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Fontana, CA (May 3, 2004) Michael Waltrip took the No.99 Aaron’s Dream Machine across the country to run the NASCAR Busch series race at the California Speedway May 1. Waltrip qualified ninth for the 150-lap event at the two-mile oval, but didn’t stay back there long.
| Once again the Dream Machine was one of the fastest cars on the track. Waltrip quickly moved into the lead after only 34-laps and pulled away from the rest of the field. A 14.5” green-flag pit stop on lap 52 kept Michael in the lead, but the No.60 car was coming on strong and passed for the lead on lap 60. Adjustments were in order during the second pit stop to try and keep the Dream Machine at the front of the pack, but the changes only made things worse. The car was “loose” making it difficult to drive through the turns, and Waltrip lost positions. Michael never fell out of the top-ten, but dropped back to eighth late in the race. He gained several positions during the last fifty-laps but needed one more stop to avoid running out of fuel. Running in third with only five-laps to go, Waltrip dove onto pit road for a splash of fuel, but came out in 6 th, too far behind the leaders who gambled on having enough fuel and did not come in. |
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Michael finished 6 th behind race-winner Greg Biffle. Tony Stewart, Stacy Compton, Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top-five. There has been much talk about Michael running for the NASCAR Busch Series Championship lately. Being the points leader since his win at the Nashville Superspeedway, April 10, Waltrip is on a race-to-race basis before announcing any |
| commitment of that nature. As of this moment, the Dream Machine schedule remains the same with the exception of adding the Nashville, Gateway and Kentucky races. | ||
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The next race for Michael Waltrip and the Aaron’s Dream Machine will be at Gateway International Raceway, Saturday, May 8, 2004 at 7:00 PM. The event will be broadcast live on FX television and MRN radio. |
