Lively times ahead for Michael Waltrip in 2011
The NASCAR world might be a slightly quieter place without Michael Waltrip, but it'd be less fun, too. So it's a good thing he'll be all over the place in 2011 ... and not necessarily on the track.
As you'll hear many, many times over the next two months, next year marks the tenth anniversary of Dale Earnhardt's passing at Daytona. One of the key figures in that story is Waltrip, who was on his way to a victory as Earnhardt was wrecking behind him. And now Waltrip is telling his side of the story, with "In The Blink of an Eye: Dale, Daytona and the Day that Changed Everything," a book scheduled to hit in February. It's a minute-by-minute account of one of NASCAR's most tragic days.
On the lighter side, Waltrip is going to be hosting the second season of the Michael Waltrip Comedy Garage Tour -- yes, really -- with stops planned for Kansas City, Ontario and Vegas, among other locales. Waltrip will even be getting onstage for a bit himself, which ought to be a treat. Oh, and he'll be showing up as a host on both SPEED and Showtime's NASCAR shows.
And, yes, dude still runs Michael Waltrip Racing, with Martin Truex Jr. and David Reutimann under his banner. And he's aligned with Travis Pastrana to create Pastrana-Waltrip Racing to bring the action-motorsports lunatic into NASCAR.
What else was it that Waltrip did? Oh, right, racing. He'll run at Daytona and in Kentucky, and he's already toured the world to race in a Ferrari.
So, yes, lively times for the Clown Prince of NASCAR. Say what you will about the guy, you can't call him lazy. If you try, he'll be on to another job before you finish the sentence.
