Top 105 Quotes & Sayings by Michael Waltrip
Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American driver Michael Waltrip.
Last updated on September 17, 2024.
I try to motivate and inspire people by showing them how much I love this sport and love this organization.
I really love the camaraderie you can share amongst some buddies, and the ability to laugh, enjoy the afternoon, enjoy the day. Golf brings all of that together and that's something I really enjoy.
I liked unique setups. Like when we started coil-binding springs or running soft springs, those things really felt good to me.
I just don't think human beings are designed to have that big of a swing of emotions. I mean, I'm standing in Victory Lane literally seconds after Dale Earnhardt died. Dale Earnhardt was not only my car owner that day, my first victory in 463 tries, but he was my dear friend, too.
As I've gotten older, I know I race less, but I as an owner I have the same anxiety and the same frustration and energy for it.
I'm a Christian guy. I believe that we're going to heaven, and I believe when Dale Jr. and I drove off from Turn 4 at Daytona, I think that Dale Sr. had a smile on his face.
Well, my favorite memory of a president was in 1984. I was in the grandstands at Daytona, and maybe I was 20 years old. So just sort of down in Daytona, having a good time for the 500 - or for the 400 in July. And Air Force One lands on the back straightaway. It was President Reagan.
Nobody had ever lost 462 races and then just won. But Dale Earnhardt Sr. had told me I had the ability, and that day, I knew I would.
This is racing. There is going to be twists and turns. You're going to be dealt setbacks.
I love to give people chances that otherwise wouldn't have them.
I've got my hands in every aspect of the NASCAR world, not only as the part time race car driver but as the full time TV guy and race team owner.
Lying in bed, I determined that since I'm a Christian, I believe we all have our days - our days are numbered. I figured it was Dale's day to die, and I was the best person to win the race and be able to honor him in the victory.
I was always one who thought that if something is painful, you just ignore it and it will go away. That's not true.
I just was fortunate enough to be talented at what I was watching my brother do. It's great that it worked out that way; I might have been wasting a lot of time saying that's what I want to be, but when I got behind the wheel I had the ability.
I'm a sensitive person.
It's my opinion tracks got too wide. You put 43 cars on the track, and if the turns are too wide like they are at some tracks, you sort of lose perspective of what's going on.
The one feeling that settled in and stayed there for a long while, and I still deal with, is guilt. I was there. I was a part of it. Why does it have to be like this? Was I responsible? Was I the reason Dale was in that position? I'd ask myself that question and look around at people and wonder if they were thinking that, too.
It's real important to me to do what I say I'm going to do.
Whether you're Michael Waltrip or Jeff Gordon or Richard Petty, you can't be the Daytona 500 champion without it having an impact on people around you. When I say that, I mean the race fans. They want to congratulate you for winning the biggest race of the year. It has changed people's perception of me.
I love the sport, I love getting other drivers' helmets and collecting some of the things that are special to me.
And Dale Jr., Dale's son, and Dale and I all raced to the checkered - were racing toward the checkered, which would have been the greatest race in NASCAR history, I'm convinced of it, had we have made it that last quarter of a mile. But instead it became the worst race in NASCAR history when Dale crashed and died on turn four.
There are several races that anything can happen and Talladega is one of those places for sure.
You've got to understand, I'd been trying to get to Victory Lane my whole career.
I'm a Christian and I believe in angels and God.
I was confident that I not only could win races, but I could win the championship.
It's easy to get bogged down in all the negativity that when you see people smile and pat you on the back and say, 'We're going to get through this,' it means a lot.
The drivability of an engine is a big part of the setup on a road course. If you can't squeeze the gas down you can't go anywhere.
I think people - especially folks who haven't seen a lot of NASCAR - they get this idea that we're just going around in circles. And that's so far from the truth. You're running as hard as you can to get all you can every lap.
There's a Bible verse that says if you believe, you will be in the presence of the Lord in the blink of an eye. And I know Dale was a believer, and that means that he saw his son and his friend going to win the Daytona 500, and he was in heaven all within the blink of an eye.
Once the race starts, it doesn't matter what you did yesterday let alone last year.
I would probably build somewhere between a half-mile and three-quarter-mile track. It would be sort of like Indianapolis Raceway Park. When I was a kid, that was my favorite track.
People that know me know I take stuff personally.
People are obviously capable of handling the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. But I don't know how many people have had to experience them within seconds of each other.
Some people might say I'm two different people, but I think it's more like seven or eight.
I don't know anyone who's started more consecutive Daytona 500s than me.
The computer systems that we have on our cars when we go test just blow my mind.
I built my team with Dale in mind. He lives with me. He's part of who I am because I just appreciated who he was and how he went about things. People worked on his cars at Dale Earnhardt Incorporated before I got there. When Dale would walk by you could just tell people were thinking, 'these are Dale Earnhardt's cars.'
I like to tell my own story using my personality and my insight, the way I see things.
I love NASCAR. I love the sport. I love the people. I believe I love it more than I ever have because of the people that have gone out of their way to tell me that they appreciate who I am and who MWR is.
I love my job. It doesn't feel like a job, and I don't look at it as work.
I don't understand why everybody can't remember how exciting the Daytona 500 has been over the years when Richard Petty and David Pearson and Darrell Waltrip ran just the three of them racing for the win. Why do you have to have 40 cars in a pack to say it's exciting?
Talladega is one of the macho tracks on the circuit and when I was a kid, I remember everyone wanting to go watch this race because the cars go so fast on the circuit; there were so many great battles.
Obviously you can make a pretty good living these days as a crew member or a crew chief or as a driver. But the technology is expensive.
I'll always wear NAPA blue. I'm thankful they were a part of my life.
I love when architects build a golf course that compliments the landscape rather than intrudes upon it.
I understand the relationships between the crew chiefs and the engineering or between fabrication and the body shop.
I love Daytona and Talladega. I'd like to think maybe I could quit one day running all the races and just run a few that I like.
Predominantly everything I have and everything I do revolves around my commitment to NASCAR on the team ownership side.
When you have turnover, somebody not work out, they'd leave, it really affects a young organization because you don't have your process down pat. You got people coming and going who are affecting your direction. It's just really hard to start from scratch and quickly put your direction in place and be able to stick to it.
It takes a good car for anybody to be good, but it takes a good car and a special driver to achieve greatness.
I am just so proud to be able to take my NAPA car, my NAPA Toyota, to the West Coast and race in front of the fans in Southern California.
It's sort of like baseball - the more you know about baseball, the more you get into a baseball game. NASCAR is the same way.
Well, when you think of Dale Earnhardt, you think of determination. You think of grit. Just a blue-collar, working-class guy that got out there and fought for the checkered flag and fought hard for it. And I got so much out of him. He inspired me.
Physically helping me with advice and direction and a job was Richard Petty. He did a lot for me at a young age, when I needed help and direction.
You can't take your win for granted. Your next win might be your last win or you might never get to your next win, so I can't imagine not being overcome with joy by winning and never taking winning for granted.
I act like I'm always in a good mood when I'm not, but it's my job.
You know, it's funny: Over my career, I didn't win as much as I hoped, but I can look like Flavor Flav if I want to put on all my rings that I've won for different reasons.
Anytime you're pushing the envelope as hard as you can to be successful at anything at life it's easy to go from hero to zero in a second.
They say some people are born with the ability to play golf. I wasn't.
The thing that warms my heart is people. I have just met so many kind folks that want to just pat you on the back and say, 'We love you.'
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