Michael Waltrip

Michael Waltrip
Waltrip at Sonoma Raceway in 2024
Born	Michael Curtis Waltrip (1963-04-30) April 30, 1963 Owensboro, Kentucky, U.S.
Height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Achievements	1983 Darlington Dash Series champion 1996 The Winston Select winner 2001, 2003 Daytona 500 winner 2002, 2005 Gatorade Duel Winner
Awards	1983, 1984 Darlington Dash Series Most Popular Driver
NASCAR Cup Series career
784 races run over 33 years
2017 position	38th
Best finish	12th (1994, 1995)
First race	1985 Coca-Cola World 600 (Charlotte)
Last race	2017 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
First win	2001 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Last win	2003 EA Sports 500 (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles 4 133 4
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
279 races run over 22 years
Best finish	13th (2004)
First race	1988 Kroger 200 (IRP)
Last race	2011 Aaron's 312 (Talladega)
First win	1988 Grand National 200 (Dover)
Last win	2004 Pepsi 300 (Nashville)
Wins Top tens Poles 11 105 14
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
9 races run over 6 years
Best finish	61st (2004)
First race	1996 Carquest 420K (Las Vegas)
Last race	2011 NextEra Energy Resources 250 (Daytona)
First win	2011 NextEra Energy Resources 250 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles 1 4 0
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	2011
Teams	AF Corse
Best finish	DNF in LMGTE-PRO (2011)
Class wins	0
Statistics current as of February 25, 2017.

Michael Curtis Waltrip (born April 30, 1963) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, racing commentator, racing team owner, amateur ballroom dancing competitor and published author. He is the younger brother of three-time NASCAR champion and racing commentator Darrell Waltrip. Waltrip is a two-time winner of the Daytona 500, having won the race in 2001 and 2003. He is also a pre-race analyst for the NASCAR Cup Series and color commentator for the Xfinity Series and the Craftsman Truck Series broadcasts for Fox Sports. He last raced in the 2017 Daytona 500, driving the No. 15 Toyota Camry for Premium Motorsports. All four of his NASCAR Cup Series wins came on superspeedways driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc.

Racing career

Beginnings

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. 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.

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 (3.2 km) 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." By June 2001, his crew chief, Scott Eggleston, left the team and was replaced by longtime DEI director Steve Hmiel.

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. 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$16,131 in 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$80,655 in 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.

2006–2017

2006

Main articles: Michael Waltrip Racing, Waltrip-Jasper Racing, and 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. 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 Racing Dodge from Derrike Cope to drive in the race and to keep his streak of 262 consecutive races. 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. David Hyder was also fined $100,000 (equivalent to US$146,943 in 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. Waltrip's interim crew chief was announced as Scott Eggleston, who was Waltrip's former crew chief in 2001. 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.

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.

During the summer, Waltrip decided to make changes to the No. 00 and No. 55, which both sat outside the top 35 in owners points. He hired Terry Labonte, who held an automatic qualifying spot with his Past Champions provisional from titles in 1984 and 1996, to take over Waltrip's No. 55 at Infineon Raceway, Watkins Glen International, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Waltrip also hired P. J. Jones, a road course ringer, to take over David Reutimann's No. 00 at Infineon and Watkins Glen.

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. 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. 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.

Waltrip decided to skip the road courses (Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen International) handing it over to Patrick Carpentier to get the No. 55 back in the top 35 owners points.

On July 7, 2009, Waltrip announced he would be driving part-time in the 2010 season starting with the Daytona 500. 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. 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.

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. 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. He failed to qualify for the race, crashing in a single-car incident in the first Gatorade Duel race.

On May 6, Waltrip qualified for the 2012 Aarons 499 at Talladega Superspeedway and led several laps before finishing 19th.

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, 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. 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.

2016

Waltrip's 2016 Cup car for BK Racing

On February 4, Waltrip announced he would return to the Daytona 500, driving the No. 83 Camry for BK Racing. 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. Waltrip started 32nd out of the 40 car field, avoiding several large wrecks to end his NASCAR career with an eighth-place finish.

Personal life

Waltrip in 2004

Waltrip was born in Owensboro, Kentucky. He currently lives in Huntersville, North Carolina. Waltrip was married to Elizabeth "Buffy" Franks. They were divorced in 2010.

Waltrip is an avid runner. In 2001, he participated in the Boston Marathon.

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. 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."

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."

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.

On the December 2, 2019 episode of WWE Raw, Waltrip put on a referees uniform and helped Kyle Busch defeat R-Truth for WWE 24/7 Championship

Book

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. A documentary film adaptation, Blink of an Eye, was released in 2019.

Controversies

See also: Category:NASCAR controversies

Feuds with rival drivers

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$1,086 in 2023) for his actions.

In 1995 at Michigan International Speedway, Waltrip also hit driver, Lake Speed. Waltrip hit Speed twice on national television, while Speed was strapped in his car. Waltrip was fined $10,000 (equivalent to US$19,996 in 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. 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." 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.

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.

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.

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$146,943 in 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.

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."

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.

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.)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	MENCC	Pts	Ref
1985	Bahre Racing	23	Pontiac	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	BRI	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	DOV	CLT 28	RSD	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	MCH 18	BRI	DAR 24	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT 31	CAR	ATL 39	RSD									57th	207
1986	Bahari Racing			DAY DNQ	RCH 25	CAR 21	ATL 19		DAR 13	NWS 26	MAR 11	TAL 35	DOV 12	CLT 26	RSD 25	POC 39	MCH 22	DAY 18	POC 11	TAL 14	GLN 17	MCH 32	BRI 13	DAR 16	RCH 14	DOV 16	MAR 14	NWS 23	CLT 19	CAR 13	ATL 20	RSD 31								19th	2853
			Buick					BRI 32
1987		30	Chevy	DAY 22	CAR 17	RCH 12	ATL 39	DAR 19	NWS 24		MAR 10	TAL 25	CLT 11	DOV 21	POC 16	RSD 32	MCH 39	DAY 19	POC 37	TAL 17	GLN 16	MCH 20	BRI 14	DAR 19	RCH 19	DOV 18	MAR 18	NWS 16	CLT 35	CAR 19	RSD 26	ATL 38								20th	2840
			Pontiac							BRI 13
1988				DAY DNQ	RCH 31		ATL 12	DAR 21	BRI 12	NWS 32	MAR 22	TAL 33	CLT 23	DOV 36	RSD 11	POC 2	MCH 28	DAY 21	POC 17	TAL 20	GLN 33	MCH 7	BRI 31	DAR 25	RCH 12	DOV 12	MAR 25	CLT 23	NWS 25	CAR 19	PHO 28	ATL 7								18th	2949
	Mueller Brothers Racing	89	Pontiac	DAY 22
	Bahari Racing	30	Chevy			CAR 13
1989			Pontiac	DAY 21	CAR 12	ATL 20	RCH 13	DAR 9	BRI 11	NWS 29	MAR 25	TAL 21	CLT 27	DOV 22	SON 10	POC 14	MCH 16	DAY 34	POC 28	TAL 36	GLN 10	MCH 31	BRI 32	DAR 13	RCH 23	DOV 6	MAR 12	CLT 17	NWS 23	CAR 17	PHO 9	ATL 26								18th	3057
1990				DAY 8	RCH 27	CAR 28	ATL 38	DAR 9	BRI 20	NWS 27	MAR 8	TAL 5	CLT 4	DOV 26	SON 9	POC 19	MCH 21	DAY 16	POC 23	TAL 21	GLN 4	MCH 30	BRI 9	DAR 26	RCH 14	DOV 5	MAR 30	NWS 15	CLT 3	CAR 15	PHO 43	ATL 14								16th	3251
1991				DAY 38	RCH 17	CAR 7	ATL 5	DAR 3*	BRI 23	NWS 7	MAR 7	TAL 5	CLT 15	DOV 32	SON 10	POC 18	MCH 34	DAY 6	POC 38	TAL 7	GLN 21	MCH 9	BRI 25	DAR 27	RCH 30	DOV 5	MAR 25	NWS 27	CLT 7	CAR 19	PHO 24	ATL 40								15th	3254
1992				DAY 18	CAR 4	RCH 34	ATL 28	DAR 14	BRI 17	NWS 29	MAR 27	TAL 38	CLT 25	DOV 15	SON 20	POC 15	MCH 27	DAY 27	POC 26	TAL 7	GLN 35	MCH 22	BRI 14	DAR 35	RCH 33	DOV 17	MAR 29	NWS 16	CLT 23	CAR 20	PHO 11	ATL 14								23rd	2825
1993				DAY 16	CAR 26	RCH 23	ATL 14	DAR 33	BRI 14	NWS 20	MAR 16	TAL 10	SON 23	CLT 13	DOV 27	POC 21	MCH 37	DAY 22	NHA 23	POC 14	TAL 20	GLN 12	MCH 16	BRI 10	DAR 13	RCH 19	DOV 23	MAR 8	NWS 14	CLT 27	CAR 18	PHO 9	ATL 6							17th	3291
1994				DAY 31	CAR 10	RCH 31	ATL 23	DAR 15	BRI 5	NWS 11	MAR 17	TAL 3	SON 16	CLT 10	DOV 7	POC 11	MCH 8	DAY 13	NHA 37	POC 14	TAL 11	IND 8	GLN 20	MCH 14	BRI 7	DAR 31	RCH 26	DOV 33	MAR 19	NWS 21	CLT 10	CAR 26	PHO 36	ATL 10						12th	3512
1995				DAY 6	CAR 17	RCH 23	ATL 35	DAR 7	BRI 22	NWS 22	MAR 15	TAL 12	SON 10	CLT 3	DOV 8	POC 9	MCH 12	DAY 15	NHA 14	POC 21	TAL 9	IND 14	GLN 14	MCH 11	BRI 15	DAR 5	RCH 28	DOV 29	MAR 25	NWS 12	CLT 17	CAR 38	PHO 34	ATL 12						12th	3601
1996	Wood Brothers Racing	21	Ford	DAY 10	CAR 35	RCH 36	ATL 9	DAR 29	BRI 10	NWS 17	MAR 17	TAL 5	SON 22	CLT 8	DOV 11	POC 14	MCH 32	DAY 7	NHA 10	POC 13	TAL 42	IND 28	GLN 7	MCH 25	BRI 6	DAR 33	RCH 14	DOV 9	MAR 14	NWS 12	CLT 9	CAR 14	PHO 16	ATL 11						14th	3535
1997				DAY 32	CAR 26	RCH 27	ATL 7	DAR 7	TEX 9	BRI 21	MAR 26	SON 7	TAL 14	CLT 17	DOV 7	POC 13	MCH 16	CAL 11	DAY 35	NHA 29	POC 22	IND 39	GLN 25	MCH 22	BRI 25	DAR 9	RCH 35	NHA 32	DOV 42	MAR 36	CLT 24	TAL 28	CAR 14	PHO 26	ATL 13					18th	3173
1998				DAY 9	CAR 34	LVS 14	ATL 18	DAR 16	BRI 9	TEX 9	MAR 21	TAL 21	CAL 20	CLT 18	DOV 14	RCH 40	MCH 21	POC 14	SON 34	NHA 24	POC 10	IND 21	GLN 28	MCH 22	BRI 16	NHA 27	DAR 17	RCH 26	DOV 20	MAR 20	CLT 13	TAL 9	DAY 31	PHO DNQ	CAR 22	ATL 22				17th	3340
1999	Mattei Motorsports	7	Chevy	DAY 5	CAR 20	LVS 22	ATL 10	DAR 21	TEX 14	BRI 12	MAR 39	TAL 18	CAL 23	RCH 22	CLT 37	DOV 42	MCH 15	POC 37	SON 10	DAY 39	NHA 19	POC 12	IND 27	GLN 21	MCH 13	BRI 37	DAR 41	RCH 38	NHA 38	DOV 19	MAR 33	CLT 14	TAL 39	CAR 27	PHO 33	HOM 36	ATL 36			29th	2974
2000				DAY 39	CAR 23	LVS 33	ATL 25	DAR 32	BRI 11	TEX 29	MAR 3	TAL 31	CAL 30	RCH 19	CLT 18	DOV 39																								27th	2797
	Ultra Motorsports																MCH 22	POC 43	SON 12	DAY 42	NHA 35	POC 17	IND 20	GLN 17	MCH 21	BRI 19	DAR 40	RCH 43	NHA 20	DOV 24	MAR 24	CLT 22	TAL 34	CAR 35	PHO 32	HOM 34	ATL 39
2001	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	15	Chevy	DAY 1	CAR 19	LVS 13	ATL 23	DAR 25	BRI 22	TEX 39	MAR 24	TAL 28	CAL 43	RCH 35	CLT 28	DOV 43	MCH 29	POC 30	SON 20	DAY 2	CHI 22	NHA 28	POC 19	IND 25	GLN 18	MCH 36	BRI 39	DAR 36	RCH 20	DOV 39	KAN 38	CLT 18	MAR 19	TAL 37	PHO 23	CAR 21	HOM 2	ATL 26	NHA 40	24th	3159
2002				DAY 5	CAR 40	LVS 22	ATL 40	DAR 15	BRI 30	TEX 28	MAR 13	TAL 2	CAL 10	RCH 24	CLT 8	DOV 21	POC 8	MCH 4	SON 22	DAY 1*	CHI 42	NHA 20	POC 18	IND 16	GLN 9	MCH 15	BRI 22	DAR 24	RCH 36	NHA 8	DOV 12	KAN 26	TAL 8	CLT 11	MAR 18	ATL 11	CAR 19	PHO 20	HOM 41	14th	3985
2003				DAY 1*	CAR 19	LVS 3	ATL 27	DAR 5	BRI 25	TEX 17	TAL 24	MAR 23	CAL 7	RCH 12	CLT 6	DOV 16	POC 18	MCH 5	SON 13	DAY 11	CHI 5	NHA 28	POC 4	IND 16	GLN 13	MCH 7	BRI 42	DAR 37	RCH 32	NHA 26	DOV 42	TAL 1	KAN 39	CLT 14	MAR 26	ATL 38	PHO 5	CAR 37	HOM 41	15th	3934
2004				DAY 38	CAR 33	LVS 37	ATL 23	DAR 35	BRI 10	TEX 20	MAR 15	TAL 12	CAL 32	RCH 10	CLT 2	DOV 6	POC 33	MCH 10	SON 4	DAY 13	CHI 9	NHA 6	POC 36	IND 20	GLN 20	MCH 17	BRI 27	CAL 23	RCH 13	NHA 9	DOV 16	TAL 25	KAN 11	CLT 28	MAR 19	ATL 14	PHO 17	DAR 33	HOM 17	20th	3878
2005				DAY 37	CAL 38	LVS 21	ATL 7	BRI 19	MAR 30	TEX 6	PHO 2	TAL 3	DAR 34	RCH 9	CLT 36	DOV 13	POC 5	MCH 7	SON 22	DAY 40	CHI 36	NHA 17	POC 26	IND 16	GLN 41	MCH 27	BRI 15	CAL 13	RCH 31	NHA 15	DOV 26	TAL 42	KAN 40	CLT 29	MAR 27	ATL 11	TEX 41	PHO 33	HOM 29	25th	3452
2006	Bill Davis Racing	55	Dodge	DAY 18	CAL 36	LVS 35	ATL 20	BRI 32	MAR 29	TEX 26	PHO 42	TAL 25	RCH 31	DAR 35	CLT DNQ	DOV 32	POC 28	MCH 25	SON 23	DAY 38	CHI 30	NHA 36	POC 40	IND DNQ	GLN 36	MCH 23	BRI 16	CAL 31	RCH DNQ	NHA 23	DOV 28	KAN 35	TAL 14	CLT 38	MAR 34	ATL 33	TEX 43	PHO 42	HOM DNQ	37th	2350
	McGlynn Racing														CLT 41
2007	Michael Waltrip Racing		Toyota	DAY 30	CAL DNQ	LVS DNQ	ATL DNQ	BRI DNQ	MAR DNQ	TEX DNQ	PHO DNQ	TAL DNQ	RCH DNQ	DAR DNQ	CLT DNQ	DOV 28	POC DNQ	MCH 10	SON	NHA DNQ	DAY DNQ	CHI 30	IND	POC 38	GLN	MCH 40	BRI 23	CAL 42	RCH DNQ	NHA DNQ	DOV 15	KAN 30	TAL 25	CLT 10	MAR 18	ATL 11	TEX DNQ	PHO DNQ	HOM DNQ	44th	1149
2008				DAY 29	CAL 28	LVS 31	ATL 30	BRI 23	MAR 35	TEX 31	PHO 24	TAL 27	RCH 37	DAR 24	CLT 27	DOV 28	POC 37	MCH 23	SON 25	NHA 2	DAY 27	CHI 36	IND 43	POC 43	GLN 39	MCH 19	BRI 30	CAL 33	RCH 28	NHA 25	DOV 10	KAN 35	TAL 19	CLT 24	MAR 18	ATL 37	TEX 27	PHO 24	HOM 38	29th	2889
2009				DAY 7	CAL 15	LVS 27	ATL 25	BRI 32	MAR 13	TEX 24	PHO 37	TAL 21	RCH 24	DAR 40	CLT 30	DOV 35	POC 17	MCH 30	SON	NHA 24	DAY 37	CHI 20	IND 35	POC 31	GLN	MCH 27	BRI 31	ATL 32	RCH 32	NHA 27	DOV 36	KAN 38	CAL 17	CLT 32	MAR 30	TAL 7	TEX 23	PHO 36	HOM 30	33rd	2839
2010		51		DAY 18	CAL	LVS	ATL																																	55th	284
	Prism Motorsports	55						BRI 41	MAR	PHO	TEX	TAL 39	RCH	DAR	DOV	CLT	POC	MCH DNQ	SON DNQ	NHA	DAY	CHI	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	NHA	DOV	KAN	CAR	CLT	MAR
	Michael Waltrip Racing																																			TAL 28	TEX	PHO	HOM
2011		15		DAY 40	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	MAR	TEX	TAL 28	RCH	DAR	DOV	CLT	KAN	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	KEN DNQ	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	KAN	CLT	TAL 9	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	42nd	56
2012	Hillman Racing	40	Toyota	DAY DNQ	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	MAR	TEX	KAN	RCH																												43rd	94
	Michael Waltrip Racing	55	Toyota										TAL 19	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	KEN 30	DAY 9	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	TAL 25	CLT	KAN	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM
2013	Swan Racing	26	Toyota	DAY 22	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	MAR	TEX	KAN	RCH																												40th	114
	Michael Waltrip Racing	55	Toyota										TAL 4	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	KEN	DAY 5	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	KAN	CLT	TAL 32	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM
2014		66		DAY 41	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	MAR	TEX	DAR	RCH	TAL 25	KAN	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	KEN															TAL 16	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	42nd	76
	Identity Ventures Racing																				DAY 19	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	KAN	CLT
2015	Michael Waltrip Racing	55		DAY 26	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	MAR	TEX	BRI	RCH	TAL 36	KAN	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	KEN	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	CLT	KAN						43rd	58
		98																																	TAL 13	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM
2016	BK Racing	83	Toyota	DAY 30	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	MAR	TEX	BRI	RCH																												45th	42
	Premium Motorsports	55	Toyota										TAL 12	KAN	DOV	CLT	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	KEN	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	BRI	MCH	DAR	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	CLT	KAN	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM
2017		15		DAY 8	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	MAR	TEX	BRI	RCH	TAL	KAN	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	KEN	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	CLT	TAL	KAN	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	38th	29

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
1986	Bahari Racing	Pontiac	DNQ
1987		Chevrolet	18	22
1988		Pontiac	DNQ
	Mueller Brothers Racing		24	22
1989	Bahari Racing	Pontiac	23	21
1990			24	8
1991			13	38
1992			10	18
1993			28	16
1994			14	31
1995			15	6
1996	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	11	10
1997			12	32
1998			6	9
1999	Mattei Motorsports	Chevrolet	13	5
2000			10	39
2001	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	Chevrolet	19	1
2002			4	5
2003			4	1
2004			9	38
2005			3	37
2006	Bill Davis Racing	Dodge	30	18
2007	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	15	30
2008			2	29
2009			27	7
2010			43	18
2011			8	40
2012	Hillman Racing	Toyota	DNQ
2013	Swan Racing	Toyota	29	22
2014	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	42	41
2015			34	26
2016	BK Racing	Toyota	36	30
2017	Premium Motorsports	Toyota	30	8

Nationwide Series

NASCAR Nationwide Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	NNSC	Pts	Ref
1988	Bahari Racing	03	Olds	DAY	HCY	CAR	MAR	DAR	BRI	LNG	NZH	SBO	NSV	CLT	DOV	ROU	LAN	LVL	MYB	OXF	SBO	HCY	LNG	IRP 14	ROU														62nd	221
	Silver Racing	14	Olds																							BRI 23					CLT 12	CAR	MAR
	Darrell Waltrip Motorsports	17	Chevy																								DAR 3	RCH	DOV 1	MAR
1989	Bahari Racing	30	Olds	DAY 8	CAR	MAR	HCY	DAR 14	BRI 8	NZH 3	SBO	LAN	NSV	CLT 3	DOV 30	ROU	LVL 2	VOL	MYB	SBO	HCY	DUB	IRP 1	ROU	BRI 25	DAR 23	RCH 15	DOV 25	MAR	CLT 2									23rd	1716
	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	3	Chevy																												CAR 7	MAR
1990	Bahari Racing	30	Pontiac	DAY 36	RCH 1	CAR 11	MAR	HCY 19	DAR	BRI 26	LAN	SBO	NZH	HCY	CLT 18	DOV 1*	ROU	VOL	MYB	OXF	NHA 16	SBO	DUB	IRP 28	ROU	BRI 29		RCH 3	DOV	MAR	CLT 21	NHA	CAR	MAR					30th	1185
	Mac Martin Racing	92	Pontiac																								DAR 3
1991	Bahari Racing	30	Pontiac	DAY 2	RCH 5	CAR	MAR	VOL	HCY	DAR 28*	BRI 25	LAN	SBO	NZH	CLT 32	DOV	ROU	HCY	MYB	GLN	OXF	NHA 4	SBO	DUB	IRP	ROU	BRI 17	DAR 2	RCH 4	DOV	CLT 26	NHA	CAR	MAR					34th	1246
1992				DAY 25	CAR	RCH 17	ATL 28	MAR	DAR	BRI	HCY	LAN	DUB	NZH 6	CLT 23	DOV	ROU	MYB	GLN	VOL	NHA	TAL 2*	IRP 26	ROU	MCH 8	NHA	BRI	DAR 1	RCH	DOV 8	CLT 2	MAR	CAR	HCY					26th	1412
1993				DAY 33	CAR	RCH	DAR 15	BRI 1*	HCY	ROU	MAR	NZH	CLT 1	DOV	MYB	GLN	MLW	TAL 6	IRP 29	MCH	NHA	BRI	DAR 34	RCH 29	DOV	ROU	CLT 2	MAR	CAR	HCY	ATL 3								30th	1240
1994				DAY 25*	CAR	RCH	ATL 34	MAR	DAR 7	HCY	BRI	ROU	NHA	NZH	CLT 3	DOV	MYB	GLN	MLW	SBO	TAL 41	HCY	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH 7		CLT 12	MAR									41st	983
	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	3	Chevy																									DOV 41			CAR 2
1995	Bahari Racing	30	Pontiac	DAY 2	CAR	RCH	ATL 36	NSV 38	DAR	BRI	HCY	NHA	NZH	CLT 35	DOV	MYB	GLN	MLW	TAL 20*	SBO	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	CLT DNQ	CAR	HOM 4										48th	595
1996	Michael Waltrip Racing	12	Ford	DAY 41	CAR 11	RCH 25	ATL DNQ	NSV 29	DAR 2	BRI 19	HCY	NZH	CLT 11	DOV	SBO	MYB	GLN 14	MLW	NHA	TAL 5	IRP	MCH 38	BRI 5	DAR	RCH 38	DOV	CLT 30	CAR	HOM										34th	1342
1997		21		DAY 3	CAR	RCH	ATL 15	LVS 4	DAR	HCY	TEX 26	BRI 4	NSV	TAL 14	NHA	NZH	CLT DNQ	DOV 10	SBO	GLN	MLW	MYB	GTY DNQ	IRP	MCH 23	BRI 40	DAR 33	RCH 28	DOV 36	CLT 30	CAL 4	CAR 14	HOM 19						29th	1738
1998				DAY 7	CAR	LVS 20	NSV	DAR 41	BRI 29	TEX 17	HCY	TAL 40	NHA 34	NZH	CLT 4	DOV	RCH 20	PPR 31	GLN	MLW	MYB	CAL 23	SBO	IRP	MCH 9	BRI DNQ	DAR 15	RCH 14	DOV	CLT 41	GTY	CAR	ATL 9	HOM					34th	1667
1999			Chevy	DAY 40	CAR	LVS 39	ATL 11	DAR 9	TEX 11	NSV	BRI 11	TAL	CAL 8	NHA	RCH 8	NZH	CLT 5	DOV 20	SBO	GLN	MLW	MYB	PPR	GTY	IRP	MCH 6	BRI 2	DAR	RCH DNQ	DOV 35	CLT 1	CAR	MEM	PHO 41	HOM				29th	1762
2000		7		DAY 27	CAR QL†	LVS 15	ATL	DAR	BRI 32	TEX DNQ	NSV	TAL	CAL 4	RCH	NHA	CLT DNQ	DOV 7	SBO	MYB	GLN	MLW	NZH	PPR	GTY	IRP	MCH 2			RCH 16		CLT 14			PHO 37	HOM				37th	1356
		99																									BRI 8	DAR 15		DOV 36		CAR DNQ	MEM
2001				DAY 37	CAR	LVS 39	ATL 3	DAR	BRI 10	TEX	NSH	TAL	CAL	RCH	NHA	NZH	CLT 43	DOV	KEN	MLW	GLN	CHI 12	GTY	PPR	IRP	MCH	BRI 40	DAR	RCH 18	DOV	KAN 15	CLT 18	MEM	PHO 20	CAR	HOM 6			41st	1195
2002				DAY 2	CAR 26	LVS 2	DAR 14	BRI 30	TEX 42	NSH	TAL 35	CAL 8	RCH 4	NHA	NZH	CLT 11	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	DAY 42	CHI	GTY	PPR	IRP	MCH 1*	BRI 7	DAR	RCH 8	DOV	KAN 33	CLT 2	MEM	ATL 2*	CAR 7	PHO	HOM 7		27th	2397
2003				DAY 34	CAR 18	LVS 7	DAR 36	BRI 33	TEX 11	TAL 7	NSH	CAL 2	RCH 4*	GTY	NZH	CLT 10*	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	DAY 2	CHI 5	NHA	PPR	IRP	MCH 8	BRI 1	DAR 3	RCH	DOV	KAN 24*	CLT 2	MEM	ATL 4	PHO	CAR 41	HOM 10		18th	2637
2004				DAY 19	CAR 4	LVS 4	DAR 8	BRI 7	TEX 13	NSH 1	TAL 8	CAL 6	GTY 14	RCH 28	NZH 8	CLT 11	DOV 16	NSH 38	KEN 14	MLW	DAY 27	CHI 18	NHA	PPR	IRP 26	MCH 24	BRI 22	CAL 14	RCH 30	DOV 11	KAN 12	CLT 23	MEM 29	ATL 22	PHO 19	DAR 10	HOM 11		13th	3649
2005				DAY 7	CAL 38	MXC	LVS DNQ	ATL 7	NSH	BRI 42	TEX 15	PHO 7	TAL 34	DAR	RCH 34	CLT 16	DOV	NSH	KEN 42	MLW	DAY	CHI 14	NHA	PPR	GTY 16	IRP	GLN 40	MCH 16	BRI 24	CAL DNQ	RCH 9	DOV 40	KAN DNQ	CLT DNQ	MEM	TEX DNQ	PHO	HOM DNQ	35th	1587
2006			Dodge	DAY 15	CAL 26	MXC 40	LVS 24	ATL 22	BRI 26	TEX 25		PHO 13	TAL 14	RCH 25	DAR	CLT 20	DOV 31	NSH	KEN	MLW	DAY 38	CHI 11	NHA 23	MAR	GTY	IRP	GLN 13	MCH 17	BRI	CAL	RCH	DOV 10	KAN	CLT 2	MEM	TEX	PHO 39	HOM	27th	2126
	Brewco Motorsports		Ford								NSH 10
2007	Braun Racing	32	Toyota	DAY	CAL	MXC	LVS	ATL 43	BRI	NSH	TEX	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	NHA	DAY	CHI	GTY	IRP	CGV	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	TEX	PHO	HOM	158th	34
2009	Michael Waltrip Racing	99	Toyota	DAY 24	CAL 15	LVS	BRI	TEX 19	NSH 16	PHO 40	TAL 40	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	NHA	DAY 11	CHI	GTY	IRP	IOW	GLN	MCH	BRI	CGV	ATL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CAL	CLT	MEM	TEX	PHO	HOM	65th	661
2011	Pastrana-Waltrip Racing	99	Toyota	DAY 9	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	TEX	TAL 31	NSH	RCH	DAR	DOV	IOW	CLT	CHI	MCH	ROA	DAY	KEN	NHA	NSH	IRP	IOW	GLN	CGV	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	DOV	KAN	CLT	TEX	PHO	HOM		117th	01
† - Qualified but replaced by Dick Trickle·

Camping World Truck Series

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	NCWTC	Pts	Ref
1996	Michael Waltrip Racing	1	Ford	HOM	PHO	POR	EVG	TUS	CNS	HPT	BRI	NZH	MLW	LVL	I70	IRP	FLM	GLN	NSV	RCH	NHA	MAR	NWS	SON	MMR	PHO	LVS 4				83rd	160
1997				WDW 31	TUS	HOM	PHO	POR	EVG	I70	NHA	TEX	BRI	NZH	MLW	LVL	CNS	HPT	IRP	FLM	NSV	GLN	RCH	MAR 35	SON	MMR	CAL 7	PHO	LVS		67th	274
1998				WDW	HOM	PHO	POR	EVG	I70	GLN	TEX	BRI	MLW	NZH	CAL 31	PPR	IRP	NHA	FLM	NSV	HPT	LVL	RCH	MEM	GTY	MAR	SON	MMR	PHO	LVS	103rd	70
2004	Morgan-Dollar Motorsports	47	Chevy	DAY	ATL	MAR	MFD	CLT 5	DOV	TEX	MEM	MLW	KAN	KEN	GTW	MCH															61st	215
	Andy Petree Racing	33	Chevy														IRP 36	NSH	BRI	RCH	NHA	LVS	CAL	TEX	MAR	PHO	DAR	HOM
2006	Darrell Waltrip Motorsports	12	Toyota	DAY	CAL	ATL	MAR	GTY	CLT	MFD	DOV	TEX	MCH	MLW	KAN	KEN	MEM	IRP	NSH	BRI	NHA	LVS	TAL	MAR	ATL	TEX	PHO	HOM 17			74th	112
2011	Vision Aviation Racing	15	Toyota	DAY 1	PHO	DAR	MAR	NSH	DOV	CLT	KAN	TEX	KEN	IOW	NSH	IRP	POC	MCH	BRI	ATL	CHI	NHA	KEN	LVS	TAL	MAR	TEX	HOM			84th	01

^* Season still in progress
¹ Ineligible for series points

Sports car racing

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, Results are overall/class)

24 Hours of Le Mans results

24 Hours of Le Mans results
Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2011	AF Corse	Rob Kaufmann Rui Águas	Ferrari 458 Italia GTC	GTE Pro	178	DNF	DNF

24 Hours of Daytona

24 Hours of Daytona results
Year	Class	No	Team	Car	Co-drivers	Laps	Position	Class Pos.
2012	GT	56	AF Waltrip	Ferrari 458	Rui Águas Rob Kauffman Travis Pastrana	645	35	22
2013	GT	56	AF Waltrip	Ferrari 458	Rui Águas Rob Kauffman Clint Bowyer	677	16	8

Superstar Racing Experience

(key) * – Most laps led. ¹ – Heat 1 winner. ² – Heat 2 winner.

Superstar Racing Experience results
Year	No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	SRXC	Pts
2021	15	STA 11	KNX 4	ELD 10	IRP 6	SLG 12	NSV 7	8th	111
2022		FIF 13	SBO 11	STA 12	NSV 8	I55 7	SHA 13	9th	95

^* Season still in progress

See also

• List of Daytona 500 winners
• List of NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race drivers
• List of people from Kentucky
• Michael Waltrip Racing

External links

• Official website
• Michael Waltrip driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Michael Waltrip owner statistics at Racing-Reference
• Michael Waltrip at Fox Sports
• Michael Waltrip at NASCAR.com
• Coca-Cola Racing Family's Michael Waltrip profile