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Oct. 17, 2007
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – Michael Waltrip and the NAPA Racing team continue to maintain their momentum after a solid qualify effort and a top-10 finish at Lowe’s Motor Speedway last weekend. The crew now changes gears to run the second-to-the-last COT event of the season at Martinsville Speedway. Two-time Daytona 500 champion Waltrip views the next race as a litmus test to determine his NAPA team’s ongoing progress since the flat, short tracks have proven problematic to his organization this season.
NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip:
What are your expectations for the NAPA team at Martinsville?
“My expectations have to be somewhat reserved. I have some concerns. I haven’t made a flat-track race all year. I don’t like the way my car drives. I can’t seem to get my NAPA Toyota Camry to act right. We’ve taken the COT to Dover and Bristol and have been competitive, but when we went to the short, flat tracks like New Hampshire, it just didn’t work. I have expressed my concerns to our new technical director Dr. Eric Warren, and I explained to him that the cars are not set up right for me, for whatever reason. The car just will not stick at either end of the track. It feels as if the car is up on jack stands when I go in the corners. It’s just not to my liking, so we are addressing all of those concerns. I believe we can figure it out and turn things around at Martinsville. Martinsville is a fun track. I just love it and hope I can be there on Sunday.”
What does Michael Waltrip Racing have planned for Martinsville?
“We have a lot going on this weekend. We’ve got Michael McDowell and Justin Labonte driving for us in the Craftsman Truck Series race, so we are really ramping up for ’08. I am looking forward to watching the continued progression of David Reutimann. He had a tough weekend at Charlotte. Friday night he got into the wall, and then in the Cup race, he slipped up on the first lap. I expect him to rebound in Martinsville. Dale Jarrett missed Charlotte by two hundredths of a second. I know if he would have been in that race, he would have been competitive. I hope this weekend will be good to him and his team.”
Martinsville has made some improvements to the facility. Are you looking forward to seeing it?
“I am. The improvements were made with the fans in mind. I heard about the Champions Overlook up on the back straightaway. They’ve paved a bunch of areas, especially where you go souvenir shopping. That’s what I like about Martinsville. It is an old track, but they keep up with the times. They are like Bristol. They add seats and build better infrastructures. I love racing there, and I love what they are doing to the place.”
Michael Waltrip Fast Facts
NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip will attempt to qualify for his 688th NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race when the 32nd event of the 2007 season, the Subway 500, is held at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday.
He will attempt to start in his 43rd race at the .526-mile track. His best Martinsville start is 7th, three times (Sept. 25, 1988, Sept. 23, 1990 and April 24, 1994) and best finish is 3rd (April 9, 2000).
During his career at Martinsville, Waltrip has earned 1 top-5 and 5 top-10 finishes. His average start is 25th and average finish is 21st.
Waltrip has completed 19,331 of 20,856 laps (92.7%) at the track and has led a total of 17 laps in competition.
Earlier this season, the NAPA Racing team missed the cut for the Goody's Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville Speedway by just .037 of a second.
Entering this week's NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event, Waltrip is 46th in the driver standings and 41st in owner standings. The NAPA AUTO PARTS team will need to qualify for the Subway 500 on time since the No. 55 car is outside the top 35 in owner point standings. A total of 48 cars are entered in the Martinsville race. Of the entrants, 13 are go-or-go-home teams. Waltrip will be competing for eight qualifying spots, one of which may be used as a past champion's provisional by Bill Elliott, if needed.
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 |
 |
| 4/27/1986 |
25 |
11 |
4/20/1996 |
34 |
26 |
|
| 9/21/1986 |
11 |
14 |
9/29/1997 |
27 |
32 |
|
|
| 4/26/1987 |
18 |
10 |
4/20/1997 |
27 |
21 |
|
| 9/27/1987 |
20 |
18 |
9/27/1998 |
27 |
20 |
|
| 4/24/1988 |
23 |
22 |
4/18/1998 |
29 |
39 |
|
| 9/25/1988 |
7 |
25 |
10/3/1999 |
18 |
33 |
|
| 4/23/1989 |
12 |
25 |
4/9/2000 |
34 |
3 |
|
| 9/24/1989 |
15 |
12 |
10/1/2000 |
42 |
24 |
|
| 4/29/1990 |
23 |
8 |
4/8/2001 |
35 |
24 |
|
| 9/23/1990 |
7 |
30 |
10/14/2001 |
34 |
19 |
|
| 4/28/1991 |
29 |
7 |
4/14/2002 |
33 |
13 |
|
| 9/22/1991 |
17 |
25 |
10/20/2002 |
3 7 |
18 |
|
| 4/26/1992 |
8 |
27 |
4/13/2003 |
30 |
23 |
|
| 9/28/1992 |
18 |
29 |
10/19/2003 |
15 |
26 |
|
| 4/25/1993 |
10 |
16 |
4/18/2004 |
39 |
15 |
|
| 9/26/1993 |
24 |
8 |
10/24/2004 |
30 |
19 |
|
| 4/24/1994 |
7 |
17 |
4/10/2004 |
31 |
30 |
|
| 9/25/1994 |
31 |
19 |
10/23/2005 |
39 |
27 |
|
| 4/23/1995 |
35 |
15 |
4/2/2006 |
33 |
29 |
|
| 9/24/1995 |
9 |
25 |
10/22/2006 |
33 |
34 |
|
| 4/21/1996 |
27 |
17 |
|
|
|
| 9/22/1996 |
26 |
14 |
|
|
|
|
Subway 500 Broadcast Coverage
Live coverage of the Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway begins Sunday, Oct. 21 at 1:00 p.m. EDT on ABC. If you can’t catch the race on TV, it can be heard on your local MRN Radio affiliate at the same time. Remember to check your local listings as dates and times of the race may change. |