According to his autobiography Blink of An Eye, Waltrip's career started at age 12 when he phoned his older brother Darrell Waltrip, who was racing in the 1978 Daytona 500. Michael asked Darrell to help him build a career in NASCAR, but Darrell advised him to stay focused on school. Michael then obtained assistance from his older brother Bobby Waltrip, who was very close to him in their childhood. Michael began building a career by racing go-karts at carnivals and various racing clubs around his hometown. He won many races and, thanks to Bobby's help, was noticed by Dale Earnhardt. When Waltrip moved out of his house, he moved in with Kyle Petty and then ultimately lived with Richard Petty as a roommate. When Michael explained to Petty that he was going to try the Busch Series (now the Xfinity Series) to build his NASCAR career, Petty told Michael he was "wasting his time" and advised that Michael should immediately go for the Cup Series ride.
1989 car
Waltrip's stock car career got off the ground in 1981, when he captured the Mini-Modified division track championship at Kentucky Motor Speedway. A year later, Waltrip entered the Goody's Dash Series, where he won the series championship in 1983 and was voted the circuit's most popular driver that year and in 1984.
Waltrip made his Cup debut in 1985 in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte driving for Dick Bahre. He finished 28th in that race and finished 57th in the series standings after just five starts. His brother Darrell won the race. At the same time, Waltrip got confronted by Earnhardt, who questioned a previous move early in the race in which Waltrip nudged him out of the way and Dale responded by flipping the bird.
1986–90
In 1986, driving the No. 23 car for Bahari Racing, Waltrip finished second in the Rookie of the Year standings to Alan Kulwicki on the strength of a pair of 11th-place finishes at Martinsville and Pocono. The following season, he posted his first career Top 10 finish when he ended up 10th in Martinsville's spring race. In 1988, Waltrip began running Busch Series events, making five starts for his brother's team. He took the checkered flag for the first time at Dover in his 4th start. In 1989, he had his first Top 5 finish in the No. 30 Country Time Lemonade/Kool-Aid-sponsored Pontiac.
Crash at Bristol Motor Speedway
The remains of Waltrip's 1990 Kool-Aid sponsored Busch Series car after his accident at Bristol.
For Waltrip, 1990 was notable for a horrific crash at Bristol in the spring on the 170th lap of the Budweiser 250, where he destroyed his Busch Series Pontiac Grand Prix. After making contact with Robert Pressley in the No. 59, he hit a gate that was in the outside wall at the exit of turn two. The gate was used to allow vehicles in and out of the infield because the track did not have a tunnel. The impact broke the gate, and Michael went head-on into the end of the wall, disintegrating the car on impact and collapsing the car into itself. Onlookers were sure that Waltrip was severely injured, perhaps fatally, because of how massive the impact was and his brother Darrell rushed to the wreck fearing the worst. Amazingly, Waltrip not only survived the accident but he only suffered cuts, soreness, and bruises in the wreck.[2] After Mike Harmon had an almost identical impact several years later (and also amazingly walked away), the gate was moved down to just before the entrance of turn 3, thus lessening the chance of a car hitting it because cars are diving away from the wall at that point. Later, when asked about the crash by Ken Squier, he replied saying he had "some contusions and a little bit of confusion" and ended with "Hope we did a good job for Kool-Aid." Years later, Waltrip said that at first, he thought that Pressley wrecked him on purpose, and thought about fighting him after the incident before thinking better of it.[3]
1991–2000
Waltrip driving for Bahari in 1994
In 1991, he gained new sponsorship from Pennzoil and won the Winston Open, as well as his first two career pole positions. He came close to winning the 1991 TranSouth 500 at Darlington, but a jammed air hose on his final visit to the pits caused his stop to last 37.4 seconds, costing him the victory. He stayed with the Bahari team until the end of 1995 when he was replaced by rookie Johnny Benson. He joined Wood Brothers Racing to drive their No. 21 Citgo-sponsored Ford. He won the 1996 edition of The Winston after capturing the last transfer spot in The Winston Open. After posting one top-five finish over three years, and missing his first race since 1986 at the 1998 Dura Lube/Kmart 500, Waltrip departed the Wood Brothers at the end of 1998 to drive the No. 7 Philips-sponsored Chevrolet for Mattei Motorsports, posting three Top 10 finishes and ending that season 29th in points. However, mid-season the ownership of the team transferred from Mattei to Ultra Motorsports and Jim Smith. The next season, Nations Rent replaced Philips as the sponsor & Waltrip moved up to 27th in points but only finished in the Top 5 once, causing him and the team to part ways at the end of the season. Waltrip would later say in his 2011 book, In the Blink of an Eye, that 1999 and 2000 were the most disappointing years of his racing career and he began to lose hope that he would ever win a Cup Series race.
2001–05
Waltrip was hired by Dale Earnhardt to drive his team's new No. 15 NAPA Auto Parts-sponsored Chevrolet Monte Carlo entry, Waltrip drove for Earnhardt in the Busch Series in 1989 and 1994. In his first race with the team, the 2001 Daytona 500, Waltrip broke his streak of 462 consecutive Cup races without a victory and won his first career points-paying Cup race. His teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished in 2nd. However, the win itself was largely overshadowed by Earnhardt, Sr.'s fatal crash on the last lap. In the movie The Day: Remembering Dale Earnhardt, Waltrip said that Earnhardt let him in line late in the race, which allowed him to take the lead, noting that Earnhardt "never let anyone in line". This presumably is because Earnhardt wanted Waltrip and Earnhardt Jr. to finish in the Top 2 spots, as both were members of his team. Waltrip was not aware of the severity of Earnhardt's crash until over 30 minutes after the end of the race when he was celebrating in victory lane. Ken Schrader, after having been treated and released from the infield care center following the crash (his car hit Earnhardt's car during the crash), informed Waltrip that Earnhardt had been taken to Halifax Medical Center, 2 miles (3.2km) from the speedway, where Earnhardt was pronounced dead at 5:16 PM EST.
Waltrip would later say in his book, and a 2019 podcast episode with Earnhardt Jr., that in the aftermath of the tragedy, he and the No. 15 team pushed forward to continue Earnhardt's legacy, "Because we knew we had to." However, his results slumped in the aftermath of the disaster, and he realized after 6 races that he was "not in a good place."[4] By June 2001, his crew chief, Scott Eggleston, left the team and was replaced by longtime DEI director Steve Hmiel.[5]
Waltrip did not have another Top 10 finish that season until returning to Daytona in July in the Pepsi 400, where he finished 2nd while holding off the field as teammate Earnhardt Jr. won his first plate race. Earnhardt Jr.'s Pepsi 400 finish was emotional to the entire DEI team and when Earnhardt Jr. did his burnout on the infield grass, Waltrip pulled up alongside him. Waltrip would later say to Kenny Wallace on his podcast in 2021, that the moment with Earnhardt Jr. in the infield was "even bigger than any races I've won, and I didn't even win." Waltrip would also have a second-place finish at Homestead with Bill Elliott winning and finished 24th in the standings.
The next season, Waltrip won the second Gatorade Duel. His next top ten finish would be a second-place finish at Talladega, where he and Earnhardt Jr. combined to lead more than two-thirds of the race, with Earnhardt Jr. taking home his second of four straight wins at Talladega. The following week, Waltrip finished tenth at Auto Club. He had eighth-place finishes in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and the first Pocono race, and fourth place in the first Michigan race. He picked up his second career win at the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. After a ninth-place finish at Watkins Glen, and eighth-place finishes at New Hampshire and Talladega, Waltrip finished 14th in the points standings.
In 2003, Waltrip won a rain-shortened Daytona 500 and also took victory at the EA Sports 500 at Talladega (his only non-Daytona win), while running in the top-five for most of the season before falling back to 15th in points. Of trivial note, Waltrip won the first three NASCAR on Fox races at Daytona (2001 and 2003 Daytona 500s, and the 2002 Pepsi 400) with Michael's brother Darrell in the broadcast booth. His Talladega win was also his only win at a NASCAR on NBC race.
During the 71st lap of the 2004 Daytona 500, Waltrip was involved in a violent flip as part of a 12 car crash. Waltrip was on the outside of three wide under Brian Vickers and Johnny Sauter when Sauter and Vickers made contact and squeezed Waltrip into the outside backstretch wall. Vickers spun across Waltrip's nose and Waltrip spun down and into Robby Gordon. The impact into Gordon broke Waltrip's left-rear wheel and the car dug into the wet infield grass that got rained on the previous night and sent Waltrip flipping over violently 3 times while kicking up dirt before coming to a rest on its roof. Several minutes later, Waltrip would climb out of the car unhurt after the crews turned his car back over for him to climb out.[6] In 2004, Waltrip went winless and dropped five spots in the standings. In 2005 Waltrip only had seven top tens and one pole. It included a runner-up at Phoenix despite hitting the wall on the next to last lap. He had an incident with Robby Gordon at New Hampshire. After Waltrip intentionally wrecked Robby Gordon and spun as a result, Gordon furiously tried to back his damaged racecar into Waltrip's. When Gordon failed to hit Waltrip's car with his own, he climbed out of his racecar and threw his helmet at Waltrip's driver-side door. Waltrip repeated the words Gordon said the previous year in another helmet-tossing incident: "He just threw a helmet at my car." Waltrip was fined $10,000 (equivalent to US$16,131in 2023) after he gestured at Gordon for the damage on his car from the helmet, but he and Teresa Earnhardt appealed and the fine was overturned after a short investigation proved the charge false. Gordon however was fined $50,000 (equivalent to US$80,655in 2023) and put on probation for the rest of the year after he was discovered to have said "You know everybody thinks Michael is this good guy. He's not the guy he acts he is. The caution was out, and he wrecked me, and he's a piece of shit." Waltrip and Gordon conferred later on, apologized, and continued their careers. After the 2005 season, Waltrip left DEI for Bill Davis Racing.
Michael Waltrip's No. 55 NAPA Dodge (right) in 2006
On January 20, 2006, Waltrip and Doug Bawel, who owned Penske Racing's No. 77 car in 2005, announced the forming of Waltrip-Jasper Racing.[7] Because Waltrip was under contract with Bill Davis Racing, they reached a deal with BDR to oversee and supply the new team. Waltrip-Jasper fielded the No. 55 NAPA Auto Parts Dodge in the 2006 Nextel Cup Series, driven by Waltrip, with Bawel as listed owner, and Davis as a team executive. Bawel had a guaranteed starting spot in the first five races of 2006 by the No. 77 finishing 34th in the 2005 owner points, although Bawel was shutting down his team and needed a driver to pick up his team's owner points. This arrangement enabled Waltrip to make the first five races in 2006 without qualifying on time. After the first five races, this was unnecessary. Waltrip failed to qualify for the first time since 1998 at the Coca-Cola 600. He bought a slot from the No. 74 McGlynn RacingDodge from Derrike Cope to drive in the race and to keep his streak of 262 consecutive races.[8] Waltrip ended up missing three races total in 2006 and did not have a top-ten finish. This was attributable to BDR's lawsuit with Dodge, which meant the team did not receive manufacturer support for Waltrip or teammate Dave Blaney.
Waltrip left Bill Davis Racing to form his own Nextel Cup team in 2007.
2007
Waltrip moved his Busch Series team, Michael Waltrip Racing, to the Cup Series full-time for the 2007 season. He hired Dale Jarrett and David Reutimann to race in the three-car operation. Reutimann in the No. 00, Jarrett in the No. 44, and Waltrip in the No. 55. Waltrip was listed as the owner of the No. 44 and No. 55, while his wife Buffy was listed as the owner of the No. 00.
After the first round of qualifying for the 2007 Daytona 500, NASCAR inspectors found evidence in the engine intake manifold that Waltrip, Reutimann, and Jarrett's teams had used an illegal unspecified oxygenate fuel additive to increase performance. NASCAR confiscated the cars, forcing Waltrip, Reutimann, and Jarrett to move to back-up cars for the Daytona 500. On February 14, 2007, NASCAR officials announced at a press conference the penalties that would be levied: Bobby Kennedy (Director of Competition for Michael Waltrip Racing) and David Hyder (Waltrip's crew chief) were removed from Daytona International Speedway, and suspended indefinitely.[9] David Hyder was also fined $100,000 (equivalent to US$146,943in 2023) and was placed on a leave of absence, eventually to be released by the team in April. Waltrip, Reutimann, and Jarrett were docked 100 driver points and Waltrip and Buffy were docked 100 owner points each. Waltrip, Reutimann, and Jarrett's initial qualifying times were disallowed, but Waltrip and Reutimann were permitted to attempt to qualify by racing a backup car in their Gatorade Duel's qualifying race for the Daytona 500. Jarrett would qualify using his Past Champions provisional from his 1999 title, but was also permitted to race a backup car in his Gatorade Duel.[10] Waltrip's interim crew chief was announced as Scott Eggleston, who was Waltrip's former crew chief in 2001.[11] After a 30th-place finish in the Daytona 500, Waltrip became the first driver in series history to go into the second race of the season with a negative number of points (−27). Waltrip failed to qualify for the next eleven races following the Daytona 500, so he maintained his negative point total for almost 4 months. He qualified for the thirteenth race of the season at Dover and finished 28th, moving his point total above zero to 52 points.
On Saturday, April 7, 2007, he fell asleep behind the wheel of his Toyota Land Cruiser which overturned and hit a utility pole. Waltrip crawled out from the car suffering only minor cuts. There was no Nextel Cup race held that weekend. He was charged with reckless driving and failing to report an accident.[12][13]
After failing to qualify for the Pocono 500 in June, Waltrip bounced back the following week by finishing 10th at the Citizens Bank 400 in Michigan.
In October 2007, before the 2007 Bank of America 500. Dale Jarrett announced his retirement from points racing after the 2008 Food City 500, Waltrip decided to put David Reutimann (No. 00 driver) to take over the No. 44. Jarrett's final race was the All-Star race in May 2008.
On October 6, 2007, Waltrip won the pole for the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, the first restrictor-plate race to be run with the Car of Tomorrow.[14] He finished 25th after a wreck but bounced back the next week at Charlotte Motor Speedway with his second top-10 finish of the season.
2008
Waltrip's 2008 car at Daytona
In 2008, Michael Waltrip Racing changed following the disappointing 2007 campaign. Waltrip welcomed business owner Robert Kaufmann, owner/founder of the Fortress Investment Group and was made an equal partner and got more aid with real estate developer Johnny Harris buying into the team during the 2007 off-season. Former Cup owner Cal Wells was brought to MWR to oversee day-to-day operations, Dale Jarrett No. 44 retiring from points racing after the 2008 Food City 500, David Reutimann starting the season in the No. 00 then taking over Jarrett's No. 44, while Michael McDowell took over Reutimann's No. 00. Waltrip entered three full-time cars for 2008 David Reutimann/Michael McDowell/Mike Skinner/Kenny Wallace/A. J. Allmendinger and Mike Bliss No. 00, Dale Jarrett/David ReutimannNo. 44 and Waltrip No. 55. On February 10, 2008, Michael qualified second for the 50th running of the Daytona 500, which guaranteed him a second-place start in the race. Waltrip started the race with "gold wheels" on his car in tribute to the golden anniversary of the Daytona 500; after the race, the wheels were signed and sold to benefit NASCAR charities.[15] After leading the first two laps, he was not a factor in the race and finished 26th. Waltrip finished second at New Hampshire's Lenox Industrial Tools 301. He made his 1,000th NASCAR touring series start at Atlanta in October. He is second to Richard Petty in most career starts spanning all of the top divisions in NASCAR.
However, Michael McDowell struggled to keep the car in the Top 35 in owner points, which is necessary for automatic qualification into each race, and Waltrip replaced him with Mike Skinner, Kenny Wallace, A. J. Allmendinger and Mike Bliss to reclaim a Top 35 spot. In October 2008, MWR transferred its third team to the No. 47 Toyota of JTG Daugherty Racing, driven by Marcos Ambrose, and discontinued the No. 00 team for the balance of the season.
At the end of 2008 MWR sold the No. 44 to Richard Petty Motorsports and contracted to two cars with David Reutimann moving back to the No. 00, Waltrip in the No. 55.
2009
Waltrip in 2008
Waltrip entered two full-time cars for 2009 David Reutimann No. 00, Waltrip No. 55. In early 2009, Waltrip announced that he would be sharing the No. 99 NNS Aaron's dream machine with David Reutimann and Scott Speed during the season. On May 25, 2009, Waltrip scored his first win as an owner in Sprint Cup Series competition in the Coca-Cola 600, with David Reutimann winning the event.
In the 2009 season, Waltrip garnered two top-ten finishes (Daytona and Talladega) He came within a few laps of winning his third Daytona 500 as he was moving forward when the race was called for rain. He ended up seventh.
On July 7, 2009, Waltrip announced he would be driving part-time in the 2010 season starting with the Daytona 500.[16] Waltrip also announced Martin Truex Jr. will take over Waltrip's car as the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota full-time in 2010, using the No. 55 owners points.
2010
In 2010, Waltrip announced that he would only be racing at the Daytona 500 unless more sponsorship was found; Waltrip drove the No. 51 for the 2010 Daytona 500. Waltrip entered two full-time cars for 2010 No. 00 David Reutimann and No. 56 Martin Truex Jr., with Reutimann and Truex Jr. running the full schedule, Waltrip ran 6 races Daytona 500 (No. 51 MWR), Food City 500 (No. 55 Prism), Aaron's 499 (No. 55 Prism), Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 (No. 55 Prism), Toyota/Save Mart 350 (No. 55 Prism), and AMP Energy Juice 500 (No. 55 MWR). Waltrip qualified 21st on Daytona Pole qualifying day. This was not fast enough to get in the race on speed, however. He then wrecked out of the first qualifying race. Waltrip was able to gain a spot in the starting grid when driver Scott Speed raced to make the 500 using his qualifying time in the second qualifying race, giving Waltrip the 43rd place starting position. He finished in a respectable 18th place. Since then, Michael has started the No. 55 Prism Motorsports entry at Bristol, finishing 41st. Waltrip qualified for the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway and raced his way to the lead early, but wound up finishing 39th after "The Big One" on lap 84 of the race. It was announced in May that Waltrip would pilot the Toyota Sponsafier winning paint scheme on June 20 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA, but he failed to qualify. Waltrip also ran the Amp Energy 500 in a Michael Waltrip Racing fielded No. 55 Toyota where he would lead three laps and finish 28th.
Waltrip and his business partner Rob Kaufmann have entered various GT endurance races, participating in the Dubai 24 Hours and also the 24 Hours of Spa, driving a Ferrari F430 GTE for the Italian team AF Corse in both races. Waltrip, Kaufmann, and the AF Corse team finished 5th overall and 3rd in class at Spa, clinching a podium spot.
2011
In 2011, Waltrip announced that he would attempt to make his 25th consecutive Daytona 500 start driving the No. 15. Waltrip retained his drivers for 2011 No. 00 David Reutimann in the No. 00 and No. 56 Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 56, both of whom would run the full schedule. As well as the Daytona 500, Waltrip ran three races that year: the Aaron's 499, the Quaker State 400, and the Good Sam Club 500. Aside from the Sprint Cup event at Daytona, Waltrip also competed in the Camping World Truck Series and Nationwide Series races there. He captured an emotional win in the NextEra Energy Resources 250, which came 10 years to the day of the death of Dale Earnhardt and his first Sprint Cup Series victory. The victory also made Waltrip the 22nd driver to win a race in all three NASCAR national touring series. He followed up his Friday night win with a solid 9th-place finish in the Nationwide Series race the next day. On Sunday afternoon, as part of the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of Dale Earnhardt's death in the 2001 Daytona 500, (which Waltrip won) Waltrip drove a replica of the No. 15 NAPA Auto Parts-sponsored car that he drove at the time. However, Waltrip finished 40th in the race after getting caught up in an early wreck that eliminated 14 cars. For the rest of 2011, Waltrip said he was working on plans to attempt the Sprint Cup Inaugural event at Kentucky Speedway in July, along with his first Le Mans start with AF Corse.[17] He ran in the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans in June in one of the AF Corse entered Ferraris. The car he co-drove with Robert Kauffman and Rui Águas completed 178 laps before retiring, finishing 38th overall. On September 29, 2011, it was announced that Waltrip would be replacing Jeff Hammond in the FOX's Hollywood Hotel on NASCAR on Fox beginning with the Daytona 500 in 2012 with Chris Myers and his brother Darrell Waltrip.[18]
At the end of 2011, Waltrip hired Clint Bowyer to drive the No. 15 in 2012. On November 4, 2011, MWR announced that David Reutimann would not return as driver of the No. 00 for 2012 so Waltrip changed the number to No. 55 in honor of Aaron's 1955 founding and he hired Mark Martin and Brian Vickers to co-drive with Waltrip in 2012 and 2013
2012
In January, he was confirmed as a driver for AF Corse Ferrari in the inaugural season of the FIA World Endurance Championship.[19] Four weeks before the Daytona 500, Waltrip and Rob Kaufmann entered the 2012 Rolex 24 at Daytona. After a series of mechanical problems and off course excursions, Waltrip, Rob Kaufmann, Rui Águas, and Travis Pastrana never gave up and pressed on to finish 22nd in GT and 35th overall.
In early February it was announced that Waltrip would attempt to qualify for the 2012 Daytona 500 for Hillman Racing, driving the No. 40 Toyota with sponsorship from Aaron's.[20] He failed to qualify for the race, crashing in a single-car incident in the first Gatorade Duel race.[21]
He also qualified for the fall Talladega race. On the last lap, Waltrip was running 5th when he jumped to the bottom lane and made a move for the lead to try to win heading into turn 4 with drafting help from Casey Mears. In turn 4, Tony Stewart tried to block Waltrip but underestimated Waltrip's speed. Waltrip tapped Stewart, and went up into the tightly bunched pack, collecting 23 cars, while Stewart flipped over once and slid on his side airborne and pushed by the wrecking field. Waltrip finished 25th.
2013
Waltrip competed in the 2013 Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown
Waltrip entered the 2013 Daytona 500 driving the No. 30 Toyota for Swan Racing,[22] which was changed for Daytona to the No. 26 as a charity car to raise funds for victims of the Newtown, Connecticut shooting. At his Budweiser Duel, Waltrip ran as high as close to the front but faded back in the final laps. He ultimately finished 15th, but it was enough to grab the final transfer spot for the Daytona 500. At the Great American Race, Waltrip led four laps and finished 22nd in the race.[23] He also finished in the top 5 at all other races (3 others) too.
In his first race in the No. 55 for the season at Talladega, Waltrip finished fourth. He also ran at Daytona in July and finished 5th.
On September 12, 2013, NASCAR penalized Michael Waltrip Racing for intentionally manipulating the outcome of the Federated Auto Parts 400. As a result, NAPA Auto Parts pulled its sponsorship of the team at the end of the year, forcing Waltrip to release Martin Truex Jr. from his contract.
2014
After originally announcing that he would field a part-time car for semi-retired Jeff Burton, plans changed when Waltrip sold the #56 team to investors of Identity Ventures who started a satellite team for MWR. Waltrip ran 4 races for Identity Ventures Racing owned by Jay Robinson, Mark Bailey, and James Hamilton.
Waltrip ran the Daytona 500, Aaron's 499, Coke Zero 400 and GEICO 500. At Daytona in Speedweeks, Waltrip was collected in a last-lap pileup caused when Jimmie Johnson ran out of gas on the final lap. Waltrip nonetheless made it into the race. He crashed on lap 144 and finished 41st. He finished 25th at the Aaron's 499 at Talladega.
For both races, he eschewed working with regular Identity Ventures Racing crew chief Scott Eggleston, with whom he had won his first Daytona 500, and instead paired himself with Chad Walter. At the summer Daytona race, Waltrip finally decided to work with Eggleston and ended up getting his first top-20 in over a year. However at Talladega in October, Waltrip again worked with Walter and did pick up another top-20. Identity Ventures Racing closed up shop after the season was over.
2015
Waltrip returned to driving for his team, piloting the No. 55 at both Daytona and Talladega in the spring. Waltrip skipped the summer Daytona race, but returned at Talladega in the fall, running a third MWR entry after leasing the owner points from the No. 98 of Premium Motorsports.
On February 4, Waltrip announced he would return to the Daytona 500, driving the No. 83 Camry for BK Racing.[24] Waltrip drove the No. 55 Camry for Premium Motorsports at Talladega in April with Peak BlueDEF as sponsor. Waltrip skipped again the summer Daytona race.
2017
Waltrip announced he would run the Daytona 500, driving the No. 15 Aaron's Camry for Premium Motorsports. It would be his final start in NASCAR-sanctioned racing.[25] Waltrip started 32nd out of the 40 car field, avoiding several large wrecks to end his NASCAR career with an eighth-place finish.[26]
Waltrip is an avid runner. In 2001, he participated in the Boston Marathon.[29]
In October 2017, Waltrip had plans to attend the Route 91 Harvest music festival, but he canceled those plans. Later that night a gunman fired shots at the festival from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel and casino, causing the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. The following morning, Waltrip revealed on his Instagram account that he had befriended a family while in Las Vegas earlier in the day, that was also scheduled to attend the festival.[30] On October 4, he tweeted that he had contacted the father of the family, adding that they "are doing as well as could be expected."[31]
In popular media
Acting
Waltrip appeared on the two-part April 30, 2009/May 7, 2009 episode of My Name Is Earl entitled "Inside Probe."[32]
Television appearances
He works as a color commentator for NASCAR on Fox, covering the Xfinity Series since 2015 and the Truck Series since 2004.
On September 4, 2014, Waltrip was announced as one of the celebrities who would participate on the 19th season of Dancing with the Stars. He was paired with professional dancer Emma Slater. They were eliminated on November 3, 2014.[33]
Waltrip wrote a book published in 2011 called In the Blink of an Eye: Dale, Daytona, and the Day that Changed Everything. It became a New York Times best-seller.[35] A documentary film adaptation, Blink of an Eye, was released in 2019.[36]
After a race in 1992, Waltrip hit driver Dave Marcis while he was still in his car, punching him in the mouth and cutting his lip open, and was fined $500 (equivalent to US$1,086in 2023) for his actions.[37]
In 1995 at Michigan International Speedway, Waltrip also hit driver, Lake Speed. Waltrip hit Speed twice on national television,[38] while Speed was strapped in his car. Waltrip was fined $10,000 (equivalent to US$19,996in 2023) for his actions.
Waltrip had a much-publicized feud with fellow Kentucky-man Jeff Green, then the driver of Petty Enterprises No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge Charger in the early part of the 2005 season, which came to a head during races at Martinsville and Darlington, where Green and Waltrip wrecked each other on several occasions.[39] The feud went back to 2002, when racing for the win at Rockingham caused both to lose control of their cars, allowing Jamie McMurray to win his second straight Busch Series race, although Waltrip and Green admitted to having been off-track friends and former high school schoolmates. After Waltrip retaliated against Green late in the Darlington race, NASCAR penalized Waltrip with a 1-lap penalty. Following the race, NASCAR brought Green and Waltrip together and warned them to avoid future incidents.
In the 2005 Sylvania 300, Waltrip wrecked Robby Gordon's No. 7 Jim Beam Chevrolet after the yellow flag had come out. The angered Gordon got out of his totaled car and threw his helmet at the No. 15 car as it was passing by. When TNT interviewed him about the crash he stated "You know Michael, everyone thinks Michael's this good guy. He's not the good guy he acts he is. The caution was out and he wrecked me and he's a piece of shit."[40] TNT apologized for the incident on both drivers' behalf, and both Gordon and Waltrip were required to meet with NASCAR officials after the race. Gordon was fined $50,000 and docked 50 drivers' points. Waltrip was also penalized, but the penalties were overturned on appeal. Gordon and Waltrip ultimately decided to auction the helmet for the benefit of the Harrah's Employee Relief Fund, a fund that provides aid to Harrah's employees displaced by Hurricane Katrina.[41]
In 2008, Waltrip made contact with Casey Mears with 46 laps to go resulting in Mears successfully passing him. As a reply, Waltrip rushed up to Mears, locked his hood on Mears' damaged car, and tried to push it around through a struggle lasting over 4 seconds. Eventually Mears crashed, and soon after, NASCAR parked Waltrip as a punishment.[42]
In the 2008 Sharpie 500, an irate Clint Bowyer, who was involved in a wreck involving Waltrip, said "Michael Waltrip is the worst driver in NASCAR, period! Could not believe NAPA (his primary sponsor) signed him back on!" However, Bowyer made it up with him after 2008 and eventually joined Waltrip's race team in 2012.[43]
Scandals
In 2007, Waltrip had his No. 55 Toyota confiscated by NASCAR officials after inspectors found an odorless, Vaseline-like substance in the car's engine. Later in the week, NASCAR handed down the punishment to Michael Waltrip Racing, which included the ejection of team vice president of competition Bobby Kennedy and Crew Chief David Hyder from the garage at Daytona. Hyder was also fined $100,000 (equivalent to US$146,943in 2023), the largest fine ever handed down by NASCAR (until Kurt Busch was penalized for a pit road incident). Waltrip himself was penalized with a loss of 100 driver points and his qualifying time from pole day on Feb 11 was thrown out. Elizabeth Waltrip, Michael's wife and the official owner of his car was also docked 100 owners points. The substance found in the vehicle's fuel was referred to as "rocket fuel", later determined to be Sterno.[44]
In the 2013 Federated Auto Parts 400, the final race before the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Waltrip's team was penalized with the biggest penalty in NASCAR's history. In the race, MWR's Clint Bowyer spun out with 7 laps left after radio conversation hinting at an order to do so, and Brian Vickers was ordered to pit because the team "needed one more point". Following an investigation by NASCAR, the team was fined $300,000, stripped 50 driver points and 50 owner's points for each team, indefinitely suspended team vice-president Ty Norris and put every MWR crew chief on probation until December 31. With the points loss, Truex missed the Chase, which put Ryan Newman back in the wildcard spot. Waltrip stated as a reaction to the penalties that "I want to sincerely apologize to NASCAR, our sponsors, fans, and fellow drivers who were disappointed in our actions. We will learn from this and move on."[45]
Car accident
On April 11, 2007, Waltrip was charged with reckless driving and leaving the scene of the accident after crashing his car into a telephone pole.[46]
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(key) (Bold– Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics– Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. *– Most laps led.)
Ralph Dale Earnhardt was an American professional stock car driver and racing team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series, most notably driving the No.3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. His aggressive driving style earned him the nicknames "the Intimidator", "the Man in Black" and "Ironhead"; after his son Dale Earnhardt Jr. joined the Cup Series circuit in 1999, Earnhardt was generally known by the retronyms Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Dale Sr. He is regarded as one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history and named as one of the NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers class in 1998.
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and broadcaster. A third-generation driver, he is the son of the late 7-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt and relative to many former and current drivers in the NASCAR ranks. Since retiring from full-time competition after the 2017 season, he has competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro for his team, JR Motorsports.
Robert Allen Labonte is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and current analyst for NASCAR on Fox. He also currently competes part-time in the SMART Modified Tour, driving the No. 18L for Hermie Sadler and Bill Stanley. Labonte is the 2000 NASCAR Cup Series champion. He and his older brother, Terry Labonte, are one of only two pairs of brothers to have both won the Cup championships. He is also the uncle of former Xfinity Series race winner Justin Labonte.
Darrell Lee Waltrip is an American motorsports analyst, author as well as a former national television broadcaster and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series, most notably driving the No. 11 Chevrolet for Junior Johnson. Waltrip is a three-time Cup Series champion.
Mark Anthony Martin is an American retired stock car racing driver. He has the second most wins all time in what is now the Xfinity Series with 49. He scored 40 Cup Series wins. He finished second in the NASCAR Cup Series standings five times, third in the NASCAR Cup Series standings four times, and has been described by ESPN as "The best driver to never win a championship." Martin also failed to win the Daytona 500 during his career. Martin has five IROC Championships, more than any other driver. Also, during the 2005 season, he took over the all-time record for IROC wins, with 13. Martin is the final driver born in the 1950s to win a NASCAR Cup Series race.
Kenneth Lee Wallace is an American race car driver and former reporter for Fox NASCAR. He retired from NASCAR in 2015 after driving in the national series since 1988. In a career spanning 25 years in NASCAR, Wallace had nine wins, all occurring in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Now retired from NASCAR competition, he continues to race on local dirt tracks across the country as a hobby.
William Clyde Elliott Sr., also known as "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville", "Million Dollar Bill", or "Wild Bill" is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Camping World Superstar Racing Experience part-time in 2022. His accolades include the 1988 Winston Cup Championship and garnering 44 wins in that series, including two Daytona 500 victories in 1985 and 1987, three Southern 500 victories in 1985, 1988, and 1994, one Winston 500 victory in 1985, one Brickyard 400 victory in 2002, one "The Winston All-Star Race" win in 1986, and a record four consecutive wins at Michigan International Speedway between 1985 and 1986.
Terrance Lee Labonte, nicknamed "Texas Terry" or "the Iceman", is an American former stock car driver. He raced from 1978 to 2014 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup and Sprint Cup Series. A two-time Cup Series champion in 1984 and 1996 and the 1989 IROC champion, he is the older brother of 2000 Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte, and the father of former Nationwide Series driver Justin Labonte. He also co-owns a Chevrolet dealership in Greensboro, North Carolina with Rick Hendrick. He appeared on the CBS series The Dukes of Hazzard in 1984, where he played an unnamed pit crew member.
Stock car races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series has been held at Talladega Superspeedway since 1992, currently as companion to NASCAR Cup Series' GEICO 500. The 300-mile (480 km) spring race is currently known as Ag-Pro 300 for sponsorship reasons.
Charles Robert Hamilton Sr. was an American stock car racing driver and racing team owner. A driver and owner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series circuit and the winner of the 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship, Hamilton owned Bobby Hamilton Racing. Hamilton's son, Bobby Hamilton Jr., was also a NASCAR driver.
Roy Norris "Buckshot" Jones is an American racing driver who has competed in NASCAR and sprint cars. He most recently ran in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series.
Emil David Reutimann is an American professional stock car racing crew chief and former driver. A native of Zephyrhills, Florida, he has competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and Camping World Truck Series. In 2004, he won NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors in the Craftsman Truck Series. He is the son of Buzzie Reutimann.
The Jack Link's 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. The race is usually held in April or May. The 1997 event stands as the fastest NASCAR race to date ever run with an average speed of 188.354 miles per hour (303.126 km/h) and was the first race at Talladega Superspeedway that was not interrupted by a caution period.
The YellaWood 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama, hosting an event in the NASCAR playoffs. The race is one of four NASCAR Cup Series races currently run with tapered spacers, the others being the GEICO 500 in May, the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and the Daytona 500. Through 1996, this race was normally held in early August or late July. In 1997, it was moved to early October due to the uncomfortably hot summer temperatures, and sometimes unpredictable summertime thunderstorms in the Alabama area. In 2009, the race moved again, this time to November 1 as part of a realignment agreement with Atlanta and Fontana.
Greg Sacks is an American former stock car racing driver. He is married and has three children. He lives in Ormond Beach, Florida. He and his sons are partners in Grand Touring Vodka.
David Alan Marcis is an American former professional stock car racing driver on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit whose career spanned five decades. Marcis won five times over this tenure, twice at Richmond, including his final win in 1982, and collected 94 top-fives and 222 top-tens. His best championship results were second in 1975, fifth in 1978, sixth in 1974, 1976 and 1982, and ninth in 1970, 1980 and 1981.
Loy Allen Jr. is a former professional NASCAR Winston Cup, Busch, and ARCA series race car driver, turned real estate developer and Embry-Riddle-trained commercial pilot. On February 12, 1994, he became the youngest and first rookie in NASCAR Winston Cup history to win the Daytona 500 pole.
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Daytona International Speedway. First held in 1959, the event consists of 160 laps, 400-mile (640 km), and is the second of two major stock car events held at Daytona on the Cup Series circuit, the other being the Daytona 500. From its inception in 1959 through 2019, it was traditionally held on or around the United States' Independence Day. In 1998, it became the first stock car race at Daytona to be held at night under-the-lights. In 2020, the race was moved to late August.
Brian Lee Vickers is an American professional stock car and sports car racing driver. He last drove the No. 14 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing as an interim driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the injured Tony Stewart. He won the 2003 NASCAR Busch Series championship driving for Hendrick Motorsports. Vickers was also among the first series of full-time drivers for Toyota after the manufacturer first entered the Sprint Cup Series.
Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) is a museum in Mooresville, North Carolina. Formerly a race team founded by Dale Earnhardt and his wife, Teresa Earnhardt, it competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, the highest level of competition for professional stock car racing in the United States, from 1998 to 2009. Earnhardt was a seven-time Winston Cup champion who died in a crash on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Despite his ownership of the DEI racing team, Earnhardt never drove for his team in the Winston Cup; instead, he raced for his long-time mentor and backer Richard Childress at RCR. In the late-2000s, DEI suffered critical financial difficulties after drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip, and sponsors Anheuser-Busch, National Automotive Parts Association and United States Army left the team; DEI consequently merged with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2009, moving their equipment into the latter's shop, while the former's closed down. Chip Ganassi Racing's NASCAR operations was subsequently purchased by Trackhouse Racing Team in 2021.
↑ Waltrip, Michael Archived April 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine , Michael Waltrip, teammates learn the lessons of Le Mans "USA Today" June 11, 2011, accessed June 11, 2011.
↑ Coble, Don (February 12, 2007). "Waltrip could face a Sterno penalty". The Florida Times-Union. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved June 18, 2013. [...] inspectors found a gel-like coating inside the manifold. Several engine builders from other teams said the substance appeared to be Sterno, a bluish gel that could provide a hotter, cleaner burn inside the engine to create more horsepower.
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