Michael Waltrip beat out Dale Earnhardt, Terry Labonte and Rusty Wallace. Credit: Autostock

Waltrip remembers perfect all-star weekend

Outdueled three series champions in '96 en route to first Cup victory

For Michael Waltrip, 1996 was the perfect season. A perfectly historic season.

Ten years ago, Waltrip cracked $1 million in earnings for the first time, posted a then career-high 11 top-10 finishes and finished 14th in the Cup standings, also a career high at that time.

But nothing compares to what happened in that season's all-star race (then called the Winston Select), when Waltrip became the first -- and only -- driver to transfer from the Open race and win the weekend's main event.

2001 FLASHBACK Jeff Gordon reigned supreme on a rainy night at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May 2001, tying Dale Earnhardt with his third all-star race victory.  Gordon's win spanned nearly four hours, two days and two No. 24 Chevrolets, after NASCAR allowed drivers to use their backup cars following a rain-caused crash soon after the green flag.  •   Complete story, click here 1996 FLASHBACK For Michael Waltrip, 1996 was the perfect season. A perfectly historic season.  Ten years ago, Waltrip cracked $1 million in earnings for the first time, posted a then career-high 11 top-10 finishes and finished 14th in the Cup standings, also a career high at that time.  But nothing compares to what happened in that season's all-star race (then called the Winston Select), when Waltrip became the first -- and only -- driver to transfer from the Open race and win the weekend's main event.  •   Complete story, click here 1991 FLASHBACK There was something about NASCAR's annual all-star race that got into Davey Allison's system and jolted it to a new level.  The event's no-points, win-at-all costs format tended to fire up Allison to no end, and that was a big reason behind his back-to-back victories in 1991-92.  The feat hasn't been matched.  •   Complete story, click here 1986 FLASHBACK It was a different time, different attitude and definitely a different place -- and the year Bill Elliott returned to being Awesome again.  The only time NASCAR's mid-season all-star exhibition was held outside of North Carolina, it was home state hero Elliott who steamrolled the field to win The Winston on Mother's Day afternoon at Atlanta in 1986.  The outcome was in doubt only from the time the 10 cars took the green flag until Elliott raced past Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt in Turn 3 of the first lap.  •   Complete story, click here

Waltrip was in his first season driving for Wood Brothers Racing in its No. 21 Ford. The new relationship began paying dividends almost immediately, as Waltrip posted three top-10 finishes in the season's first 10 races leading into All-Star weekend.

"I just remember that we came into that weekend -- in that part of the season with the Wood Brothers -- really feeling that we were poised to do something good," Waltrip said. "We were happy to win the all-star race but we were not shocked to win it."

"We were just thinking that we had the chance to win it."

Indeed, transferring into the all-star race had not been a problem throughout Waltrip's career. The big night was actually the third and most recent time that Waltrip won the Open and got a shot in the big show.

Once the night began, Waltrip had a secret weapon given to him by the engine department headed by Danny Glad.

"They said, 'We have got "X" amount of degrees of timing in [ignition] Box A and a little bit more in Box B. If you need it at the end of the race, put it on Box B.'

"Well, about five laps into the Open, I knew I was going to need it, so I put it on Box B and ran the whole Open and the whole all-star race with all that extra timing and the motor ran fantastically."

It was particularly fantastic toward the end of the race, when Waltrip caught a break when two of NASCAR's biggest stars got into a bit of a tussle.

"I will never forget when we lined up with 10 to go, and Dale [Earnhardt] and Terry [Labonte] were in the front and Rusty was beside me," Waltrip said. "They voided the first start, which was good because Rusty got a little jump on me. They had the second start and I was able to clear Rusty going into [Turn] 1."

Then, things got wild.

"I think on the second lap, or the second time around, Dale and Terry got together and I was able to cut my car hard to the bottom and drive off. I ran about eight laps praying that there wasn't a caution."

The "cut" wasn't an easy move either, Waltrip said.

"I just went as far as I could and it was just a move you had to make," he said. "You don't let off and I didn't know if I would make it or not. I didn't really care. I just knew that was where I needed to go.

"When I got there, the car was still heading into a reasonably right direction."

The win would be Waltrip's only trip to Victory Lane in NASCAR's top series until his victory in the 2001 Daytona 500, his first race with Dale Earnhardt Inc., where, incidentally, he was reunited with Glad.

Incidentally, NASCAR changed its all-star race procedure the very next season after Waltrip's win. The procedure has changed a couple of times since, morphing into its current configuration. One thing that won't change is Waltrip's enthusiasm for his win.

"Everybody reminisces in the garage area about stuff that happens over the years, and it is just good times thinking that we came in there," Waltrip said. "Our all-star race isn't like a baseball game, they goof off and make sure they don't get hurt and have fun.

"We have fun and we are running 200 miles per hour so there isn't any guarantee that you are not going to get hurt. All chips are down and you go for it.

"We drove from the back to the front and we were sitting there in fourth spot with a fast car when they restarted with 10 to go," Waltrip said. "It wasn't like we took advantage of any goofy rules or circumstances. We just outran them."

NASCAR.COM's Ryan Smithson contributed to this report.