No. 66 BlueDEF Toyota driver Michael Waltrip heads to Talladega Superspeedway for his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of 2014.
The Owensboro, Ky., native saw his bid for a third Daytona 500 victory end in a lap 144 crash in February. Waltrip nearly won the October 2012 Talladega race before a last lap wreck took him out of contention.
In 55 starts at Talladega Waltrip owns one win (September 2003), eight top-five and 16 top-10 finishes. He has also led 233 laps.
MICHAEL WALTRIP: “I have had the same strategy lately. I start the race and run in the back for a little while to get my legs under me. I want to make sure I understand how the car is handling and what it’s like to be out there drafting. I use the first quarter of the race as warm up. I make sure I understand all the intricacies of how the air is working on that particular day and how to use the air to my advantage. Then I try and go hard at the last half. I like to split it up into four quarters. The first one is sort of warm up, second quarter I try to get in the middle of the pack, third I try and lead for a few laps and be around at the end.
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