Waltrip hoping for top-10 finish in final NASCAR race

By AP
Published

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip has a lofty goal for his final NASCAR race.

Waltrip wants to ''figure out a way to get to the front, run up front and finish in the top 10.'' If that happens, the 53-year-old driver would ''walk away proud.''

One problem? He was 35th in pole qualifying Sunday, hardly the kind of speed needed at one of NASCAR's fastest tracks.

He says ''unless our strategy is, `We've got them right where we want them; they don't even know we're here,' then we might be in a little bit of trouble on this one. But I'm looking forward to trying.''

Waltrip announced last month that his 30th Daytona 500 would be the final driving stint of his NASCAR career.

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