Waltrip has the car to win at Daytona

Sporting News, The, July 8, 2005 by Lee Spencer

Bet against Mikey at Daytona in Saturday's Pepsi 400? Not unless you want to lose your tank top. Michael Waltrip and the No. 15 have been on a roll lately (road courses not included). Given that Waltrip inherited Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team and the cars that visited victory lane six times last year, no one should be surprised.

Waltrip heads into Daytona expecting nothing short of a win. Crew chief Tony Eury Jr. built Waltrip's restrictor-plate car from scratch in the offseason. Pointing to Earnhardt Jr's car, Eury said, "It kicked his ass:' a reference to a qualifying race for the Daytona 500 in which Waltrip passed Earnhardt Jr. for the win on the last lap.

Waltrip concurs. "The car really handles well," he, says. "It drafts well, and it races well."

After winning his 150-mile qualifying race, Waltrip led 42 laps in the Daytona 500 before his engine soured on Lap 162. At Talladega, the track most similar to Daytona, Waltrip finished third.

Though that was a strong finish, Jeff Gordon dominated the race. Considering Waltrip's team has had time to work on the car since Talladega and that Dale Earnhardt Inc. has mede gains in its engine department since the start of the season, Waltrip seems to have the inside track on a win.