Toyota Daytona 500 Driver Quotes
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Daytona Media Day – February 22, 2017
Toyota driver Michael Waltrip was made available to the media at NASCAR Daytona Media Day:
MICHAEL WALTRIP, No. 15 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Premium Motorsports
So this is your last Daytona 500?
“Yes, it’s my 30th and final one and I just thought it was a cool place to run my last race. I’ve been thinking about calling it a day over the last couple years, and this just seemed like the perfect time to do it, so I’m looking forward to my opportunity to go out there and compete one last time and then sort of slow down I guess.”
Do you still get calls from teams inquiring?
“Yeah, anybody that has experience here and has sponsors is going to get a call I would think to run again, but this was a deal that we put together internally – Ty (Norris) and I did – with Toyota and Aaron’s to run my last race. So we picked Premium Motorsports with Jay (Robinson, co-owner) to put our sponsor on and he’s got some good folks over there and we’re looking forward to racing with him.”
Why not just leave open the possibility to race again?
“Well, when we ran last year’s Daytona 500, it didn’t go well. We didn’t run good and I guess we got into a little bit of a fender bender and messed up the car and I finished 30th I think and I just didn’t want to quit like that. I went to Talladega and we got a 12th place finish and I ran up front a little bit and then I decided we would just try to have one more competitive run down here this year. You’ve got to quit sometime and the partnership with Aaron’s has been important to me. They could wrap their arms around us doing a final race together. They made a commercial that aired on FS1, so I’m thankful for that and a bunch of the folks that have been with me – they’ve been my sponsor for I think 18 years, so a bunch of the folks that work there are going to come down and celebrate our last race together, so that was kind of important to me to share it with them.”
What do you think about when you come down here?
“You know, I try not to get reflective or nostalgic because it just – it’s too emotional. Mostly I just think about getting to race the car. I have faced a range of emotion that humans probably aren’t designed to face and in all happened within 10 seconds, so that’s hard to think about and it’s hard to figure out, but I love Daytona. I’ve been coming here since I was a kid, so every time we talk about coming to Daytona I get a big smile on my face, which is crazy, but that’s racing I guess.”
Is it going to be tough when you get out of the car to know that you’re not going to run again?
“You know, my daughter is coming – both my daughters are coming and I’ll have a lot of family here and obviously it’ll be different because we know that’ll be my last race. I don’t know how it’ll affect me. I’m looking forward to it though. I’m thankful that I get to drive – that’s something that I’ve really liked doing and people wonder why I would race more – but I drove a car here in 1986 and I have that car in my shop in North Carolina and I get to drive the technology of a 2017 NASCAR Cup car. It’s just – it’s crazy how different they are and I just like experiencing that and feeling that and seeing what the guys are up to on the track and being a part of a team and I’m a part of a TV – a team with the TV with FOX. I’ve got great teammates there and it’s just fun to experience what I did for so long one more time.”
Did you create your own identity within the Waltrip family by winning this race twice?
“You know, within the Waltrip family, I never was searching for identity, you know? I’m Margaret and Leroy’s little boy and my brother is Darrell. It certainly created my identity in the sport and it made my name relevant when it came to milestones or major accomplishments and so I’m thankful for that because I ran so many races before I finally won one that it was kind of getting to be a bummer. You know, when we close the books on this, it’ll say 11 XFINITY wins and one Camping World truck win, and it’ll definitely say four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup wins. Maybe it’ll say five, but I qualified 35th, so unless our strategy is we’ve got them right where we want them, they don’t even know we’re here, then we might be in a little bit of trouble on this one, but I’m looking forward to trying.”
How do you feel knowing Tony Stewart and Mark Martin never won the Daytona 500, but you did twice?
“Yeah, but they’re champions – everybody, like I said, that’s me. That’s my world. Tony is a three time champion and Mark is a Hall of Famer. I think those guys are fine. Certainly if you made any driver pick one, they would pick this one, so I’m thankful I have two of them.”
Is it in any way haunting knowing the circumstances of your first Daytona 500 win?
“It’s just what I live with. I wouldn’t call it haunting. It’s just my life. I accepted it and I think I said it very well the days after that race. I think I’m the – I think Dale’s (Earnhardt Sr.) – I think we’re designed, I think we have a number of days when we’re born that we’re going to live. Everybody has that number and that was Dale’s day, and me winning was the perfect person to win because I just wanted to give him the credit. I still honor him by giving him the credit and I will say also as I get older, as you think about your day coming up, it’s a pretty good day when you’re watching your two cars drive off to win the Daytona 500 and then you’re in heaven right after that. Obviously, I wish I could have got a hug from him and everything had have turned out different, but that’s just not the way it was meant to be.”
Can you talk about what it was like being associated with Toyota throughout their 10 years in the Cup Series?
“It was great. It was great because we started with my brother – I was driving for Dale (Earnhardt) or driving for DI, and Toyota wanted to come into the Truck Series. I got to know them really well through my brother, so when they started talking about Cup, they wanted me to be a part of that, which was awesome. I think Darrell and I took it as partly our responsibility to tell the world that this was a good thing for NASCAR, that Toyota, they have a plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, and they employ a lot of hard working Kentuckians and Americans all over our country to build their cars, and they just wanted to come race in NASCAR, and the money they spent marketing and on the cars and the teams and all those things feel like we’re something that would help the sport, and I’m thankful that they asked us to be a part of it.”
How do you think the rules changes will better the sport?
“Well, I like the idea of the stages because as a TV guy it just gives us more stuff to talk about, more moments. You know, we can build toward those stages. Now, a stage win isn’t a race win and hopefully people won’t try to stretch it into that. It might be the equivalent of getting a pole maybe, you know, because you get a point and some – get a playoff point and some points. I think it’s great and I’m looking forward to seeing these brilliant minds of the crew chiefs down on pit road figure out how to win the stage and win the race and not to jeopardize one or the other. Ultimately, the job will be the same as to win the last lap, win the race, but it’ll be fun to see them work around and try to take advantage of the stages, as well.”
How could NASCAR take the rules changes even further?
“I think the cars are too loud. I’d like to hear – I’d like to see NASCAR work with the manufacturers to – when I raced the 24 hours of Daytona or 24 hours of Le Mans, you’d hear a Ferrari come by and you’d know it was a Ferrari. I think it would be cool if a Ford sounded like a Ford, a Toyota like a Toyota and a Chevy a Chevy, and those manufacturers worked together with NASCAR just to make them sound cool. Right now they’re obnoxious and I guess I’ve gotten old because it really gets on my nerves, but that’s one thing. I think that could be cool add another element so the fans can identify with the cars better. I also think they should have brake lights so fans could see when they’re letting off, when they’re hitting the brakes and if and how. Those could be LED’s across the back windshields. What else did I think of last night when I was awake until 3:00 in the morning? I don’t know. I think it would be cool if the cars had paddle shifters, different transmissions and paddle shifters where maybe a six speed transmission, so when you go to Martinsville, when they go down to the corner, they could gear down and maybe they could quick turn in 10,000 rpm and turn 8,000 rpm, that would cost on the engine and then it would allow them to get off the corner with the grunt when they’re shifting the gears. Those are some things I think of and think would be cool, and then one last thing and then I’ll shut up and it’s kind of dumb, but all the roofs should be black and the roof numbers should be the same font. Maybe a Ford’s roof is blue, a Toyota roof is red and a Chevy roof is yellow, but they all should be the same and the numbers should be the same because I was at Charlotte watching the race from the infield, and I’ve been here for 30 years and I couldn’t tell who was who. You know, all the cars change all the time, and I just – I was thinking, man, if I could just tell the number, I’d see who’s running where, so that might be something that’s fun too.”
Is there anything that can be done about the cost of sponsorship?
“Well, what I said, I think yes. I think the idea of engines that turn less and maybe they run a couple or three races. More of a – less aerodynamic somehow. How you accomplish that I’m not sure, but that’s what everybody is spending money on is aero. Aero – like a steering arm used to be a steering arm. Now a steering arm is a steering arm that’s an aerodynamic pan. That’s just where it’s all going.”
How important is Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s comeback this year and this week?
“Well, I hope it means that he’s (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) competitive and he goes out there and has fun because he sure is fun to talk to these days. I’ve really enjoyed – last year I started talking to him early in the year about doing TV with us, and he was like, you know, Michael, I want to do TV, I want to do it with you, but I’m not sure I’m ready. Now he’s – he did the race in Michigan with us and he’s been in the NBC booth and will be back up with us again this week, and he’s just really energetic and really open and honest and is really cool to be around. He’s always been cool to be around if you know him, but it seems like he’s opened up to the world more, and so to see him go out there and win a race, I’d like to see that happen.”
Can you guess as to who’s next the next Cup driver other than you?
“No, because I don’t know who does what. But Jimmie (Johnson) moved to Aspen, didn’t he?”
Only part time.
“Is he (Jimmie Johnson) on his way? I don’t know. Seven championships, beautiful family. I don’t know. I think Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. is back, and he won’t – I don’t think he’ll be the next to retire, but I haven’t really given that a lot of thought.”
What can you say about the dominance of Jimmie Johnson?
“Well, last year was interesting because he (Jimmie Johnson) was nowhere near dominant and if you had have said 50 laps to go in Miami, is Jimmie Johnson going to get a seventh championship? You’d have said no way. Just racing, you know? Carl (Edwards) tried to block and right behind Carl trying to block, Jimmie was trying to block, as well, and if you watch the video, it’s awesome. You see Carl trying to block and he keeps trying to block, and at the same time, Jimmie was trying to block, and it’s like Jimmie said, ‘Uh, better not push any further,’ and Carl continued to block and Jimmie pulled up, and at the same moment, a big crash happened, and Jimmie was able to drive into position to win the race. It was great driving, and he’s a great competitor and a wonderful champion. I don’t think it’s bad for anything. I think it just gives somebody else – somebody we can talk about and who’s going to beat him, who’s going to dethrone him.”
What are your competitive goals?
“Well, I qualified 35th, so that’s not good. I think I qualified about there at Talladega in April last year and I finished 12th, so if I can figure out a way to get to the front, run up front and finish in the top 10, I would walk away proud.”
Will it be a time of reflection for you this whole week?
“You know, I’ve had a lot of time for reflection and I’ve been reflecting for a few years about this and what it – when it would come and what it would mean. You know, I quite honestly thought about just running my last race and not telling anyone, just say thank you all after it was over with, but Aaron’s really wanted to help. They wanted me to celebrate it. They wanted to help me celebrate it and they made a great commercial that aired on FS1 during the Clash and the other activities last weekend, so I’m just – you know, I’m thankful that they cared, and that makes me happy, and my friends at Toyota as well.”
Does it matter that your second Daytona 500 win was rain shortened?
“Well, I know I got the trophy and the check and they didn’t shorten either one of those. You know, so obviously I would rather the highlight of my Daytona 500 win be like Denny’s when he makes that beautiful move and wins the race, but you know, that’s just not the way it is. I know on that day the fastest car won the Daytona 500. We led the most laps and we were the fastest car. The interesting thing about a rain shortened race – you can ask Chris Buescher – a lot of times the fastest car don’t win the rain shortened race because people stay out and people take chances and catch the rain and they win the race and on that day we were not only the fastest car all day, we put ourselves in a position to be – and we didn’t just – we didn’t happen into it. You know, we drove our way into position to be leading when the rains came.”
How would you like other drivers to remember you?
“Just a fun guy, friendly guy, nice to old people and kids – even nice to the media.”
You’re in the media now.
“I don’t know if I accept that or not, but I just – I want to know – I want people to know that all that is just part of who I am. I’m really serious about my work and my sport and I’m a student of it and I study it, but I just like to have fun, so I deliver my – I try to deliver my stories with a smile.”
Why did you decide this should be your final Daytona 500?
“I thought 30 was a cool number and, you know, the last one was coming some day and Aaron’s wanted to help me celebrate it and Toyota, so that’s why.”
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Have you ever run out of gas in a race and in real life?
“Well, I was running second to Mike McLaughlin in Charlotte in ’90 something and I come off Turn 2 and I made a move around him and I passed him. I’m like, ‘Holy crap, that was an awesome move,’ and I looked up in the mirror and he was out of gas. I’m like, maybe it wasn’t such a good move. I thought I set him up perfect, so he ran out of gas. I think it was Charlotte 2000.”
Have you ever run out of gas not in a race?
“I have in my Toyota because I was curious I was really near a gas station, but I was curious how far the hybrid would take me if I ran out of gas and the answer is about from here to that wall right there, so I ran out of gas and it hybrided me right up to the edge and then I had to get a couple buddies to push me in. But the fans shouldn’t run out of gas. They don’t have anything to gain. You stretch it in NASCAR, you might win a race and if you stretch it getting to the grocery store your kids might not get any groceries, so don’t do that. And also don’t get angry when you’re driving on the road. What if that person that cut you off is late for work and has kids at home? Let them cut you off. Just live with it.”
Do you have any advice to young drivers coming in now?
“Yeah, just have fun. You know, we’re in the entertainment business. We’re here for people to set down and watch and smile and enjoy it. And you don’t have to be cool. You can be cool, but you need to be fun, and you need to be outgoing and energetic, and you need to be able to tell your story with some flair. You know, if I could have created a race car driver, I think I would have created William Byron. He’s all that, and he’s a sweet, nice kid, got a great family, and then he showed up and he learned how to drive on a computer, and it all everything he learned on that computer worked right in a car. He’s a really amazing talent. I’m looking forward to seeing who the next where William goes and how much success he has, and then I would have said the same thing about Erik Jones just a couple years ago. Erik has been I think Erik is going to be a NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series winner this year.”
What has Daytona meant to you?
“Well, I wrote a book in 2011 that made the New York Times Bestseller List, and I like to tell people I never read a New York Times Bestseller, but I wrote one, so that’s pretty good. It talked about when I was a kid, I would be at my elementary school in Kentucky, and my mom and dad would show up to get me on Wednesday to they’d get me at noon on Wednesday and we would drive all night to be down here for the Twins on Thursday. It was awesome.”
Did you sleep in the car?
“I’d sleep in the car.”
They didn’t have seatbelts back then?
“No, and I slept on the back up in the window, and they would smoke cigarettes and I couldn’t see where I was going, but it was the best 12 hours, 14 hours ever because I knew what was going to where I would be when I got there. It was I got a great picture of me as a 12 year old in a sport coat. I don’t know what I was thinking, about Richard Petty and Bobby Allison and just couldn’t believe I was going to couldn’t get over coming to Daytona and seeing those beautiful bank turns. I kid people, I didn’t have I didn’t try to steal my dad’s Playboys, I tried to steal his Stock Car Racing magazine, cut all the pictures out of it. That’s just the way I grew up. Even despite the terrible loss that we all experienced here and the friends that have passed and the races that have been taken away, it’s still my favorite place.”
How can we get sponsorship numbers to be more in line?
“Well, I mean, that’s a great question. I think what I said earlier about the engines would cut costs. I also think that race fans can’t see the millions of dollars that are being spent engineering these cars. They just can’t see it. They can see their favorite driver driving a Toyota and a Ford and a Chevy, and what’s under it has just gotten out of control, and how you rein that back in can be debated by many, but I don’t understand I’m a big fan of NASCAR building a chassis on a computer and send it out for bids and say, you know, Joe Gibbs Racing, this is the chassis; you want to build it, Richard Childress, you want to build it, Hendrick, you want to build it, and this is a steering arm and this is a truck arm, and let the teams take the pieces and put them together, but make a car be a car for three years. If it’s safe and performs well, then why keep spending money on it?”
Does it say something about the health of the sport that the title sponsor was so much less than Danica’s?
“I don’t know those details. I’ve never read that. I’m sure it can be I’m sure there’s a lot of upside to it, as well.”
Why is it so difficult to win back to back Daytona 500s?
“Well, we might see it this year. Denny obviously was in a position to win Sunday, so we could very well see it this year. I know, like I had the best chance ever in ’02, and we I finished fifth, but that’s not the that’s just what the results say. But part of my suspension fell off my car and went through Jr.’s radiator, took him out, and my car just drove terrible all day long, and we were the best car in ’02, and then we finished fifth. So it’s always something. This race is so difficult, and anything in the world can happen, and you just it’s hard to predict. But Denny is going to be Denny could be the guy that does it.”
