Michael Waltrip Takes NASCAR History To The World At Goodwood Festival of Speed in England

CORNELIUS, N.C. – This weekend Michael Waltrip climbs back behind the wheel of the No. 15 NAPA AUTO PARTS car in front of 150,000 global motorsports enthusiasts at the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed in England.

The annual festival is a hill climb featuring historic motor racing vehicles. Waltrip drove the familiar blue and yellow NAPA AUTO PARTS car to Daytona 500 victories in 2001 and 2003. Waltrip races a part-time schedule now and devotes nearly all of his attention to his Michael Waltrip Racing team that fields cars for drivers David Reutimann and Martin Truex Jr in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series.

Waltrip left for England on Tuesday.  

“We’re taking a trip down memory lane this weekend and we’re going all the way to jolly old England to do it,” laughed Waltrip. “This is an honor. Just about everybody in the world knows about Goodwood and legendary cars that are on display. I’m honored they asked me to make a few runs and it’s also cool that (Michael Waltrip Racing co-owner) Rob Kauffman will make some runs too.”

The Goodwood Festival has become one of the largest and most diverse motorsports events in the world. The festival includes everything from modern concept cars to historical vehicles dating back to 1902, along with racecars from all disciplines. NASCAR stock cars, Formula 1 Grand Prix racers, Le Mans style cars and various forms of motorcycles and will all make their run up the hill at Goodwood.

Waltrip said sharing his and NASCAR’s history is important as the sport grows globally. The No. 15 occupies a prime place in NASCAR history. In five Daytona races from 2001 to 2003, Waltrip posted three victories, a second and a fifth-place finish – a streak unmatched in Daytona history.

“The 2003 Daytona 500 winner is my favorite of all the cars I have raced over 25 years and this weekend commemorates the success we had in the No. 15,” he said. “I’m proud of what I accomplished in the car and proud that I can show it to fans who probably haven’t been able to attend one of our races.”

Some of the NASCAR’s most famous names like Waltrip’s brother Darrell Waltrip, Richard Petty, David Pearson, Bobby Allison and Smokey Yunick also made appearances at Goodwood since the festival’s inception in 1993.

After Goodwood, Waltrip and Kauffman plan to race in the 24 Hours of Spa on Aug. 2. The pair teamed up to race the AFCorse Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Dubai in January.

Follow updates on Waltrip’s Goodwood trip at www.michaelwaltripracing.com, on Twitter at @mw55 and @mwrteam and on facebook.com/michaelwaltripracing.