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Sparta, KY (June 19, 2004) Michael Waltrip returned to his native state of Kentucky this past weekend for the Meijer 300 NASCAR Busch Series race. The Kentucky Speedway, the local media, and race fans all looked forward to his first race at the speedway which created quite a buzz around the area.
| Michael would be doing "double-duty" again this weekend as the NEXTEL Cup cars were racing in Michigan and the Busch cars were in Kentucky. Paul Menard was the driver chosen to practice, setup and qualify the Aaron's Dream Machine on Friday and did a fine job working with Crew Chief Jerry Baxter and the team. Michael showed up for "Happy Hour" practice later in the afternoon and had his first opportunity to turn some laps around the 1.5-mile tri-oval in the Dream Machine. |
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Because Paul Menard qualified the car and Michael was going to race it, NASCAR rules state that with a driver change, Waltrip would have to start at the rear of the field. When the green-flag fell on Saturday evening, Michael methodically picked up positions while dodging a couple of spins. By lap-50, Michael had moved into the seventeenth spot and when the third caution of the evening came out on lap-61, Waltrip had moved up to fifteenth. During the first pit stop the team changed four tires and made a chassis adjustment but had trouble with the second can of fuel and Michael had to come back into the pits again to get the fuel cell full. That miscue put the Dream Machine in 23rd.
Waltrip finished 14th, one-lap down from the winner Kyle Busch. Greg Biffle was second followed by Mike Bliss, Ron Hornaday and Jason Keller. Michael retains fifth in the NASCAR Busch Series Championship standings. The next race for the Waltrip’s Aaron’s Dream Machine will be at the Daytona International Speedway, July 2, 2004. Kenny Wallace will drive the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Daytona on July 3, 2004. In other Aaron’s Dream Machine news, Grand Rapids' own Johnny Benson claimed victory Wednesday night in the Spring Memorial 125, the longest Coors Light Late Model race in Berlin Raceway history. Benson drove to victory in his #10 Aaron's Dream Machine that he built especially for racing several times a year at Berlin Raceway.
But Benson never backed off, looking inside as Bush chose the high line. Benson was able to pull even with Bush in the corners but Bush pulled away on the straightaways. With 20 laps to go, Benson pulled alongside Bush and the two cars ran side by side for several laps before Benson took the lead for good on 114 and went on to win. Meanwhile, Waltrip's battle with a loose car kept him near the back of the lead lap most of the race. The mandatory 75-lap caution saved him from being lapped by Benson, but Benson got him on lap 119 to put him the first car one lap down, where he finished in 16th position. He amused the crowd and media after the race by posing with Benson's car, trophy and the checkered flag in the winners circle as Benson was busy with a radio interview. Ken Butler III and Brett Butler had another Saturday night showdown at the Senoia Speedway in Senoia, GA taking third and fourth place respectively. Aaron's Pro Challenge 25 Lap Feature:
In the Aaron's Pro Challenge 25 lap feature, Brett Butler jumped out front when the green flag waved with Trent Mayo in close pursuit. On lap 3, Mayo was able to make the pass for the lead with Terry Mathis catching Mayo on lap 10 to take over the top spot. Mathis would remain the race leader the remaining laps to take the win.
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