Michael Waltrip said he has a simple plan for digging himself out of the hole that nearly left him on the sidelines for Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600.
"All I have to do is run better," Waltrip said. "I'm 35th in the points because I've run 35th every week. If I perform better, I can climb right out of it."
Waltrip is 35th in driver points, but he's 36th in car owner points and that means he was not guaranteed a starting spot for this race. He failed to go fast enough to make the field Thursday night, but then made arrangements to move the No. 55 and the NAPA sponsorship onto the No. 74 Dodge that Derrike Cope got into the field.
Waltrip said he believes NASCAR should change its rule so that anyone in the top 35 in driver or owner points is guaranteed a slot in the race. But until that happens, he'll deal with the situation he's in.
"I just figure everything happens for a reason," Waltrip said. "I don't plan on doing this ever again. It's not the way we're going to do business. But if it happens, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
Waltrip last failed to qualify for a race at Phoenix in 1988, but he drove in that race as a replacement for Dale Jarrett, who missed it due to illness.
"If it didn't work out here at Charlotte it isn't the end of the world," he said. "I've been in every Cup race since February 1986. I think what's important to me is that when I think about that it humbles me and it makes me grateful that I am healthy enough and good enough to be able to do what I love to do for 20 years. How many people are blessed like that?"
