The 1996 season was a year of firsts for 12-year Winston Cup Veteran Michael Waltrip. This was his first season driving for the Wood Brothers, his first season racing the Ford Thunderbird, and his first taste of victory at the Winston Cup level. It is safe to say that Waltrip scored on of the biggest and dramatic upsets of the 1996 Winston Cup season. The Charlotte Motor Speedway, where the Wood Brothers have 6 victories and 20 poles, would be the site of Waltrip's breakthrough event. Waltrip's ticket into The Winston Select, was a fifth place finish in the Winston Open qualifying event. After starting last in a 20-car field, Waltrip stormed up through the pack and became the first driver in the event's history to win after advancing from the Winston Open. During the last 10-lap sprint, Waltrip snatched the lead away from Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte who were racing side by side at the front of the field. "I've seen it on TV a hundred times. That's what happens if two cars get side by side. I knew neither of them were going to give an inch and they were probably going to end up over doing it. I wanted to have room to duck to the inside and I hoped when I got in front I would be strong enough to win the thing," he said. Waltrip was strong enough to win and for beating the best of the best he took home $211,200.00, easily the largest pay check of his career. Waltrip has been a winner from the first day he stepped into an automobile. His first car-ever was a Mercury Capri, a four-cylinder he drove to seven wins in 20 starts and a track championship in 1981 at his hometown track in Owensboro, KY. He was the NASCAR Dash Series champion in 1983, and he was named that division's Most Popular Driver in 1983 and 1984. Waltrip started competing in the Busch Series in 1988. Waltrip made his Winston Cup debut in 1985 with a team owned by Dick Bahre. The team became Bahari Racing with owners being Chuck Rider and Lowrance Harry, who bought out Bahre in '88. Waltrip, who was joined by brother Darrell in victory lane at Charlotte, was asked what his brother has meant to his career, Waltrip said, "I have followed his entire career and I think he showed me I could do it too. He showed me by example and it's probably the most important factor to where I am today." As Darrell congratulated Michael in victory lane at Charlotte, Darrell borrowed a line from a popular television commercial at the time and simply said, "I love you man." Waltrip, in his 11th full season, went over one million dollars in single season earnings for the first time in his career and along with his victory in The Winston Select, had one top 5 and 11 top 10s. After his first season with the Wood Brothers, Waltrip feels this team is capable of being a championship team. "I think in order to win a championship you have to prove you can win races. You have to win races before you can win a championship. The Wood Brothers and I learned a lot about each other this year and we'll take what we learned and move to the next level." As Waltrip enters his second full season in the CITGO Ford, his intensity and desire have never been higher and after getting a sample of success, this year his fair share may be just around the corner. Since beginning his career at Charlotte in May 1985, Waltrip said the sport has changed as much as he has in 11 years. The days of drivers living and working in anonymity and enjoying pressure-free lives are as far gone as Waltrip's bachelor days pinching pennies to go racing. In 1974, as an 11-year old, Waltrip decided his life's profession only seconds after he climbed in a go-cart near his Owensboro, Kentucky home. Dreams of being like his brother Darrell and winning races against the likes of Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough and David Pearson preoccupied his mind during his teenage years. He told everyone who asked, and "several who didn't want to know," that he was going to be a race car driver. He pursued his dream on the race tracks of Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee. After winning the dash series championship for NASCAR sub-compact cars in 1983 and winning poles and races in that series in 1984, an unemployed Waltrip left Kentucky and moved to North Carolina to live with Richard and Lynda Petty. As NASCAR plays to larger audiences and more venues, Waltrip acknowledges that he has grown as well. He has moved on from rooming at the Petty household to providing for wife Buffy and daughter Caitlin. He knows if a few acts of kindness or fate had been different, he might have stayed in Kentucky working a 9-to-5 job. A good life, but not what Michael dreamed about as an 11-year-old. On his 1996 Winston Select victory, Waltrip said, "I learned something a long time ago, when you're at the front, you have to be steady - you have to be smooth and you have to run your race. I just wanted to run competitively."
Entering the 1997 season, the resident of Sherrills Ford, N.C., had seven career NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division wins and ten poles. In 91 career starts on the circuit, he also has 30 top-5s and 38 top-10s. The Band-Aid team is in its second season of existence. Waltrip is excited about the developing partnership. "We're prepared and ready to go, thatnks to Band-Aid Brand Adhesive Bandages," he said. "We've added an additional building to store parts and pieces thanks to their financial commitment. That gives us more room to work on the cars--cars that are going to win races."
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