Michael Waltrip - Team Owner
| Birthdate | 04/30/63 |
| Birthplace | Owensboro, Ky. |
| Residence | Sherrill's Ford, N.C. |
| Children | Caitlin, Macy |
Michael Waltrip is a tenacious competitor and a flamboyant personality. That is the public Waltrip with which people are acquainted and people are just now getting to know the astute businessman that has built a racing empire that fields teams in NASCAR's Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series.
Waltrip's driving career is well-documented as he followed in the footsteps of his older brother – three-time NASCAR champion Darrell Waltrip. As a driver, Waltrip spent the early part of his career racing go-karts near his hometown of Owensboro, Ky., and his career took off when he won the mini-modified track championship at Kentucky Motor Speedway in 1981. After winning the NASCAR Dash Series championship in 1983, Waltrip moved to North Carolina where he took up residence with the legendary Petty family and started building his own NASCAR career. Waltrip made his first start in what is now known as the Sprint Cup Series in 1985 and started competing in the series full time in 1986.
Throughout the last 20 years Waltrip has competed for organizations that include some of the most famed names in motorsports including the Wood Brothers and Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI). While competing in the Cup Series full time, he also dabbled in the NASCAR Nationwide Series winning his first career Nationwide Series start in 1988, driving a car owned by his brother, Darrell. After making sporadic Nationwide Series starts during the next eight years, Waltrip decided to try his hand at the ownership side of the business.
Waltrip's career as a car owner literally started in his own backyard in 1996 when he made 13 starts as an owner/driver in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and started the foundation for what is now known as Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR). For the next 10 years Waltrip competed in the series on a part-time basis, capturing six poles and winning four races as an owner/driver.
Enjoying the role of car owner, Waltrip expanded his efforts and decided to try his hand at ownership at the Cup Series level in 2002. Developing a taste for the role of car owner, Waltrip made the insightful business decision to align the Waltrip brand and his organization with Toyota as the manufacturer prepared to make its entry into Cup Series competition. Waltrip's marketing initiatives and knowledge of the sport landed MWR as one of Toyota's flagship teams and created the solid foundation needed to compete in NASCAR's top level.
Waltrip's focus on driving remains as diligent and committed as the first time he strapped into the seat of a Cup Series car in 1985. His focus has widened however since he donned the cap of car owner. He has won as a NASCAR Nationwide Series owner and driver, and as a Sprint Cup Series driver. He hopes to add to his list of accolades the honor of being the owner that delivers Toyota's first ever Sprint Cup Series victory.