Toyota Of Warsaw Hosts Michael Waltrip Race TeamAs a driver, it took Michael Waltrip 463 races to find victory lane in what is now called the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
As a team owner, Waltrip - who won his first race on Feb. 18, 2001, as Dale Earnhardt Sr. crashed into the turn 4 wall and died on the final lap of Daytona 500 - has plenty to celebrate.
"As an owner, I couldn't be more proud of my team," said Waltrip, who was in town meeting fans and signing autographs at Toyota of Warsaw Thursday afternoon. Waltrip was accompanied by drivers David Reutimann, Martin Truex Jr. and Trevor Bayne. "Not only on the track, but in the whole program. We're experiencing some success."
(Also accompanying Waltrip and his team to Warsaw was JTG Daugherty Racing's Marcos Ambrose, who drives the Kroger/Clorox Toyota.)
As the Sprint Cup Series heads to Indianapolis this weekend to race at the famed Brickyard, Michael Waltrip Racing will take both momentum in confidence to the track, as Reutimann won the last time out at Chicagoland and Truex Jr. was 11th.
"We've had good cars all year, that's something we've been experiencing at Michael Waltrip Racing," said Reutimann, who jumped two spots to 15th and is now 86 points out of the 12th and final spot in The Chase with seven races remaining before the series' playoff-style finish.
"Every body from the fab (fabricating) shop to the engine shop, every one is working together," added Reutimann. Toyota has really stepped up their program, and we're able to run up front."
Truex Jr. is 20th in points heading into Sunday's race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Chevy drivers have won the past seven Sprint Cup Series events.
"That was a big step for NASCAR," Truex Jr. said when asked about the series' history at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the 800-horse power stock cars began racing in 1994. "That was a big feather in NASCAR's cap. Indianapolis is up there with the Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600, it's one of the crown jewels of the sport. This is a big weekend, and we'd love to go there and win for Toyota."
While Reutimann, Truex Jr. and Ambrose will be racing Sunday at the monstrous 2.5-mile speedway, Bayne, a 19-year-old up-and coming driver, will be in a short-track battle Saturday night at O'Reilly Raceway Park, where last year he qualified on the pole and finished seventh.
"I've got so much experience around me, they've got so much to offer," Bayne said of his MWR teammates. "David won at Chicago, and we sat on the pole and finished third in our last Nationwide race and are having some good runs. This whole Michael Waltrip Racing team is working hard."
Bayne's third-place finish at Gateway International Raceway on Saturday came as Cup Series regulars Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski made contact while racing to the checkered flag.
Edwards went on to win the race, while Keselowski made heavy contact with the wall and was then hit hard again by the No. 70 car driven by Warsaw-based ML Motorsports' Shelby Howard.
Edwards was docked points and fined this week by NASCAR, and both Edwards and Keselowski were put on probation.
In the conference room at Toyota of Warsaw Thursday afternoon, Bayne was asked about the Edwards-Keselowski rivalry and NASCAR's policy of the drivers policing their own problems, as opposed to previous seasons when feuding drivers would be called to the NASCAR trailer.
"No rivalries would mean no fans," said Bayne. "Rivalries are good for the sport, but I don't think they should hand out boxing gloves before every race. Rivalries are good for racing, we just don't need to see people getting hurt."
Bayne also talked about growing up in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series and driving against Howard, who finished a season-best 12th at Gateway last weekend in the Mary Louise Miller-owned Chevy.
"I've been racing against Shelby since I was 15," said Bayne. "He's always been a great driver, and that team has been running well lately. They've made some improvements, and they're running well."
