DOVER, Del. - Michael Waltrip finally has some driver points this season.
The owner/driver competed in only one race prior to Monday's Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway, but a NASCAR penalty following the Daytona 500 has left him sitting with minus 27 points since that season-opening race. He failed to qualify for 11 straight races prior to the Dover event.
He erased that deficit when he qualified for his second race of the season and finished 28th Monday.
"We didn't have a very good run, but the pit crew got to practice, and we got to learn," Waltrip said. "I had a flat tire and messed up my car really bad at the end, but I was still able to hold off the guy I was racing for position. That's a baby step. At least I'm not minus points in the drivers standings now - I've got that going for me."
With teammate Dale Jarrett also struggling - he blew an engine in the race - and David Reutimann failing to make the field, Waltrip and his team need all the time on the track they can find. What they discovered at Dover was that the team needed to try something different with its cars of tomorrow.
"I hate that we got ourselves in this position where we don't really know which end is up," Waltrip said. "The way DJ ran today - and we were competitive at times - we now know this set-up here doesn't work.
"So, we can mark that one off the list. We can go back to work and figure out how to get our cars to turn."
The owner/driver competed in only one race prior to Monday's Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway, but a NASCAR penalty following the Daytona 500 has left him sitting with minus 27 points since that season-opening race. He failed to qualify for 11 straight races prior to the Dover event.
He erased that deficit when he qualified for his second race of the season and finished 28th Monday.
"We didn't have a very good run, but the pit crew got to practice, and we got to learn," Waltrip said. "I had a flat tire and messed up my car really bad at the end, but I was still able to hold off the guy I was racing for position. That's a baby step. At least I'm not minus points in the drivers standings now - I've got that going for me."
With teammate Dale Jarrett also struggling - he blew an engine in the race - and David Reutimann failing to make the field, Waltrip and his team need all the time on the track they can find. What they discovered at Dover was that the team needed to try something different with its cars of tomorrow.
"I hate that we got ourselves in this position where we don't really know which end is up," Waltrip said. "The way DJ ran today - and we were competitive at times - we now know this set-up here doesn't work.
"So, we can mark that one off the list. We can go back to work and figure out how to get our cars to turn."
