What makes Talladega Superspeedway different from other superspeedways?
“Talladega is a cool track. It is one-of-a-kind. I have never been a fan of repaving a track. It has usually led to lousy races because the groove gets worn in and it’s right around the bottom. There are not a whole lot of options to pass. I remember telling NASCAR that we didn’t need to have Talladega repaved. I told them it was fine as is. When they repaved that place, it turned into one of the coolest rides in the world. You just run wide open around that big, old track with the smooth surface. Your only job for 500 miles is to jockey for position. You root. You try to squeeze in holes. That’s what you do all day long. To be able to do that on that track with over 150,000 people watching is one of the biggest thrills of the year.

“When it comes to set up, you tell your team to take all the drag off the car. Don’t worry about it handling. It will handle fine. The track is smooth. You don’t have to worry about bumps. You ride along on your bump stops if you want. You have all kinds of options about how to make your car drive at this track. Really, all you are trying to do is squeeze speed out of it. You want your car to go as fast as possible and don’t worry about anything else. Daytona is quite the opposite. You have to be able to hold your foot on the floorboard at Daytona and that’s a real day’s work to be able to accomplish that. While you run the same kind of car, you race them a lot differently.

What kind of mindset do you have to have at Talladega?
“You have to realize that it is a 500-mile race. You want to lead every lap and that’s just the way drivers think. But there are going to be times in the race where you might be running 15th or 20th and not like what you are seeing going on around you. That is time when you make a move to the front or drop to the back. You have to preserve yourself when it gets that way so you can get to the end. Anything can happen so you have to be mentally strong. If you have to give up spots for the time being and get them back later -- if that’s what you think you have to do as a driver to win the race -- then that’s what you have to do. Your job as a driver is to win so you have to put yourself in the right position to do it.”

Media Alert: Watch Michael on Friday night’s edition of Trackside from Talladega. It will air at 7:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET on SPEED.

Michael Waltrip Fast Facts

• NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip will start in his 734th NASCAR Sprint Cup race when he competes in the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala.

• He will start in his 46th race at the 2.66-mile track. His best start is first (Oct. 7, 2007) and best finish is first (Sept. 28, 2003). During his career at the superspeedway, Waltrip has earned seven top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. His average start and finish is 19th.

• Waltrip has completed 7,472 of 8,401 laps (88.9%) at the track and has led a total of 201 laps in competition.

• Waltrip will be pulling double duty in Talladega. Besides driving the No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, he’ll also be behind the wheel of his No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota in the Nationwide Series event on Saturday. It will air at 2:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

• In Nationwide Series competition at Talladega, he has 11 starts that equate to two top-five and five top-10 and finishes.

• Entering this week’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event, Waltrip is 25th in the driver and owner points standings. The NAPA is guaranteed a starting spot in Saturday night’s race.

NAPA AUTO PARTS Driver Michael Waltrip Sprint Cup Statistics –Talladega Superspeedway

DATE	START	FINISH	DATE	START	FINISH
5/4/1986	37	35	10/12/1997	27	28
7/27/1986	34	14	4/26/1998	33	21
5/3/1987	24	25	10/11/1998	34	9
7/26/1987	21	17	4/25/1999	10	18
5/1/1988	23	33	10/17/1999	12	39
7/31/1988	27	20	4/16/2000	11	31
5/7/1989	25	21	10/15/2000	18	34
7/30/1989	17	36	4/22/2001	8	28
5/6/1990	10	5	10/21/2001	30	37
7/29/1990	32	21	4/21/2002	3	2
5/6/1991	20	5	10/6/2002	15	8
7/28/1991	13	7	4/6/2003	16	24
5/3/1992	25	38	9/28/2003	18	1
7/26/1992	9	7	4/25/2004	2	12
5/2/1993	13	10	10/3/2004	14	25
7/25/1993	13	20	5/1/2005	38	3
5/1/1994	8	3	10/2/2005	25	42
7/24/1994	9	11	5/1/2006	21	25
4/30/1995	10	12	10/8/2006	21	14
7/23/1995	7	9	10/7/2007	1	25
4/28/1996	31	5	4/27/2008	27	27
7/28/1996	22	42	10/5/2008	25	19
5/10/1997	28	14

2009 NAPA AUTO PARTS PIT CREW

Ryan Langley	Front Tire Changer
Chris Hall	Front Tire Carrier
Tony Cardamone	Jack Man
Andy Thurman	Rear Tire Changer
Dwayne Moore	Rear Tire Carrier
Art Harris	Gasman
Shawn Soules	Catch Can
Ron Otto	Eighth Man
Mike Ellershaw	Hose and Sign
Craig Harper	Gas Runner
Mark Maloney	Second Gas Can

EVENT FACTS
Race: 9 of 36
Aaron's 499

Talladega Superspeedway

Length: 2.66-Mile Tri-Oval

Distance: 188 laps/500 miles

Date: Sunday, April 26

Time: 1 p.m. ET

TV:FOX

Radio: MRN; Sirius XM Satellite Radio, Ch. 128

2008 Winner: Kyle Busch
2008 Pole: Joe Nemechek

NOTABLES
Cup Qualifying
Sat., April 25 at 11 a.m. ET,  
SPEED

Cup Practices
Friday, April 24 at 2 p.m. & 3:30 p.m. ET
SPEED

This Week in NASCAR
Monday, April 27 at 8 p.m. ET
Only on SPEED