Catchfence

CORNELIUS, N.C. — Two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip climbs behind the wheel of the No. 55 Aaron’s 55^th Anniversary Toyota this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. The 47-year-old driver won on the 2.66-mile restrictor plate track in 2003. Waltrip owns four restrictor plate victories in his 25 years of Sprint Cup competition.

Waltrip drove the Aaron’s 55^th anniversary paint scheme at Talladega in April in a Toyota fielded by Prism Motorsports. He started last but led laps 31-34 before a multi-car crash ended his race. Waltrip also finished 18th in the 2010 Daytona 500.

GOALS: “I’m here to race. This isn’t about me just getting back in a car. We know we can win this race. In April we went from the back of the field to the front and led laps before we got taken out of the race. I was really ticked off here in April. I knew we had a car that could win the race. I expect the same this weekend.”

SEMI-RETIREMENT: “If the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series raced every weekend at Talladega and Daytona I’d still be driving full-time. That’s how much I like those tracks and restrictor plate racing. The only place better than sitting in the stands or watching a restrictor plate race on television is behind the wheel of the Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• This season Waltrip has devoted more time to ownership of Michael Waltrip Racing which fields Toyotas for David Reutimann’s No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine and Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS entry. In addition, Waltrip’s time is spent as an analyst on Showtime’s “Inside NASCAR” (Wednesdays at 10 p.m.) and SPEED’s weekly talent show “Fast Track to Fame” as well as a television commentator in SPEED’s coverage of truck series races.

• Waltrip is writing an autobiography due in January 2011.

• Sunday marks the second time Waltrip has raced with Aaron’s as his primary sponsor in a Sprint cup race. The Atlanta-based company has long served as primary sponsor on his Nationwide cars.

• The Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame inducted Waltrip on April 28 in Louisville.

• Waltrip and brother Darrell hosted the Waltrip Brothers Charity Golf Tournament and Dinner on Wednesday and Thursday in Nashville.

• Waltrip participated in the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England on July 1. He and MWR Co-owner Rob Kauffman drove a Ferrari sports car at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium on July 31 and in Dubai in January.

• Waltrip (@mw55) has more than 43,000 followers on Twitter.

- Michael Waltrip Racing, Press Release