Waltrip proudly poses with the University of Texas National Champions No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine as Aaron’s first promotion between two of its Sports Marketing partners proves to be a rousing success.

FORT WORTH, TX (April 9, 2006) – Michael Waltrip and the University of Texas National Championship No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine received a welcome as big as Texas when they arrived at Texas Motor Speedway for the running of the Busch Series O’Reilly 300. The pre-race activity surrounding Waltrip and his No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine was fitting for a two-time Daytona 500 champion saluting the current NCAA National Football Champions. The burnt orange and white paint scheme featuring the official Longhorn national championship logo drew constant attention from curious race fans and proud UT fans. Aaron’s received plenty of additional media coverage as the car was featured in both national and local media throughout the weekend.

Had this been a popularity contest instead of a NASCAR race, the Aaron’s car would have taken the checkered flag.
Unfortunately, the amazing reception the crowd of 107,000 fans gave the Dream Machine couldn’t change Waltrip’s 39th starting position in Saturday’s O’Reilly 300 NASCAR Busch Series race. Because NASCAR impounded all Busch cars at the end of qualifying Thursday, the crew could not make any changes to the setup before the race. This left the Dream Machine still tight through the turns and made it difficult for Waltrip to stick on the bottom of the 1.5 mile tri-oval track.

Waltrip and crew chief Culley Barralough talked about tire pressure changes and track bar adjustments needed once he could make the first pit stop. However, there were no caution flags for the first 83 laps and Waltrip went one lap down as the leader passed him on lap 50. Waltrip had to ride it out until the first pit stop at lap 57 during green flag conditions. Waltrip liked what the changes did for the car, but felt the Dream Machine needed even more adjustments for the next stop.

The crew got another chance to make adjustments when the first caution flag came on lap 83. Michael brought the Dream Machine down pit road and the crew changed tires, gave it a full tank of fuel and adjusted the track bar a few more rotations, all within just 15 seconds.

Despite being one lap down, Waltrip seemed to be on the move as he restarted in 22nd position and was turning laps as fast as the leaders and running at speeds consistent with the top five cars. Hoping for an another caution flag so he could get the Lucky Dog and back on the lead lap, Waltrip hung with the leaders for the next 20 laps but was passed by two other cars that were also one lap down and as a result did not get the free pass back to the lead lap.

Waltrip works his way back up in the pack, but finishes the O’Reilly 300 in 25th place.

Waltrip fought the tight handling Dream Machine throughout the race but had a more serious issue midway through the 300-lap event, when his brakes failed. Michael nursed the car down pit road and asked the crew to catch him when he entered his pit. The car rolled through the pit and the crew pushed him back and immediately went to work on the left rear hub where the brake pads are supposed to be. The crew was shocked to find that the pads were gone. The pads had fallen off, leaving Waltrip without brakes since sometime earlier in the race.

The crew was able to make the necessary repairs but it cost them another lap and Waltrip fell to 24th. Michael patiently drove the UT Dream Machine to a 25th finish after a flurry of caution flags late in the race. Kurt Busch won the O’Reilly’s 300 followed by Greg Biffle, Casey Mears, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth.

The Dream Machine returns April 29 and 30 for the biggest event of Aaron’s NASCAR partnership – the Aaron’s Dream Weekend at Talladega SuperSpeedway.