NASCAR Cup

Michael Waltrip Martinsville Preview

Michael Waltrip hoping for a "break-out" trip to Martinsville HARRISBURG, N.C. (April 14, 1999) - It's been a while since a trip to Martinsville Speedway yielded a finish that left Michael Waltrip feeling good. But, it's also been a while since ...

Edited: May 8, 2001, 12:19 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Michael Waltrip hoping for a "break-out" trip to Martinsville

HARRISBURG, N.C. (April 14, 1999) - It's been a while since a trip to Martinsville Speedway yielded a finish that left Michael Waltrip feeling good. But, it's also been a while since Waltrip felt the kind of excitement that he feels in his new surroundings. This Sunday at Martinsville, the driver of the consumer electronics giant backed-Philips Chevrolet is hoping to turn that excitement into a finish that will not only make him happy, but will also strengthen his position among the top 10 in the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup point standings.

Michael Waltrip at Martinsville (spring races)...

Starts  13
Top 5s  0
Top 10s  3
Ave. Start  21.38
Ave. Finish  17.08
Winnings  $159,087
Best start  7th (‘94)
Best finish  7th ('91)
1998   21st

Michael Waltrip on...

...preparing for Martinsville:

"We went and tested at Greenville [S.C.] a couple weeks ago, and we ran a time around there that was about as good as any time I've heard this year. That was pretty exciting, because Greenville presents some of the same challenges that Martinsville does. It's pretty flat and it's pretty tight, so that made me feel good that we'll be OK."

...getting a fresh start at Martinsville in 1999:

"The last couple years at Martinsville have been really tough on me. Last year, I didn't qualify well and I didn't race well. I finished 21st in the spring and 20th in the fall, and the highest I ran in either one of those races was on the last lap of both of them. I was proud of our persistence, but I wasn't very proud of our performance. Going there this year, I have a different car, a different chassis, a different engine, and a different team. The whole deal is different. I really feel like I know what I'm doing at Martinsville and I feel like I can do the job.

"You might think that I'm not looking forward to Martinsville because things haven't gone that well lately, but I promise you, I'm the exact opposite. I'm so excited about going up there with this new combination, thinking we will be able to run really well."

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Bobby Hamilton Charlotte Test 99-05-07

Next article Richmond Jimmy Dean Racing Preview

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Max Verstappen on GTWC Europe debut: “We’re here to win”

GT World Challenge Europe Endurance

WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 9 h

Max Verstappen on GTWC Europe debut: “We’re here to win”

How to watch NASCAR at Phoenix II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Phoenix II

9 h

How to watch NASCAR at Phoenix II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV

Ryan Ellis signs multi-year NASCAR O'Reilly deal with Alpha Prime Racing

NASCAR O'Reilly

NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly

Phoenix II

9 h

Ryan Ellis signs multi-year NASCAR O'Reilly deal with Alpha Prime Racing

Ayao Komatsu: Rafael Camara chosen for F1 2027 seat on speed, not Ferrari links

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Singapore GP

15 h

Ayao Komatsu: Rafael Camara chosen for F1 2027 seat on speed, not Ferrari links

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts