Waltrip will be going for a record-tying third straight Daytona victory Saturday night in the Pepsi 400. The feat has not been accomplished since 1967-68 when Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough sandwiched two July victories around the 1968 Daytona 500.
"I don't feel invincible at all, but I do feel like before it's all said and done that I'll be part of the story (Saturday night)," said Waltrip, who drives for Dale Earnhardt Inc.
The younger brother of retired three-time Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip is having a career year.
Since starting the season with his second Daytona 500 victory, the younger Waltrip has driven consistently and is fifth in the series standings. There have been no more wins, but Waltrip has four top-five finishes, six top-10s and has completed each of the 16 races.
Waltrip, who also won the 2001 Daytona 500, isn't getting caught up in the hype about a third straight Cup victory on Daytona's 2 1/2-mile oval. He simply wants another win.
"You don't worry about stuff like (the record) until it's done," he said. "That's not what motivates you. What motivates you is to try to beat everyone else.
"I never really thought about being a two-time Daytona 500 champion. I was just there to win the Daytona 500."
His winning ways at Daytona have coincided with being part of DEI, a team that has dominated in recent years here and at Talladega Superspeedway, the two tracks where NASCAR requires the use of carburetor restrictor plates to keep the cars under 200 mph.
No other team spends more time on development of the horsepower-sapping restrictor plates than DEI, and it has paid off. DEI has won eight of the last 10 plate races at Daytona and Talladega.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who seemingly inherited the expertise of his late father in restrictor-plate racing, has won the other five, including four in a row at Talladega.
Junior's only win here came in July 2001, the year his father was killed in a crash during the Daytona 500. Even though his teammate has been the one winning most of the races here, Earnhardt would love to win for the second time at Daytona.
"I just like racing on the restrictor-plate tracks," Earnhardt said. "I like the tracks. I like the speed. I like racing in the close packs, bumper to bumper.
"It's a little bit different than what we normally do throughout the year. I don't feel like I get enough of it."
He'll get two chances at victory this week. Earnhardt also will race Friday night in the Winn-Dixie 250 Busch series event. He swept both the Busch and Cup races earlier this season at Talladega.
Waltrip also will race in both Daytona events, and two wins are not out of the question.
Waltrip said he isn't expecting it to be easy, though, even if he can beat his teammate.
"We will definitely be part of the story and be one of the cars that you'll have to beat to win," he said.
Winston Cup practice gets under way Thursday with qualifying for the 43-car field to follow.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2003/7/176755