You have had success at Pocono Raceway. It has a challenging layout. What does it take to run well there?

“It is a lot of fun to drive. You have the big, long front straightaway. It has a nice high-banked first turn. Then there is the tunnel turn and when you go through there, you are going so fast that it seems extremely flat. That’s what I like. You go from a high-banked turn into a flat one. Then the third turn is even flatter yet. They put a patch of new pavement around the top of the third turn that drivers will go up there to try and get more grip.

“If you have a good car during the race, it is because you can go down low and find enough grip to pass someone up there on the patch. The key to Pocono is being able to go wherever you need to go. You have to adjust your line and be able to drive your car wherever the competition isn’t because it makes it really hard to pass a guy if you are following them. Pocono Raceway is just really fun to drive.”

For teams that ran well at Indianapolis, is it safe to say that they have a decent shot at running well at Pocono?

“I don’t think you can necessarily count on that. In the past, you could maybe think that, but now I don’t believe it is the case because of the splitter and how difficult it is run the splitter as low to the ground as possible. At Indy, the track is so smooth. It is easier to get the splitter close to the ground. But at Pocono, it has a lot of bumps and you are still trying to do the same thing. It is pretty hard to get it to match up at Pocono.”

When you first saw the track, what was your impression especially of Turn 1 and the long, front straightaway?

“When I was about 21 years old, I remember watching the drivers go into Turn 1 and they went in there for what seemed like forever. The drivers were wide open all the way into the middle of the corner. It was a learning experience watching. I went on to try it. When I finally caught my breath about an inch away from the wall, I thought to myself how different sound travels. The sound was a little bit delayed. I have had a bunch of fun times at Pocono. I’ve had some great races up there. I finished second in 1998.”

Michael Waltrip Fast Facts

• NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip will be competing in his 745th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race
  when the 21st event of the 2009 Sprint Cup season, the Pennsylvania 500, gets underway at Pocono
  Raceway in Pocono, Pa.

• Waltrip will start in his 47th Cup race at the 2.5-mile track. His best start is first in the NAPA machine (June 12, 2005) and best finish is second (June 19, 1988). In total, he has three top-five and six top-10 finishes at
  Pocono.

• Waltrip has completed 7,947 of 9,108 laps (87.3%) at the track and has led a total of 64 laps in competition.
  His average start and finish is 22nd.

• Earlier this season at Pocono, Michael Waltrip Racing and its alliance with JTG-Daugherty Racing had a very respectable day at the Pocono 500. David Reutimann and Marcos Ambrose finished third and sixth place.
  NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip rallied back from problems on pit road to persevere to a 17th-place finish.

• The NAPA AUTO PARTS team is guaranteed a starting spot in Sunday’s Pennsylvania 500. The team is 31st in the owner points standings.

 

NAPA AUTO PARTS Driver Michael Waltrip Sprint Cup Statistics – Pocono Raceway

DATE	START	FINISH	DATE	START	FINISH
6/8/1986	28	39	7/20/1997	25	22
7/20/1986	27	11	6/21/1998	29	14
6/14/1987	22	16	7/26/1998	10	10
7/19/1987	19	37	6/20/1999	13	37
6/19/1988	30	2	7/25/1999	16	12
7/24/1988	24	17	6/19/2000	12	43
6/18/1989	12	14	7/23/2000	21	17
7/23/1989	28	28	6/17/2001	17	30
6/17/1990	19	19	7/29/2001	23	19
7/22/1990	28	23	6/9/2002	17	8
6/16/1991	5	18	7/28/2002	3	18
7/21/1991	20	38	6/8/2003	13	18
6/14/1992	15	15	7/27/2003	17	4
7/19/1992	28	26	6/13/2004	22	33
6/13/1993	27	21	8/1/2004	11	36
7/18/1993	16	14	6/12/2005	1	5
6/12/1994	10	11	7/24/2005	24	26
7/17/1994	41	14	6/11/2006	36	28
6/11/1995	23	9	7/23/2006	39	40
7/16/1995	21	21	8/5/2007	39	38
6/16/1996	14	14	6/8/2008	19	37
7/21/1996	24	13	8/3/2008	42	43
6/8/1997	32	13	7/7/2009	32	17

Media Alert:
Chris Hall, front tire carrier for the No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, will be sporting a helmet camera during Sunday’s broadcast coverage of the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway.

All Times Eastern

2009 NAPA AUTO PARTS PIT CREW

Shannon Myers	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