Mikey wins Daytona 500 outside pole, David locked into field! by Kellyanne Lynch
10 February 2008
Michael Waltrip's #55 Napa Auto Parts Camry will start next Sunday's Daytona 500 from the outside pole. The #55 was the fastest go-or-go-home car in qualifying today at Daytona International Speedway. Two of Michael Waltrip Racing's three entries are locked into the Great American Race; Dale Jarrett will need to race his #44 UPS Toyota into the show. David Reutimann qualified 4th, but his starting spot in the show will not be decided until he races in the Gatorade Duels. He, Michael, and Dale will all compete in the second qualifying heat on Thursday.
"I did not expect to sit on the front row," Michael said after picking up his first Daytona 500 front row award. "I knew we would have a chance, but what I hoped - and this was all I was bold enough to hope - was that we could be the fastest car with a star beside it. That's the case, and we've got another car that's one of the fastest, so it's a very, very successful day for our team. There's much relief for everybody. There were questions over the summer whether we would even make it to the end of last year and we not only start 2008 with a solid team -- we're a lot better team than we've ever been before. We expect to perform week-in and week-out and testing has shown us that we're fast. It's nice for the whole world to get to see it now."
Dale was the first MWR driver to take to the track today in qualifying. His #44 UPS machine was 16th of 53 cars. He turned his first lap in 48.957 seconds at 183.835 MPH. Picking up steam the next time around the track, Dale completed the circuit in 48.558 seconds at 185.345 MPH. His time was good enough to ultimately rank 21st; however, he was already third of the drivers that needed to make the race on time. In the end, he was bumped by his teammates and others and will need to perform well in the Gatorade Duels to earn a starting spot in the Daytona 500, although he has won this race three times. 2008 marks his last Daytona 500 attempt.
"This car rode good," Dale said after getting out of the car. "We just lacked a little bit of the speed we needed. It's amazing to think that at the end of five miles of qualifying, these times are going to be this close. It's going to be decided by hundredths -- maybe even thousandths -- of a second. We are just on the wrong side of those hundredths of a second. We'll have to race ourselves in on Thursday."
Next up from the Michael Waltrip Racing stable was David; his #00 Aaron's Camry was the 38th car to take time. David took to the low side throughout both laps, allowing him to rip off an amazing first lap of 48.412 seconds at 185.904 MPH. His first lap was faster than anybody else's. As a result of the line he chose to take, his pick-up on his second lap would not be as dramatic as those who chose to throw away their first laps. David turned a 48.267-second lap at 186.463 MPH. He ranked 3rd at the time but would be 4th following his car owner's run.
When asked about his qualifying run, David told reporters, "It doesn't have anything to do with driver here; it has everything to do with the work that the guys do at the shop and all the preparation they do to get here. They did a phenomenal job, and that lap was a lot faster than we ran yesterday. They pulled out all the stops, which you have to do here. Ryan (Pemberton, crew chief) and all my guys have done a great job and Toyota's done a great job bringing good horsepower - hopefully we'll get better as we progress."
David, who gets sick before qualifying and who had said he was going to throw up before his run, said he was going to celebrate by watching his cousin Wayne Reutimann Jr race at a local dirt track tonight and by eating a hotdog. FOX commentators said that he probably hadn't eaten anything in three days.
Michael was the last go-or-go-home driver to take to the track in qualifying; he went out 50th. He took a lesson from his driver David and decided not to run close to the wall during his first lap. He turned his first circuit in 48.487 seconds at 185.617 MPH. His second time around, he rode more toward the middle to avoid the bumps that he later said he thought had cost David a spot. He also later expressed that he felt he lost time, and that's what he gets for thinking. Michael completed his second lap in 48.197 seconds at 186.734 MPH, earning himself the outside pole. He was 0.341 seconds behind pole winner Jimmie Johnson.
After his run, Michael said, "All I wanted to be was the fastest car with a star beside it and I am that. I would venture to guess that Jimmie Johnson knew he was in the race when he got up this morning and I didn't. I'm going to have to think that I'm the happiest guy in Daytona."
All three Michael Waltrip Racing entries will compete in the second Gatorade Duel race on Thursday. Michael and David are both locked into the show, but David still needs to jockey for his starting position. Both drivers will need to help teammate Dale make his last Daytona 500. Be sure to watch! Coverage begins Thursday at 2:00pm ET on the Speed Channel.
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Gatorade Duel at Daytona: Race 1 - Starting Lineup
1 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet
2 78 * Joe Nemechek Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
3 5 Casey Mears Kellogg's / CARQUEST Chevrolet
4 60 * Boris Said 7-Eleven Food Stores / Slurpee Ford
5 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. AMP Energy / National Guard Chevrolet
6 83 * Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota
7 84 * AJ Allmendinger Red Bull Toyota
8 66 Scott Riggs State Water Heaters Chevrolet
9 12 Ryan Newman alltel Dodge
10 01 Regan Smith # The Principal Financial Group Chevrolet
11 87 * Kenny Wallace Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
12 70 Jeremy Mayfield Junior Johnson's Midnight Moon /Haas
13 2 * Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge
14 19 Elliott Sadler Best Buy Dodge
15 99 Carl Edwards Office Depot Ford
16 15 Paul Menard Menards / Peak Chevrolet
17 1 Martin Truex, Jr. Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet
18 41 Reed Sorenson Target Dodge
19 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Texaco / Havoline Dodge
20 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. # Mobil 1 Dodge
21 07 Clint Bowyer Jack Daniel's Chevrolet
22 21 * Bill Elliott Little Debbie Ford
23 43 Bobby Labonte Cheerios / Betty Crocker Dodge
24 45 Kyle Petty Wells Fargo Dodge
25 09 * Sterling Marlin Miccosukee Resorts Chevrolet
26 96 J.J. Yeley DLP HDTV Toyota
27 08 * Carl Long Millstar / Rhino's Energy Drink Dodge
http://www.race2win.net/wc/08/race/dis/g1sl.html
Gatorade Duel at Daytona: Race 2 - Starting Lineup
1 55 * Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Toyota
2 00 * David Reutimann Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota 3 22 Dave Blaney Caterpillar Toyota
4 28 Travis Kvapil K&N Filters Ford
5 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota
6 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet
7 10 * Patrick Carpentier # Valvoline Dodge
8 20 Tony Stewart Home Depot Toyota
9 6 David Ragan AAA Ford
10 17 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Ford
11 27 * Jacques Villeneuve # Bill Davis Racing Toyota
12 8 Mark Martin U.S. ARMY Chevrolet
13 38 David Gilliland freecreditreport.com Ford
14 44 * Dale Jarrett UPS Toyota 15 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford
16 26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Cask No. 16 Ford
17 7 Robby Gordon Jim Beam Dodge
18 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge
19 37 * Eric McClure Hefty Chevrolet
20 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Toyota
21 29 Kevin Harvick Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet
22 49 * Ken Schrader HealthLife.com Dodge
23 40 Dario Franchitti # Dodge Journey Dodge
24 31 Jeff Burton AT&T Mobility Chevrolet
25 34 * John Andretti Makoto Chevrolet
26 50 * Stanton Barrett NOS Energy Drink / Ski Motorsports Chevrolet
http://www.race2win.net/wc/08/race/dis/g2sl.html
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MICHAEL WALTRIP, No. 55 NAPA Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Starting Position: 2nd
Did you expect to sit on the front row for this year's Daytona 500?
"I did not expect to sit on the front row. I knew we would have a chance, but what I hoped, and this was all I was bold enough to hope, was that we could be the fastest car with a star beside it (required to qualify on time). That's the case and we've got another car that's one of the fastest, so it's a very, very successful day for our team. There's much relief for everybody. There were questions over the summer whether we would even make it to the end of last year and we not only start 2008 with a solid team -- we're a lot better team than we've ever been before. We expect to perform week-in and week-out and testing has shown us that we're fast. It's nice for the whole world to get to see it now."
How much pressure does this take off your race team?
"It's a three-pronged organization -- we've got NAPA, UPS and Aaron's, two of them are going to be happy and one of them will say, 'Hey, what about us? We need to get in this race'. Dale Jarrett has to get in on Thursday -- Kurt Busch is a guy I'll be pulling for, but mainly I'll be pulling for Dale Jarrett to be able to race his UPS car up through the middle of it and have a good race on Thursday. I think he learned a lot last night -- he learned that even though his car wasn't right, it was fast enough to keep up and be in the middle of things. Dale Jarrett's a racer and he'll take that type of car, adjust it and I feel real confident about what he'll accomplish on Thursday."
What was your goal for qualifying today?
"All I wanted to be was the fastest car with a star beside it and I am that. I would venture to guess that Jimmie Johnson knew he was in the race when he got up this morning and I didn't. I'm going to have to think that I'm the happiest guy in Daytona."
Is Daytona one of your favorite tracks with your previous success here?
"It is and I've always said it is and it's not just because of the success I've had here necessarily, but because of the history that it has in my family. I've been following my brother since I've been on the face of this Earth and Daytona has been a huge part of who we are and what we do. I've experienced some of the best times of my life here and some of the worst. Anything that has that big of an emotional swing, when you're as passionate about racing as I am -- that endears it to you. It's a really good day for our team and I'm just thankful for the fact that we're here. There was a question a few months back as to what would happen to us, but we survived and now to be where we are is just a great feeling."
How do you feel about 2008 with all three cars?
"Everywhere we test, we're faster -- we run good times and our cars are faster. I'm very confident about what we've got and how we're going to perform. We're ready to go and we have good speed -- I think that's evident today."
DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Qualified: 4th
Was your qualifying lap as good as you expected?
"It doesn't have anything to do with driver here, it has everything to do with the work that the guys do at the shop and all the preparation they do to get here. They did a phenomenal job and that lap was a lot faster than we ran yesterday. They pulled out all the stops, which you have to do here. Ryan (Pemberton, crew chief) and all my guys have done a great job and Toyota's done a great job bringing good horsepower -- hopefully we'll get better as we progress."
How much better do you feel about where you stand than you did a year ago?
"I feel really good and I felt really good when we came in the pit gate. It's just a different mentality around our shop and a different feel than what we had in the past. All that is a part of the people that we have and the work ethic that they have. Being affiliated with Toyota and the fact that they haven't given up on us -- I'm a firm believer in Toyota and the way they do things. Sometimes it takes us a little while to get there, but when we get there we reap the rewards and it only gets better."
What will it feel like to be able to treat the 'Duel' as practice for the Daytona 500?
"That would mean a lot to be able to start the qualifying race and know that no matter what happens, I will be in the Daytona 500 -- that allows me to feel like the rest of the guys feel. That way you can concentrate on the race and you don't have to take chances that you normally wouldn't."
DALE JARRETT, No. 44 UPS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Qualified: 21st
How was your car's speed and handling during your qualifying run?
"This car rode good, we just lacked a little bit of the speed we needed. It's amazing to think that at the end of five miles of qualifying, these times are going to be this close. It's going to be decided by hundredths -- maybe even thousandths -- of a second. We are just on the wrong side of those hundredths of a second. We'll have to race ourselves in on Thursday."