55 Michael Waltrip

2007 Waltrip struggled with the debut of Michael Waltrip Racing and manufacturer Toyota. A penalty for a fuel additive found prior to the Daytona 500 put the driver in the hole in points from the beginning of the year. He then went on to spend the entire year outside the top 35 in owners points, forcing him to qualify for races each week. His two other teams, those of Dale Jarrett and David Reutimann, also remained outside the top 35. … Waltrip finished the year 44th in drivers points with two top-10 runs and a pole position in 14 starts.

2006 Finished 37th in series points and 38th in owner points, forcing him to qualify based on speed for the opening five races of 2007 … Earned a best finish of 14th in the October race at Talladega Superspeedway … Announced plans to form Michael Waltrip Racing for 2007 and operate three Toyota Cup teams … Spent 2006 building his inventory while competing under the Jasper-Waltrip Racing umbrella through a partnership with Bill Davis Racing.

2005 Finished 25th in series points. ... Started third in the Daytona 500 which he has won twice, and led 42 laps, but finished 36th due to engine problems. ... Best finish of the season, a runner-up finish, came in the spring Phoenix race. He started 38th and finished third the following week at Talladega where he has also won. ... Won his only Bud Pole Award of the season in the first Pocono event, in which he finished fifth. ... Announced move to Bill Davis Racing's NAPA Dodge team for 2006 after five full seasons at Dale Earnhardt Inc.

2004 Finished 20th in series points. ... Disappointing season started with 38th-place finish in Daytona 500. Highest spot in points after that was 16th. ... Best finish was a second in Coca-Cola 600; best start was second in Talladega spring event and Daytona summer race. ... Had fourth-place runs in two non-points events, the first 125-mile qualifier for the Daytona 500 and the Nextel All-Star Challenge. ... Failed to have a top-10 finish in any of the four restrictor-plate points events.

2003 Finished 15th in series points. ... Won Daytona 500 for the second time in three seasons, becoming one of only eight drivers to win the series' most prestigious race two or more times. ... Recorded first multiple-win season of his career by adding a victory at Talladega in September. ... Led points following third-place finish at Las Vegas, and stood firmly in the NASCAR top 10 for 27 race weeks until bad luck hampered last third of his season. ... His 10 finishes of 26th or worse in the last 13 races ... which included all six of his DNFs ... relegated him to his final points standing, yet still posted series career highs in winnings ($4,463,845) and top-fives (eight) and registered the most top-10s (11) since 1996. ... Exceeded $20 million mark in career earnings. ... Also drove part-time NASCAR Busch Series schedule (20 races), winning at Bristol in August.

2002 Finished 14th in series points. ... Continued to show dominance in restrictor-plate races winning at Daytona in July and was fifth at the Daytona 500 after winning a Gatorade 125 event. ... Recorded finishes of second and eighth, respectively, at Talladega. ... After a slow start, surged from 24th to 12th in the points with three of his four total top-fives and six of his 10 top-10 finishes within a nine-race span beginning with a second-place effort at Talladega in April. ... Finished up the year in a consistent fashion with seven top-15 finishes in the final 14 events. ... Points finish was highest in six years (14th in 1996). ... Ended speculation about his future by signing a four-year deal with DEI in July. ... Earned two outside poles ... Watkins Glen and Michigan ... MIS start was his best since an outside pole at Las Vegas in 1999.

2001 Finished 24th in series points. ... Won his first series race in 463 career starts at the Daytona 500. ... Finished second to teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Daytona five months later. ... Was second at Homestead in first season with DEI for a total of three top-fives; his two runner-up efforts were his first since 1988, at that point his best finish in the series. ... Posted $3,411,644 in winnings, his career best at the time.

2000 Finished 27th in series points. ... Had one top-five finish, a season-best third at Martinsville in April. ... Ran season's first 19 races for Jim Mattei and finished driving for Jim Smith.

1999 Finished 29th in series points. ... First season with Mattei Motorsports produced his first top-five finish in three years, a fifth-place effort at the Daytona 500. ... Also recorded two top-10s. ... Career-high 10 DNFs.

1998 Finished 17th in series points. ... In his final season with the Wood Brothers, managed five top-10 finishes including a season-best sixth to open the season at Daytona. ... Had string of 387 consecutive starts snapped when he failed to qualify at Phoenix.

1997 Finished 18th in series points. ... Six top-10 finishes included four seventh-place efforts ... Best start of the season (sixth) came on the Infineon road course.

1996 Finished 14th in series points in his first year with the Wood Brothers. ... Won The Winston, becoming the first driver to win the all-star event since transferring from the Winston Open. ... Earned one top five in April at Talladega, to go along with 10 top-10s. ... Earned $1 million in a season for the first time in his career.

1995 Finished 12th in series points, tying his career best set the season prior. ... Final season with Chuck Rider, ending an eight-year association. ... Secured a pair of top-five finishes along with six top-10s.

1994 Finished 12th in series points, his career best in the standings. ... Finished third at Talladega, and posted one other top-five finish; also had eight top-10s. ... Started on the outside pole at Charlotte in October.

1993 Finished 17th in series points. ... Posted five top-10 finishes, including a season-best seventh at Talladega in July.

1992 Finished 23rd in series points, his first finish outside the top 20 in his career. ... One top-five and two top-10 finishes in a season of struggles that included eight DNFs.

1991 Finished 15th in series points, at the time his career-best. ... Earned first two pole positions of his series career within a four-race span (the July races at Dover and Michigan). ... Finished in the top five four times and in the top 10 a career-best 12 times.

1990 Finished 16th in series points. ... Then-career-high five top-five finishes and totaled 10 top-10 efforts.

1989 Finished 18th in series points. ... Earned five top-10 finishes despite nine DNFs in 29 starts.

1988 Finished 18th in points in first season driving for Chuck Rider. ... His runner-up finish at Pocono in June was a then-best career effort. ... Had one other top-10 finish.

1987 Finished 20th in series points. ... Earned first career top-10 with a 10th-place finish at the Martinsville spring race.

1986 Finished 19th in series points in his first full season in the series driving for Dick Bahre. ... Runner-up to Alan Kulwicki for Rookie of the Year honors. ... Best finishes were 11th-place efforts at Martinsville in April and at Pocono in July.

1985 Finished 57th in series points after running only five races. ... First series start came in Coca-Cola on May 27 and was a great day for the Waltrip clan as brother Darrell won the event in Michael's inaugural Cup race; Michael finished 28th.