sound like much, but it is a big deal. It is like lowering the engine by four inches. That's how important we think our most recent gain is. I look forward to driving it on Friday. We have about 12 of these new cars in the pipeline. My car is the first one. It has been tested at Kentucky and Milwaukee. Everything has gone real well in testing so we are really optimistic about the Indy race. I am really looking forward to the second half of the season. I believe we are putting together some really special cars. We are really organizing and coming together as a group. I feel better about MWR today than I ever have because of the things we are doing and accomplishing. I also love the job that David Reutimann and Ryan Pemberton are doing on the track. Bobby Kennedy and I have almost won two races this year. You just can't argue that. We were coming to the white flag at Talladega with the lead. If the motor would have run one more mile, I would have won that race. At Loudon, we were right there with a chance to win. Last year, we didn't have that to hang our hats on. We missed races, and had two top-10 finishes. We weren't able to contend for races. Now we are. Reutimann is poised to break into the top 20 in points. Last year, he was 45th. We have got ourselves rooted solidly in the points. Now we've added another veteran crew chief with Peter Sospenzo. Starting in Indy, he will be guiding rookie Michael McDowell. He's all in. He's here to take McDowell to another level. It's really fun here at MWR. I can get excited when I talk about this right now because I can really see it happening. There have been so many days when I have wanted to see the needle moving. I wanted to know what we were doing in order to get to that next point. I knew it was all going on, but it wasn't coming together like I wanted it to. Now, I see it coming together and that is a great thing."

• NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip will qualify for his 709th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race when the 20th event of the 2008 season, the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, is held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.
• He will start in his 13th race at the Brickyard. His best start is third (Aug. 7, 2005) and best finish is eighth (Aug. 6, 1994).
• Waltrip has completed 1846 of 1921 laps (96.1%) at the track and has led a total of one lap in competition. His average start is 15th and average finish is 21st.
• Entering this weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event, Waltrip is 30th in the driver points and 31st in owner standings. The NAPA team is guaranteed a starting spot in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. A total of 47 teams are entered at Indy.

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