Championship Weekend – Homestead-Miami Speedway

NAPA RACING PRESS BOX FEATURING MICHAEL WALTRIP

Homestead-Miami is known as championship weekend. What is your opinion of that venue hosting the finale?
“I can’t think of a better place to host the championship battles that we have going on in NASCAR. I would highly recommend the fans go to Miami. The weather is going to be perfect. The track is so racy. You will see drivers run up high and run down low. We are going to have three championships decided. One of which seems to be already determined, but the other two are certainly up in the air, so I think it is a great track to have those battles determined.”

Where does Homestead-Miami Speedway rank amongst the tracks you like?
“I say this all the time, but it is true. My favorite tracks are the ones that give drivers options. That’s why I enjoyed last weekend’s venue at Phoenix. I had options. When they fixed Bristol, it became fun because you didn’t have to run into someone to pass them. Now, you can actually drive around them. Homestead is way up on my list of favorite tracks. I love it because when they repaved it, we were able to run all over the place as soon as we got on it. The shortest way around Homestead isn’t banked as much so you have to slow down. The longest way around is banked more so you can go faster, so the fastest way is also the longest way around. So to me, it’s the perfect racetrack. I think if anyone decides to repave one of the speedways, they really have to look at doing the progressive style of banking so we don’t have to spend two or three years burning in the bottom groove and then finally creeping out to the second lane. Progressive banking, it’s all there in the beginning.”

Heading into the finale, MWR has all three cars in the top 35.
“Marcos Ambrose has stepped up. Frankie Kerr has done a nice job with the cars. Those are the same cars that Michael McDowell was driving. Kenny Wallace and Mike Skinner drove them. But the combination of Frank Kerr and Marcos Ambrose has been able to extract more out of that car than anyone else has all year long. I am very proud of them. I love talking to Ambrose. He has passion and enthusiasm for the sport. He is heading to Kentucky to test. He is all in. He is in to what he is doing. To see that team reach the type of success that they have in such a short period of time has been fun to watch. I hope the momentum continues so that some of the pressure will be off when we all return to Daytona Speedweeks in a few short months.”

Michael Waltrip Fast Facts

• NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip will be competing in his 725th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race when the final event of the season, the Homestead-Miami Speedway 400, gets underway at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla.

• He will start in his eighth race at the 1.5-mile track. His best start is eighth and best finish is second while driving the No. 15 NAPA car on Nov. 11, 2001.

• During his career at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Waltrip has earned one top-five and one top-10 finish. His average start is 27th and average finish is 29th.

• Waltrip has completed 1609 of 1873 laps (85.9%) at the track and has led a total of two laps in competition.

• Entering this week’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event, Waltrip is 29th in the driver and owner points standings. He is guaranteed a starting spot in Sunday’s race along with his MWR teammates David Reutimann and Marcos Ambrose. A total of 46 cars are entered in the season finale

NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip Homestead-Miami Speedway Statistics

EVENT FACTS

Race: 36 of 36
Track: Homestead-Miami Speedway
Length: 1.5-Mile Oval
Distance: 267 laps/400 miles
Date: Sunday, November 16
Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
TV: ABC
Radio: MRN
2007 Winner: Matt Kenseth
2007 Pole:Jimmie Johnson

Television Tidbits
Sprint Cup Qualifying
Fri., Nov. 14 at 3:00 p.m. ET
ESPN2

Sprint Cup Practices
Fri., Nov. 14 at 12:00 p.m. ET
ESPN2

Sat., Nov. 15 at 1:30 p.m. ET
SPEED

Sat., Nov. 15 at 3:00 p.m. ET
ESPN2

This Week in NASCAR Special
Thurs., Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. ET
SPEED

2008 NAPA AUTO PARTS PIT CREW