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What are your thoughts heading into Martinsville?
“When I go back to Martinsville, whether it is in the spring or in the fall, I always step back and think about how things used to be. It’s just a slower pace and a very enjoyable weekend. It reminds me of what it was like racing when I was a kid, and you’ve got to love the hot dogs.”
What are some of the challenges that Martinsville presents?
“It’s a bullring. You have to fight for every inch you can gain. If you look back to the Truck race in the spring, Johnny Benson ran the perfect race all day long. He was in position to win. He was running second on the last lap. He got spun out and finished 25th. That’s what can easily happen at Martinsville. You can lose a lot of ground in a hurry if you are not careful.
“This sport is so competitive that it’s the driver’s job to give the crew chief, and the crew, the information so that he has a well-balanced car. You are not going to win a race, especially at Martinsville, when your car does not handle right. If the car doesn’t drive well, that’s partly the driver’s fault. Maybe more than anywhere we go, you have to have the car work with you at Martinsville. With its tight, flat turns, if your car doesn’t want to turn, you can’t turn it. I’ve never bought into the fact that just because it’s a flat track, you can make up more. I don’t see people making up much these days. The car has to handle well.”
How tough is Martinsville’s pit road?
“I think it is interesting that a couple of years ago, Bristol changed its pit road without doing any construction. They just said, ‘You can pit here and here depending if the green flag is out or not. Martinsville went in and made a huge change to its track in order to accomplish what is basically the same thing. If you ever have to make an unscheduled green-flag stop at Martinsville, you are going to lose three laps. There is no way around it. It’s a very long pit road.”
Who will be driving the No. 00 Toyota Camry this weekend?
“Mike Bliss. I was talking to my guys and mentioned how Bliss got in one of the JGR cars at Richmond not too long ago. He ran in the top five and that’s something no one has done lately. He certainly has the ability and knowledge to be very competitive on any track. Martinsville is a place where I see him ready to go after it, especially since he gets to warm up in the Truck race. He drove for me in the Band-Aid car back in the 90’s at ORP. He did a great job and I am looking forward to learning from him. This is a really good situation for our team.”
Michael Waltrip Fast Facts
- NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip will be competing in his 721st NASCAR Sprint Cup race when the 32nd event of the 2008 Sprint Cup season, the Tums QuikPak 500, gets underway at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va.
- He will start in his 45th race at the .526-mile track. His best Martinsville start is seventh, three times (Sept. 25, 1988, Sept. 23, 1990 and April 24, 1994), and best finish is third (April 9, 2000).
- During his career at Martinsville, Waltrip has earned one top-five and five top-10 finishes. His average start is 24th and average finish is 21st.
- Waltrip has completed 20,320 of 21,862 laps (92.9%) at the track and has led a total of 17 laps in competition.
- Earlier this year, the NAPA team finished 35th in the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Driver Michael Waltrip was running in 20th place after the restart on lap 187 when he made contact with the No. 8 car. The NAPA team repaired its Camry to enable Waltrip to finish the race.
- Entering this week’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event, Waltrip is 29th in the driver and 31st owner point’s standings. He is guaranteed a starting spot in Sunday’s race.
NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip Martinsville Speedway Statistics
| DATE |
START |
FINISH |
DATE |
START |
FINISH |
| 4/27/1986 |
25 |
11 |
9/29/1997 |
27 |
32 |
| 9/21/1986 |
11 |
14 |
4/20/1998 |
27 |
21 |
| 4/26/1987 |
18 |
10 |
9/27/1998 |
27 |
20 |
| 9/27/1987 |
20 |
18 |
4/18/1999 |
29 |
39 |
| 4/24/1988 |
23 |
22 |
10/3/1999 |
18 |
33 |
| 9/25/1988 |
7 |
25 |
4/9/2000 |
34 |
3 |
| 4/23/1989 |
12 |
25 |
10/1/2000 |
42 |
24 |
| 9/24/1989 |
15 |
12 |
4/8/2001 |
35 |
24 |
| 4/29/1990 |
23 |
8 |
10/14/2001 |
34 |
19 |
| 9/23/1990 |
7 |
30 |
4/14/2002 |
33 |
13 |
| 4/28/1991 |
29 |
7 |
10/20/2002 |
37 |
18 |
| 9/22/1991 |
17 |
25 |
4/13/2003 |
30 |
23 |
| 4/26/1992 |
8 |
27 |
10/19/2003 |
15 |
26 |
| 9/28/1992 |
18 |
29 |
4/18/2004 |
39 |
15 |
| 4/25/1993 |
10 |
16 |
10/24/2004 |
30 |
19 |
| 9/26/1993 |
24 |
8 |
4/10/2005 |
31 |
30 |
| 4/24/1994 |
7 |
17 |
10/23/2005 |
39 |
27 |
| 9/25/1994 |
31 |
19 |
4/2/2006 |
33 |
29 |
| 4/23/1995 |
35 |
15 |
10/22/2006 |
33 |
34 |
| 9/24/1995 |
9 |
25 |
10/21/2007 |
29 |
18 |
| 4/21/1996 |
27 |
17 |
3/30/2008 |
16 |
35 |
| 9/22/1996 |
26 |
14 |
|
|
|
| 4/20/1997 |
34 |
26 |
|
|
|
EVENT FACTS
Race: 32 of 36
Tums QuikPak 500
Track: Martinsville Speedway
Length: .526-Mile Oval
Distance: 500 laps/263 miles
Date: Sunday, Oct. 19
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
TV:ABC
Radio: MRN
2007 Winner: Jimmie Johnson
2007 Pole: Jeff Gordon
TELEVISION TIDBITS
Sprint Cup Qualifying:
Fri., Oct. 17 at 3:30 p.m. ET
ESPN2
Sprint Cup Practices:
Fri., Oct. 17 at 1:30 p.m. ET
SPEED
Sat., Oct. 18 at 11:30 a.m. ET
SPEED
Sat., Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. ET
(Tape Delay) SPEED
This Week in NASCAR
Mon., Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. ET
SPEED
2008 NAPA AUTO PARTS PIT CREW
| Front Tire Changer: |
Shannon Myers |
| Front Tire Carrier: |
Chris Hall |
| Jackman: |
Scott King |
| Rear Tire Changer: |
Andy Thurman |
| Rear Tire Carrier: |
Dwayne Moore |
| Gas Man: |
Art Harris |
| Catch Can: |
Shawn Soules |
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