Nextel Cup Series

PERSONAL Birthdate: April 30, 1963 Hometown: Owensboro, Ky. Resides: Sherrills Ford, N.C. Marital Status: Married (Elizabeth “Buffy”) Children: Caitlin (1/2/90), Margaret (9/29/97) Hobbies: Distance running, golf, tennis, boating

HIGHLIGHTS Two-time Daytona 500 champion (2001, '03) One of only eight drivers to win two or more Daytona 500s Ended 463-race winless streak with victory in 2001 Daytona 500 1983 NASCAR Goody’s Dash Series champion

YEAR-BY-YEAR NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES RECAP 2004 Finished 20th in series points. Disappointing season started with 38th-place finish in Daytona 500. Highest spot in points after that was 16th. Best finish was a second in Coca-Cola 600; best start was second in Talladega spring event and Daytona summer race. Had fourth-place runs in two non-points events, the first 125-mile qualifier for the Daytona 500 and the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge. Failed to have a top-10 finish in any of the four restrictor-plate points events. 2003 Finished 15th in series points. Won Daytona 500 for the second time in three seasons, becoming one of only eight drivers to win the series’ most prestigious race two or more times. Recorded first multiple-win season of his career by adding a victory at Talladega in September. Led points following third-place finish at Las Vegas, and stood firmly in the NASCAR Top 10 for 27 race weeks until bad luck hampered last third of his season. His 10 finishes of 26th or worse in the last 13 races – which included all six of his DNFs – relegated him to his final points standing, yet still posted series career highs in winnings ($4,463,845) and top fives (eight) and registered the most top 10s (11) since 1996. Exceeded $20 million mark in career earnings. Also drove part-time NASCAR Busch Series schedule (20 races), winning at Bristol in August. 2002 Finished 14th in series points. Continued to show dominance in restrictor plate races winning at Daytona in July and was fifth at the Daytona 500 after winning a Gatorade 125 event. Recorded finishes of second and eighth, respectively, at Talladega. After a slow start, surged from 24th to 12th in the points with three of his four total top fives and six of his 10 top-10 finishes within a nine-race span beginning with a second-place effort at Talladega in April. Finished up the year in a consistent fashion with seven top-15 finishes in the final 14 events. Points finish was highest in six years (14th in 1996). Ended speculation about his future by signing a four-year deal with DEI in July. Earned two outside poles – Watkins Glen and Michigan – MIS start was his best since an outside pole at Las Vegas in 1999. 2001 Finished 24th in series points. Won his first series race in 463 career starts at the Daytona 500. Finished second to teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., at Daytona five months later. Was second at Homestead in first season with DEI for a total of three top fives; his two runner-up efforts were his first since 1988, at that point his best finish in the series. Posted $3,411,644 in winnings, his career best at the time. 2000 Finished 27th in series points. Had one top-five finish, a season-best third at Martinsville in April. Ran season’s first 19 races for Jim Mattei and finished driving for Jim Smith. 1999 Finished 29th in series points. First season with Mattei Motorsports produced his first top-five finish in three years, a fifth-place effort at the Daytona 500. Also recorded two top 10s. Career-high 10 DNFs. 1998 Finished 17th in series points. In his final season with the Wood Brothers, managed five top-10 finishes including a season-best sixth to open the season at Daytona. Had string of 387 consecutive starts snapped when he failed to qualify at Phoenix. 1997 Finished 18th in series points. Six top-10 finishes included four seventh-place efforts Best start of the season (sixth) came on the Infineon road course. 1996 Finished 14th in series points in his first year with the Wood Brothers. Won The Winston, becoming the first driver to win the all-star event since transferring from the Winston Open. Earned one top five in April at Talladega, to go along with 10 top 10s. Earned $1 million in a season for the first time in his career. 1995 Finished 12th in series points, tying his career best set the season prior. Final season with Chuck Rider, ending an eight-year association. Secured a pair of top-five finishes along with six top 10s. 1994 Finished 12th in series points, his career best in the standings. Finished third at Talladega, and posted one other top-five finish; also had eight top 10s. Started on the outside pole at Charlotte in October. 1993 Finished 17th in series points. Posted five top-10 finishes, including a season-best seventh at Talladega in July. 1992 Finished 23rd in series points, his first finish outside the top 20 in his career. One top-five and two top-10 finishes in a season of struggles that included eight DNFs. 1991 Finished 15th in series points, at the time his career-best. Earned first two pole positions of his series career within a four-race span (the July races at Dover and Michigan). Finished in the top five four times and in the top 10 a career-best 12 times. 1990 Finished 16th in series points. Then-career-high five top-five finishes and totaled 10 top-10 efforts. 1989 Finished 18th in series points. Earned five top-10 finishes despite nine DNFs in 29 starts. 1988 Finished 18th in points in first season driving for Chuck Rider. His runner-up finish at Pocono in June was a then-best career effort. Had one other top-10 finish. 1987 Finished 20th in series points. Earned first career top-10 with a 10th-place finish at the Martinsville spring race. 1986 Finished 19th in series points in his first full season in the series driving for Dick Bahre. Runner-up to Alan Kulwicki for Rookie of the Year honors. Best finishes were 11th-place efforts at Martinsville in April and at Pocono in July. 1985 Finished 57th in series points after running only five races. First series start came in Coca-Cola on May 27 and was a great day for the Waltrip clan as brother Darrell won the event in Michael’s inaugural Cup race; Michael finished 28th.

PREVIOUS RACING HISTORY Began racing in go-karts in the mid-1970s and won numerous races. Started in stock cars in 1981. Kentucky Motor Speedway champion in Mini-Modified Division. Won NASCAR Goody’s Dash Series championship in 1983 and was named the series’ Most Popular Driver in 1983 and ’84. Still a regular in the NASCAR Busch Series. Owns, manages and drives the No. 99 Aaron’s Sales & Lease Chevrolet in the NASCAR Busch Series.

NOTEWORTHY Cites winning The Winston in 1996 and a NASCAR Busch Series race at Bristol in 1993 as top memories; after taking the first-ever backward victory lap in memory of Alan Kulwicki at Bristol, he proposed in Victory Lane to his wife, Buffy. An avid distance runner,Waltrip has competed in several marathons including the prestigious Boston Marathon. He also had the honor of being a torch bearer in the 2002 Olympic Torch Relay to Salt Lake City. Waltrip lived with Richard and Lynda Petty when he first moved to North Carolina from his native Kentucky in order to establish himself in Winston Cup racing. Younger brother of three-time series champion Darrell Waltrip. Avid Kentucky Wildcats basketball fan.