| | Associated Press
MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Winless in 454 Winston Cup races,
Michael Waltrip is expecting to finally find his way to Victory
Lane as an employee of Dale Earnhardt Inc.
Waltrip, ranked fifth on the all-time list of racing futility,
became the third Winston Cup driver in The Intimidator's garage
Wednesday when Earnhardt announced he would expand his team in
2001.
"The pressure is on him to win," Earnhardt said. "But why he
hasn't won a race yet is circumstantial. He has a lot of credits to
his name and the mix is there, so he is definitely going to be a
winner."
Waltrip, younger brother of three-time Winston Cup champion
Darrell Waltrip and a 15-year NASCAR veteran, will join Dale
Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Park as drivers for DEI. Earnhardt, a
seven-time Winston Cup champion, drives his Chevrolet Monte Carlo
for Richard Childress Racing.
Since Earnhardt Jr. has two wins this season and Park has one,
Waltrip said he realized what would be expected of him. Waltrip now
leads all active drivers with the most starts without a victory.
"I can't tell you how great I feel," Waltrip said. "The track
record here with Dale Jr. and Steve Park being successful, I think
we're going to be a winner before too long."
The move signifies an end to Earnhardt's 18-year association
with the Busch Grand National Series. DEI has fielded a Busch car
since 1982, but is giving it up next season in favor of three
Winston Cup cars.
Since the engines and setups differ between Busch and Winston
Cup cars, Earnhardt said he wasn't able to gain anything by having
a Busch car. Now that the third team will be a Winston Cup car, he
said all three teams can exchange information.
Ron Hornaday, who now drives the Busch car for DEI, wasn't
considered to stay in the car when it moves to Winston Cup next
season, Earnhardt said.
"There will be other opportunities for Ron," Earnhardt said.
"I just felt that going with Mike was the best thing to do. I was
more comfortable with a veteran. I don't like to wait too long to
win."
Earnhardt and Waltrip had discussed merging earlier this season,
but no deal was ever worked out. Waltrip then agreed in July to a
one-year contract extension with his current owner, Jim Smith of
Ultra Motorsports.
But Smith, who was already planning to switch from Chevrolets to
Fords, began looking into using Dodge cars next season and Waltrip
wasn't thrilled with the manufacturer change.
Meanwhile, Earnhardt convinced NAPA Auto Parts -- the sponsor of
the Busch car -- to sponsor the car on the Winston Cup series last
Friday. He told Waltrip he had a deal in place and was still
interested in hiring him as his driver.
"Jimmy's situation changed, so when Dale called I felt like
this was an opportunity to get into a situation that was going to
be the answer to my problems," Waltrip said.
Waltrip is 28th in the standings. He's never placed in the top
10 in the final standings, but has only finished outside the top 20
twice. He has one top-five finish this year and one top-10. | |
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Dale Earnhardt says Michael Waltrip has the ability to be a winner.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Michael Waltrip welcomes the opportunity to race for Dale Earnhardt Inc.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Michael Waltrip discusses his agreement with his current team Ultra Motorsports.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Dale Earnhardt feels Ron Hornaday will have more opportunities available to him.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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