Countdown to Daytona: Owner Point Style No. 28 (Michael Waltrip)

Welcome, NASCAR fans, to Day Eight of my 35-day rendezvous around NASCAR’s top drivers.

Things should get a little clearer from here on out, as most teams ranked higher than this have more stability than those clinging to the top-35 in points.

Today, we look at another Owner/Driver combination, and one that has definitely turned the table towards better results.

Michael Waltrip began driving the No. 55 car in 2006, in partnership with Bill Davis Racing—Waltrip missed four races that year.

In 2007, Waltrip switched to Toyota and brought along Dale Jarrett to drive the No. 44 and David Reutimann to drive the No. 00.

The three-car stable struggled in its first year, with Waltrip missing 19 races, Reutimann eight and Jarrett 12, despite having a past-champions provisional for six races.

Waltrip’s sophomore season was much more successful, as he and Reutimann both participated in each race.

Here is a preview of Waltrip’s third season as an owner:

Today’s Spotlight: No. 55

Team: Michael Waltrip Racing

Driver: Michael Waltrip

Sponsor: NAPA – for a look at paint schemes, visit Jayski.com

Driver 2008 Stats: Waltrip finished 2008 with two top-10 finishes and one top-five. He earned more than $3.5 million en route to a 29th place finish in the championship standings.

Waltrip’s average finish was 28th and he logged 13,713 miles. He also recorded zero “Did Not Qualifies”–down from 19 a year ago.

News: The biggest news out of the Waltrip Camp during the season was that it more or less has closed its No. 00 team. After sponsorship fell through and the car dropped from the top-35, the team was more or less given over to JTG Daugherty Racing for Marcos Ambrose to drive.

Waltrip also brought in Steve Hallam—an engineer and manager with more than 27 years experience in F1—to be his new director of competition.

"It would have been easy to stay at McLaren until I retired," Hallam said. "But what attracted me to Michael Waltrip Racing was the opportunity to work with a young team and, in particular, to be part of the continued development and growth of the multi-car Cup operation as they strive to provide the best equipment and support for their teams.

"This is a great opportunity to join a closely knit team who are looking to build success by harnessing Toyota engines and technical support to build cars at a level where we can improve upon the tremendous foundation that has already been built." (MWR PR)

The addition should help Waltrip’s team tremendously.

My Prediction for 2009: Waltrip’s teams have been polar opposites in their two full seasons of competition. Last year, all three teams showed signs of improvement, but also proved they are not ready to compete with the top teams of NASCAR consistently.

Waltrip will probably finish the points in the same area he did in 2008: 29th.

Will this team remain in top-35: This team should have no problem remaining in the top-35. Waltrip tends to run well at Daytona and with a guaranteed spot in the field, he can set his car up to race, not just to qualify.

Up Tomorrorow: No. 38 David Gilliland

This story also appears on my blog: Sports 101

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