MICHAEL WALTRIP, Co-Owner, Michael Waltrip Racing
Why is MyAFibStory.com so important to you?
“My mom unfortunately suffered a stroke 25 years ago due to AFib (Atrial fibrillation) and September is national AFib Awareness Month and Michael Waltrip Racing has partnered with Janssen Pharmaceuticals to raise awareness of AFib — 2.7 million people live with AFib. Mom unfortunately was one of those that had a stroke as a result of her AFib. So, life for mom today is very challenging. She’s stuck in a wheelchair and isn’t able to get up and enjoy the things in life that she would like to. I went to my mom and said, ‘They’re going to make a commercial about you, mom.’ At first, as any 87-year-old probably would be, didn’t seem like the best idea. But, the more we talked about it, she said, ‘Son, if I could help one person not be in a wheelchair because of my story, then it’s worth doing.’”
How has the training been going for ‘Dancing With the Stars’?
“Well, it’s been amazing. I agreed — we got together about two weeks ago and were able to finalize the details of being on the show. It was kind of challenging because obviously owning a team is first always for me, it’s my main focus to me, it’s what means the most to me. Having partners like Janssen and Aaron’s and 5-hour ENERGY and taking care of their needs is really important. We looked at this at Michael Waltrip Racing as a way to expand our brand and talk about NASCAR to millions of people that might not know as much about our sport as we would like them to. The opportunity to go to LA and dance is something that I’m very serious about and I can’t wait for my opportunity to get on the dance floor with Emma (Slater), my partner. To me it’s bigger than just that, it’s more about this sport and continuing to try to grow our team at MWR to the millions of people that will be watching ‘Dancing With the Stars.’ It’s interesting, when I walk into the coffee shop near my apartment in North Carolina, everyday there’s people in there sitting and I figure a few of them know who I am because I’m kind of tall and am a race car driver and I’m in North Carolina. Everybody just smiles and I get my coffee, but now when I go there, those people that I thought knew who I was are all like, ‘Golly, can’t wait to watch you dance.’ Those are things I never thought I’d hear — those words. It’s like Dale Jr. (Earnhardt) said on Jimmy Kimmel the other night. They said, ‘What do you think about Michael dancing on ‘Dancing With the Stars?’ He said, ‘Could you repeat that back to me one more time? I still haven’t gotten my arms all the way around that.’ And, that’s fair. I never have been a dancer and got into it that much, but over the last two weeks I’ve taken a crash course and it’s a good thing for my partner Emma is that the sheet was blank. The thing that I know for sure, when the music starts and it’s time for me to start dancing, I can’t take three or four steps and say, ‘Hold on a minute.’ It’s live and real, it’s just like a NASCAR race — when they throw the green, you’ve gotta go.”
Where do you feel like your team is this year despite missing the Chase?
“I look at our race teams as of making a lot of progress over the summer. We did not start the season off in a Chase way mode. We didn’t get our arms around the new rules as quickly as we’d like to and we just didn’t perform early in the season. Over the summer, we really improved our cars and we really improved our setups to the point where (Clint) Bowyer had a real shot at winning Saturday night in Richmond. We’ve had a couple strong runs. If we were in the Chase, I don’t think you’d be talking about us being champions, and that’s what the Chase is all about, being a champion. So, we would have tiptoed into the Chase, but we know that over these next 10 weeks, we continue to improve our cars and continue to improve the engines, we can build momentum and race through these 10 races and win and be ready to be championship contenders in 2015. The racing team, like I said earlier is the most important thing in the world to me. It’s where all my eggs are totally in that basket. I go dancing and I go do TV to try to make that world more important for not only our team, but NASCAR in general. Mentally, I’m in a great place because I believe in what we’re doing. I believe in our cars, our people and I believe in Toyota that we’ll get all this better. Maybe we can be a lot like Brad (Keselowski) and miss the Chase this year and race for a championship next year.”
Was there ever a time when you wanted to talk with TRD about horsepower?
“We have a wonderful relationship with the folks from Toyota. There wouldn’t be a Michael Waltrip Racing if it weren’t for Toyota. Back in 2005, they came to me and said, ‘We want you to start a NASCAR Sprint Cup team, we’re going to go Sprint Cup racing.’ And, we’ve been partners ever since. They realize that the engines have been a little bit off in the power department. They don’t need me preaching to them. They know a lot more about building an engine than I do. They also understand the significance of having enough power under the hood to compete with Hendrick and Penske. We’ve had some very constructive conversations. Our drivers have provided them with amazing feedback. I’m so proud of (Brian) Vickers and (Clint) Bowyer for their constructive help towards what the engines feel like at specific points on the race track. This one has more power, well it doesn’t feel good at this RPM, it feels better at that. We’re total partners and I wouldn’t be racing without them and we know we’re with the right manufacturer. We believe they will have the best engines in 2015 and beyond and we’re going to help them to continue to provide feedback so they can get there.”
