michael waltrip Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Like many racing fans across the country, I saw the NASCAR documentary Blink of an Eye, which is based on the 2011 autobiography about Michael Waltrip, at my movie theater which is literally a two-minute walk from home. After the roller coaster ride about Waltrip’s career leading up to the ill fated 2001 Daytona 500 and the aftermath of Dale Earnhardt’s death, I hate to be that guy, but the Paul Taulieb film had several production flaws. Let’s begin with audio. It started with the tragicRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor When Riverside International Raceway was shuttered following the 1988 season, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series was forced to look for another road course venue to replace it on the schedule. Officials didn’t have to look far as Sonoma Raceway, a winding 12-turn, 2.52-mile course in Northern California fit the bill and was added to the 1989 schedule with the running of the Banquet Frozen Foods 300. From the start of the weekend, the track proved treacherous, with Michael Waltrip flipping in practice and theRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor It takes a lot to get Jeff Gordon riled up, but when the Cup Series visited Phoenix in November 2012, the four-time series champion had decided he’d had enough. Gordon and Clint Bowyer had been embroiled in a feud stemming from contact at Martinsville earlier in the year and with the season winding to a close, contact between the two at Phoenix just sent the Hendrick Motorsports driver over the edge. As the two were battling for a spot in the top-five with less thanRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The pressure that comes with competing for the championship in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is immense for the drivers that make the cut into the postseason to be one of the few to have a shot at the title and sometimes that pressure can be too much to bear. In the 2005 Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, tempers flaring among the drivers, those in the playoffs and on the outside looking in, nearly overshadowed a stellar finish between Ryan NewmanRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Since returning to Watkins Glen in 1986, the 2.45 mile, 11 turn road course in upstate New York, has provided some of the most exciting racing on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule and the 1988 Budweiser at The Glen was no exception. As one of two road courses on the calendar at the time, Rusty Wallace entered the 90 lap race as the favorite as he had won the year before at Watkins Glen, as well as the two previous road course racesRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Michael Waltrip had a puncher’s chance and gave it his best shot on Sunday. The two-time Daytona 500 champion announced last month that the 59th edition of ‘The Great American Race’ would be his last in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition. However in his 30th appearance of the event, the 53-year-old Kentucky native made the most the moment and drove to an impressive 8th place finish at the same track that broke his 462-race winless streak. After starting the day in 30th,Waltrip avoided disaster in theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – His car damaged in a wreck on the backstretch and held together with tape, Kurt Busch grabbed the lead on the final lap of the 59th Daytona 500 on Sunday and took the checkered flag in the Great American Race as a capstone to a checkered career that has trended upward since Busch joined Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014. In a race that featured the first test of a new three-stage race format in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series—and featuredRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor As the 59th running of the Daytona 500 looms ahead, the drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will all be gunning for the opportunity to call themselves champions of the “Great American Race”, but for Michael Waltrip, this race takes on another dimension as it will be his last behind the wheel. After making his 784th career start in the Cup Series, Waltrip will be hanging up his helmet at the conclusion of Sunday’s race, bringing his 32-year driving career to an endRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Heading into February’s season opening Daytona 500, the drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will all be looking forward to their chance to win the “Great American Race” before embarking on the remainder of the 2017 season, but for two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip, next month’s race will be his last behind the wheel. Waltrip notoriously went winless in the Cup Series for the first 16 years of his career before finally breaking through for his first win in the 2001 DaytonaRead More

By David Westergreen, Fan Column The first NASCAR race I ever watched was the 2001 Daytona 500. While it is a race well remembered for its last lap, what is often forgotten is the 49 lead changes among 14 drivers and underdog winner. Performances by Ward Burton and Sterling Marlin bringing Dodge back to the forefront for the first time since 1979 at Daytona are lost to the memories of Dale Earnhardt. This was my first experience as a fan. I did not see any one of Dale’s 76 winsRead More