Waltrip happy to know his team is racing on Sunday
By SceneDaily Staff
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Marc Serota / Getty Images for NASCAR
Michael Waltrip is looking forward to the luxury of a relatively stress-free Friday. For the first time in the organization's history, all three Michael Waltrip Racing Toyotas have guaranteed starting spots in this weekend's race, the Goody's Cool Orange 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway.
“It’s been two years since I went to the track knowing I was going to race on Sunday,” the owner-driver said. “I am very happy that it has come around again … finally. It has been miserable for me on Fridays. I worry about qualifying. No one knows how bad it feels until they are in the situation."
Waltrip says this weekend's event can be particularly challenging for those who have to qualify on speed.
“I think you are going to see a lot of people at Martinsville who are on the outside feeling pretty stressed," he said. "Martinsville is not an easy place to qualify. It is very technical. It doesn’t take much to send you home. You fly into the corner and give it all you got, but if that car doesn’t stick a little bit, or you lock the right front tire, your day is over.”
Waltrip, for once, is not one of those people. Neither are either of his teammates. David Reutimann is moving from the No. 00 he has been driving to the No. 44 vacated by the retired Dale Jarrett, but both those teams are locked into the field. So Reutimann and new teammate Michael McDowell – who is making his Cup debut at Martinsville – are both in Sunday’s field.
That is a feeling that Waltrip has never known – and one that he says shows the gutsy determination of his organization.
“Michael Waltrip Racing has come a long way from a year ago,” he said. “We’ve got all three cars in the top 35 heading into Martinsville. Last year we did not have any. Looking at some of our statistics, I am happy to say we are way far ahead of where we were last year at this time, but we still have room for improvement. Bristol was an example of that.
“… Regardless, I’m real proud of the accomplishment. It is all about being surrounded by good people. We didn’t quit. We didn’t stop believing. I like the direction we are heading.”
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