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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The first rap on Michael Waltrip was that he couldn't win in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. An 0-for-462 run will do that.
Now, three victories later, Waltrip has developed the reputation that he can only win on the big tracks. And Waltrip can live with that. Two Daytona 500 titles soothe hurt feelings remarkably.
At the same time, though, Waltrip and his team figure this is the year they'll win at a track other than Daytona International Speedway - maybe Atlanta, or New Hampshire, or Bristol, Tenn. - and even contend for a Winston Cup championship.
"We'll win races at a lot of places and a lot of races," Waltrip said Monday before the car with which he won his second 500 was turned over to the speedway's museum.
"Last year if you had predicted at this point Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman as title contenders, people would have laughed at you. So this year, don't be too surprised if we don't find ourselves in that position, as well."
While those three young drivers combined to win eight races and finish within 200 points of Tony Stewart in the title chase, Waltrip, a 17-year veteran, and his second-year team quietly built momentum.
Two engine failures early in the year set Waltrip back in the standings, but a victory in the Pepsi 400 here last July set the tone for a solid second half. He finished the year 14th in the standings, up 13 spots from the year before and his best in six years.
Optimism on the day after the Daytona 500 is as predictable as the gulls pecking at chicken bones in the infield or the line of RVs creeping away from the track. But Waltrip, 39, bases his on two factors that seem to make it reasonable.
The first is the progress crew chief Richard "Slugger" Labbe has made in molding a team and the second is the new Chevrolet Monte Carlo, which Waltrip and the Dale Earnhardt Inc. team played a large role in developing.
Labbe came on board in the middle of the 2001 season and provided a stabilizing hand following the death of owner Dale Earnhardt and the departure of pit boss Scott Eggleston.
"We had a lot of growing pains," Waltrip said. "In 2002, we established a decent foundation and felt like we were close to a decent team, not great by any stretch, but close to getting the consistency we need to contend each week.
"Now, the natural progression of that would be a title contender this year, at least be a team that's going to win more than one race and win some poles and do a lot of good things."
To win races and poles, Waltrip will need a strong car. DEI has proved its strength at Daytona, where a slick car and a few extra horsepower are key. Labbe believes he can provide front-running equipment, as well, for the short and intermediate tracks that dominate the circuit.
The secrets to success on those tracks are handling and aerodynamics. The new Monte Carlo body generates more down force on its nose, meaning the front tires should adhere to the racetrack more efficiently, and the car should be faster through the corners.
The team has tested the new cars tirelessly and has another session set for this week.
"There's no substitute for down force," Labbe said. "We got to the wind tunnel all the time. We were just in there Tuesday and Wednesday of last week . . . constantly changing the cars to get them the best we can. But the car out of the box is a lot better than we had last year.
"We've cut off five or six bodies already because we keep getting better and better as we go, and we're not going to take inferior equipment to the racetrack."
Waltrip likes to point out that all of his nine victories in the Busch Series came at racetracks where NASCAR doesn't use restrictor plates and three of them were earned on short tracks.
"I think I can do the job wherever we are," Waltrip said. "It takes me a little bit of time to get up and running. And until I get where I need to be, Daytona's all right."
Now, three victories later, Waltrip has developed the reputation that he can only win on the big tracks. And Waltrip can live with that. Two Daytona 500 titles soothe hurt feelings remarkably.
At the same time, though, Waltrip and his team figure this is the year they'll win at a track other than Daytona International Speedway - maybe Atlanta, or New Hampshire, or Bristol, Tenn. - and even contend for a Winston Cup championship.
"We'll win races at a lot of places and a lot of races," Waltrip said Monday before the car with which he won his second 500 was turned over to the speedway's museum.
"Last year if you had predicted at this point Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman as title contenders, people would have laughed at you. So this year, don't be too surprised if we don't find ourselves in that position, as well."
While those three young drivers combined to win eight races and finish within 200 points of Tony Stewart in the title chase, Waltrip, a 17-year veteran, and his second-year team quietly built momentum.
Two engine failures early in the year set Waltrip back in the standings, but a victory in the Pepsi 400 here last July set the tone for a solid second half. He finished the year 14th in the standings, up 13 spots from the year before and his best in six years.
Optimism on the day after the Daytona 500 is as predictable as the gulls pecking at chicken bones in the infield or the line of RVs creeping away from the track. But Waltrip, 39, bases his on two factors that seem to make it reasonable.
The first is the progress crew chief Richard "Slugger" Labbe has made in molding a team and the second is the new Chevrolet Monte Carlo, which Waltrip and the Dale Earnhardt Inc. team played a large role in developing.
Labbe came on board in the middle of the 2001 season and provided a stabilizing hand following the death of owner Dale Earnhardt and the departure of pit boss Scott Eggleston.
"We had a lot of growing pains," Waltrip said. "In 2002, we established a decent foundation and felt like we were close to a decent team, not great by any stretch, but close to getting the consistency we need to contend each week.
"Now, the natural progression of that would be a title contender this year, at least be a team that's going to win more than one race and win some poles and do a lot of good things."
To win races and poles, Waltrip will need a strong car. DEI has proved its strength at Daytona, where a slick car and a few extra horsepower are key. Labbe believes he can provide front-running equipment, as well, for the short and intermediate tracks that dominate the circuit.
The secrets to success on those tracks are handling and aerodynamics. The new Monte Carlo body generates more down force on its nose, meaning the front tires should adhere to the racetrack more efficiently, and the car should be faster through the corners.
The team has tested the new cars tirelessly and has another session set for this week.
"There's no substitute for down force," Labbe said. "We got to the wind tunnel all the time. We were just in there Tuesday and Wednesday of last week . . . constantly changing the cars to get them the best we can. But the car out of the box is a lot better than we had last year.
"We've cut off five or six bodies already because we keep getting better and better as we go, and we're not going to take inferior equipment to the racetrack."
Waltrip likes to point out that all of his nine victories in the Busch Series came at racetracks where NASCAR doesn't use restrictor plates and three of them were earned on short tracks.
"I think I can do the job wherever we are," Waltrip said. "It takes me a little bit of time to get up and running. And until I get where I need to be, Daytona's all right."