Michael Waltrip will run Daytona 500: UPDATE: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team owner Michael Waltrip will compete in the Feb. 20 Daytona 500. “This will be my 25th Daytona 500 in a row,” Waltrip said in a telephone interview Thursday. “I think two people have started that many. Richard Petty and Dave Marcis come to mind. Our plan is to race the Budweiser Shootout and 500. I’m looking forward to it.” Waltrip won’t be here for Cup testing Jan. 20-22 at Daytona International Speedway, but his team will send two stock cars manned by Martin Truex Jr. and David Reutimann.(Daytona Beach News-Journal)(1-7-2011)
UPDATE: Michael Waltrip Racing and NAPA AUTO PARTS announced that two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip will drive the #15 NAPA Toyota in his 25th consecutive Daytona 500 on Feb. 20. “This is a very special day,” said Waltrip who unveiled the #15 NAPA paint scheme Tuesday morning during the annual Charlotte Motor Speedway media tour. “Ten years ago I won the 500 in my first race with NAPA and we know February 18, 2001 is a day that NASCAR fans will never forget. What looked to be a storybook ending turned to tragedy seconds later. To mark the 10th anniversary of that race and my 25th consecutive 500 will be quite emotional for me and fans alike.” Waltrip broke a 0 for 462 streak when he won the 2001 Daytona 500 driving for car owner Dale Earnhardt who died in a turn four accident on the final lap. Waltrip chronicles the events of that weekend as well as his life and the challenges building a Sprint Cup organization in his book “In the Blink of an Eye” that goes on sale Feb. 1.(MWR)(1-25-2011)
