Michael Waltrip's new crew raced for the championship in 2004, and he hopes that experience will propel him into the Chase for the Cup this year. Credit: Autostock

Preview: Waltrip

Crew shakeup has team focused on earning a berth in the Chase

No matter how it turns out, it's likely that the 2005 Nextel Cup Series will be a life-changing experience for Michael Waltrip.

Waltrip will start the season with his third crew chief in less than a year. Tony Eury Jr., who was car chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s six-win season in 2004, will take the reins of the No. 15 team from Pete Rondeau, who took them from Slugger Labbe.

That change means higher expectations for the NAPA bunch.

	Michael Waltrip Credit: Autostock
	VIDEO 2004 Highlights Six DNFs and only nine top 10s played a large role in Waltrip's 20th-place finish in the points. •   Waltrip: '04 in Review

How high? Just ask Dale Earnhardt Incorporated's director of motorsports Richie Gilmore.

"Michael would love to retire at DEI, and [owner] Teresa [Earnhardt] would love to have him retire here," Gilmore said in November. "But we have to get to another level. We need to be in the Chase for NAPA and DEI."

Waltrip, who went winless in 2004, doesn't need that directive spelled out for him.

"I don't know how to answer it other than I would expect to be (in the Chase)," Waltrip said. "If I'm not there, I would almost bet or guess that if I'm not in the top 10 or showing signs of being a winning driver by April or May, I probably won't be at DEI in 2006."

If Waltrip does make the top 10, it would be a first in his 20-year Cup career. His best finishes were in 1994 and '95 when he finished 12th. What's more, he has yet to win a points race not held at Daytona or Talladega in his entire career.

Still, with all the history that seems to be against him, Waltrip remained the eternal optimist after completing his preseason testing runs at Daytona.

"It's been a lot of fun working with the Eury's and Tony, Jr., especially," Waltrip said. "It's a pretty special feeling to team up with a bunch of guys who just chased for a championship and won five or six races.

"When you look at the credentials of the car for 2005, there are a bunch of guys who expect to go to Victory Lane. For me, that's the best part."

Waltrip finished the opening week of testing 12th of the 26 drivers that took laps -- hardly a world-beating performance. That notwithstanding, Waltrip said the team got what it wanted out of the test laps.

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"The thing I've said about driving for DEI is that we're just here collecting information," he said. "We'll get it all together and sorted out and probably head to Talladega before we head back here.

"This is just part of the process. We generally wind up close to where we need to be when it counts."

Clearly, Waltrip's strength in 2005 will continue to be the restrictor-plate tracks that he's done so well on in the past. The difference has to come on the short and intermediate tracks that dominate the schedule.

In 2004, Waltrip's best finish on such a tracks was second at the Coca-Cola 600. Solid, to be sure, but Waltrip's average finish in 2004 -- even when you factor in a pair of second-place finishes at restrictor-plate tracks -- was a dismal 19.2.

That has to change, or other things will.

Still, Waltrip sees the glass as at least half full.

"When you're not successful, people look at the driver and say, 'what's wrong with him?' and sometimes the drivers look back and wonder 'what makes you think you're not the problem?' Sometimes you get a situation where you try to understand what's going wrong.

"As I go into 2005, it's the most optimistic I could be, considering that I'm teaming with guys who just raced for a championship. I'm thankful I have that opportunity."

• Click here for 2005 Driver Previews.