Waltrip gets his turn to race for Daytona history

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Michael Waltrip is quietly having the best season of his career and returning to Daytona International Speedway isn't likely to slow him down.

When last seen at the Northern Florida track in February, Waltrip was celebrating a victory in the rain-shortened Daytona 500. Since that win in the season-opener, he hasn't visited Victory Lane again but is a solid fifth in the season standings.

He has produced four top-10 finishes and six top-10s while completing each of the 16 races so far this year.

Going into Saturday night's Pepsi 400, the defending race winner has the chance to move even higher and, at the same time, make history.

"I don't feel invincible at all, but I do feel like before it's all said and done that I'll be part of the story," said Waltrip, who drives for Dale Earnhardt Inc.

Only long-retired Cale Yarborough, who sandwiched wins in the July 1967 race and around a victory in the 1968 Daytona 500, has won three straight Winston Cup races on Daytona's 2 1/2-mile oval.

Waltrip, who also won the 2001 Daytona 500, isn't getting caught up in the hype about the record. He simply wants another win.

"You don't worry about stuff like the record until it's done," Waltrip said. "That's not what motivates you. What motivates you is to try to beat everyone else.

"I never really thought about being a two-time Daytona 500 champion. I was just there to win the Daytona 500."

His wins at Daytona have coincided with being part of DEI, a team that has dominated the tracks where NASCAR requires the use of carburetor restrictor plates to keep the cars under 200 mph.

No other team spends more time on restrictor-plate development than DEI, and it has paid off big. In the last 10 restrictor-plate races at Daytona and Talladega, DEI has won eight.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who seemingly inherited the expertise of his late father in restrictor plate racing, has won the other five, including four in a row at Talladega.

Junior's only win here came in July 2001, the year his father was killed in a crash during the Daytona 500. Even though his teammate has been the one winning most of the races here since then, Earnhardt would love to add another notch to his belt at Daytona.

"I just like racing on the restrictor-plate tracks," Earnhardt said. "I like the tracks. I like the speed. I like racing in the close packs, bumper to bumper.

"It's a little bit different than what we normally do throughout the year. I don't feel like I get enough of it."

He'll get two chances at victory this week. Earnhardt will also race in Friday night's Winn-Dixie 250 Busch Series race. He swept both the Busch and Cup races earlier this season at Talladega.

Waltrip will also race in both Daytona events, and two wins are not out of the question for the younger brother of retired three-time Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip.

Waltrip said he isn't expecting it to be easy, though, even if he can beat his teammate.

'We will definitely be part of the story and be one of the cars that you'll have to beat to win," he said.

Winston Cup practice gets underway Thursday with qualifying for the 43-car field to follow.