NASCAR Cup

Richmond II: Michael Waltrip preview

Mooresville, NC (Sept. 7) - The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race in Richmond, Virginia this weekend may lock in the final positions for the Chase for the Championship, but don't think that the NAPA AUTO PARTS team and driver Michael Waltrip think their season ...

Published: Sep 8, 2004, 2:37 PM

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Mooresville, NC (Sept. 7) - The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race in Richmond, Virginia this weekend may lock in the final positions for the Chase for the Championship, but don't think that the NAPA AUTO PARTS team and driver Michael Waltrip think their season is over.

Quite the opposite, Waltrip is as determined as ever to be holding a trophy at the end of the night. Leading 55 laps and finishing 10th in the first race at Richmond International Raceway this season, Waltrip would like nothing better than to enhance that finish.

"Richmond (International Raceway) is special in anyone's books," Waltrip said. "It's one of the best events of the year - racing under the bright lights with thousands of people around such a small place is remarkable. We're bringing a really good car with a goal of winning the race and gathering as many points as we can. Our goals are reasonable and reachable and we plan on being as good if not better than we were when we were here just four months ago."

Michael Waltrip will compete in his 38th NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night where he will look for his second consecutive top-10 run and his seventh top-10 start at the .75-mile speedway.

This Week's Race Car is Chassis #23. This chassis was run only at Richmond in May this season where it finished 10th. It was run in Martinsville and RIR in 2003. The roof is the only part of the body that was left untouched after 2003. The rest of the car was cut off and rebuilt for the 2004 season.

Look at the Numbers
384 - Points out of the top-10
595 - Career Cup starts for Waltrip
133 - Career Cup starts for Waltrip at DEI
3 - Consecutive seasons Waltrip has won a Cup race
1030 - Laps Waltrip has led in his career
1 - Career top-10s at RIR
9 - Top-10s by Waltrip this season

Championship Points Currently in the 17th position, the No. 15 car is 30 points out of 16th and 384 points out of 10th.

NAPA Team supports Waltrip's OPERATION MARATHON Every NASCAR Cup and Busch team were challenged by Michael and Buffy Waltrip to make a $1500.00 donation - the cost of sponsoring one Victory Junction Camp child for a week. The NAPA team, led by Slugger Labbe, was the first to contribute.

"All it took was bringing the cause to the (No. 15) team's attention and the giving took a total of one hour before we hit the $1500.00 mark," Slugger said. "Our entire team was anxious to support Michael's crusade to keep The Victory Junction Camp operating. We hope all the other teams will find this charitable opportunity as rewarding as we did."

The No. 15 team will carry a decal on their pit box this weekend that reads, "Another Child Sent to Camp."

-dei/napa-

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