At Michael Waltrip Racing, success is measured on the crew helmets. This year MWR began awarding helmet stickers like college football teams.

The No. 55 helmets carry Aaron’s Lucky Dog stickers, the No. 15 crew earns 5-hour ENERGY bottle decals and the No. 56 team receives NAPA Battery logos.

“I’m a big fan of Ohio State football and have always liked the way the coaches reward big plays with buckeye stickers on the helmets,” said MWR’s pit coach Greg Miller. “We wanted to do something to reward the guys when they do something special on the crew.”

Miller awards stickers to each crew member for the following:

• A race with all stops under 13.49 seconds.
• Action “above and beyond” the normal job.
• A pit stop that moves the car into the top 10.
• Car retains the lead during a pit stop.
• At least two spots gained on pit lane while in the top 20.

“I don’t know if it provides any extra motivation,” said No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine gas man Brian Dheel. “You want to do your job each week, but it’s nice to have a system to reward achievement.”

Achievement is certainly on the minds of pit crew members during the next two weeks.

On Thursday in Charlotte, the eighth-annual Sprint Pit Crew Challenge features the top 24 crews in the sport in a head-to-head competition to determine the best six-member crew. The event awarded more than $260,000 in 2011.

“It isn’t as pressure packed as it is on race days,” said No. 56 front tire changer Eric Maycroft. “It’s more about having fun with a pretty big payoff.”

The pressure comes the next night when a mandatory four-tire pit stop is part of qualifying for the NASCAR All Star Race.

“It’s one of the most pressure-packed pit stops of the year,” Dheel said. “That stop contributes to where you start the All Star race. You are it. There are no others stops going on at the time. It’s really easy to see if you make a mistake or if you do really well.”

All of this on top of Saturday’s All-Star race and the 600-mile race on May 27th.

“There’s never been a time in NASCAR when pit stops are as crucial as they are now,” said driver Mark Martin.

“That’s why the teams put so much into the training and recruiting of these pit crews. I have the best pit crew I’ve ever had right now. These guys are so key to a team’s success and deserve much attention.”

MARK MARTIN: ALL STAR RACE WINNER 1998, 2005…MWR Driver Hopes All Star Victories Continue At Seven-Year Intervals

No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine driver Mark Martin claimed his first NASCAR All Star victory in 1998 and seven years later won the event for the second time. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver hopes the seven-year interval holds true again in Saturday night’s 2012 version of the All Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

MARK MARTIN: “The All-Star race is just a great race. I really love it. It’s going to be a lot of fun – it’s just a great time. Any time you get to race in Charlotte it’s good. It’s really a break from counting points plus it’s a lot of fun and excitement. You race for a big trophy and a big check. It’s also special because it is in Charlotte. It wouldn’t be what it is anywhere else. Charlotte is home for almost all these teams and it’s the place for this race.”

Notes:

• PIT STOP COMPETITION: The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge is a family-friendly, pit-crew competition featuring the top-24 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pit crews in a head-to-head competition to determine individual and team champions. Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased online at www.pitcrewchallenge.com or by calling the Time Warner Cable Arena box office at (800) 745-3000. Event begins Thursday at 7 p.m. ET with doors opening at 5:30 p.m.

• MWR FAN FEST: Michael Waltrip Racing will hold its sixth annual Fan Fest at its race shop in Cornelius, N.C. on Wednesday, May 23. MWR NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers Martin Truex Jr., Mark Martin and Clint Bowyer will sign autographs from 1-3 p.m. Up to 300 wrist bands for each driver will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis at 9 a.m. on Monday, May 21 in the MWR team store. A wrist band is required for an autograph. Wrist band distribution is limited to one band per fan per day until all bands have been distributed. No purchase required to obtain a wrist band. Team business partners plan to bring interactive displays and SiriusXM Radio will broadcast from MWR. Music, a free poster, prizes and the MWR transporters will also be part of this year’s event. Food will be available for purchase. Due to out-of-state commitments, Waltrip and Brian Vickers will not be present.

• HELP A TRUCK DRIVER: You can give No. 55 truck driver Glen Shano a second chance to compete in the 2012 Freightliner Run Smart Hauler Challenge and another shot at the $30,000 prize. Vote for Shano by clicking here or by visiting the Freightliner Truck Hauler Challenge page on Facebook. Last year Shano finished second in the competition, but he was eliminated this year. The eliminated driver with the highest number of Facebook page votes is automatically reinstated.

• STATISTICS: For Mark Martin statistics Click Here

• CHASSIS: Martin will drive Chassis 722 on Saturday in the All Star Race. It finished fifth with Brian Vickers behind the wheel at Bristol on March 18. Chassis 708 will serve as the backup and has not raced in 2012.

• DIECAST CARS: No. 55 diecast cars are now available at the MWR souvenir hauler or CLICK HERE

Rewind to April 26 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, which was the site of Elliott’s last K&N Pro Series East race. The 16-year-old Elliott earned a second-place result at the .75-mile track, finishing just .011 seconds behind winner Brett Moffitt in a green-white-checkered flag drag-race to the end. Elliott’s runner-up effort was the best of his K&N Pro Series East career, and he enters the Iowa race weekend ranked first in the 2012 championship standings.

“Richmond was a blast,” Elliott said. “I just wish we could have had those extra few inches it took to win it. But at the same time, there was a lot to be proud of when we walked out of the tunnel that night. Everyone on this Aaron’s Dream Machine/Hendrickcars.com team has been working really hard, and I know we are capable of getting into Victory Lane soon.”

Elliott will line up for the 150-lap K&N Pro Series East-West combination event at Iowa on Saturday, May 19 at 8 p.m. ET. The race will broadcast on SPEED Thursday, May 31 at 3 p.m.

In this K&N event last year, Elliott started 15^th and struggled for track position because the first 43 laps involved five caution periods. A late-race pit road mishap cost Elliott positions. At the restart, he was 18^th. He worked his way back through the field during the remainder of the race. Elliott finished 11^th and was credited with seventh-place K&N Pro Series East points.

Elliott, who has posted four top-five finishes, nine top-10s and led 40 laps in 15 career K&N Pro Series East starts, appreciates racing at these Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series companion tracks. He sees it as an opportunity for him to gain more experience as a driver that’s looking to eventually compete at both those levels.

“Racing at all of these (NASCAR) Cup and Nationwide tracks such as Bristol (Tenn.), Richmond (Va.) and Iowa are really helping me learn things about these bigger tracks,” said Elliott, who has tallied three top-10 finishes in three K&N Pro Series East starts this season. “I have always enjoyed racing at Iowa. There were some things that I picked up on last year during the race that I hope will help us out when it comes race time this weekend.”

Elliott will participate in the K&N Pro Series East autograph session at Iowa Speedway on May 19 from 3-3:45 p.m. local time. For race weekend updates, please follow Cindy Elliott on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cindyelliott9.

Just rub a little Vaseline on your front teeth, the advice could have gone.

There have been times this season when the personable cattle farmer from Christiansburg, Va., would have preferred to not explain the unexplainable. For Hagan, that is why his Aaron’s Dream Machine hasn’t responded consistently to what crew chief Tommy DeLago has told it to do.

Last year in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, Hagan and DeLago lost in the first round only three times in 22 events. Through seven events this season, the team has lost in the opening round four times and has not advanced past the second round.

“I’ll tell you, it’s not for a lack of trying on my part, Tommy’s or the team’s,” Hagan said. “I feel real bad for our crew. Those guys work as hard or harder than anyone out there. I know Tommy’s tried about everything.

“This team hasn’t quit, no one’s giving up, that’s for sure.”

At the NHRA Southern Nationals near Atlanta two weeks ago, the Aaron’s Dodge Charger R/T qualified No. 7. It was only the second time this season that it was in the top-eight to allow the team to select its lane for the first round of eliminations.

After eliminating rookie Alexis DeJoria, Hagan lost his next race to Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps, who went on to log the first DSR Funny Car title of the year for the team.

“We’re ready to turn the corner,” Hagan said. “We’ve been taking baby steps and making some improvement, but we need to make a pretty big move soon.

“Our first step is getting more speed so we can qualify better and that will help us win rounds.

“We’re getting better, that’s for sure.”

Hagan smiled as he said that, and no Vaseline could be detected on his incisors.

AT HEARTLAND PARK TOPEKA
2011: Qualified No. 11; lost to Robert Hight in second round
CAREER: Win 0; Rup 0; Poles 0

MATT’S STATS

(Updated through Southern Nationals near Atlanta; 7th of 23 events)

2012   Pts      W        RU      Poles DNQ               Win/Loss

12th      0        0          0          1                      2-6

2011   Pts      Ws      RU      Poles DNQ               Win/Loss

1st        2        2          4          0                    33-20

Career           Titles  RU      Poles DNQ               Win/Loss

5           6        10        4                      88-71

The 16-year old Elliott drove his No. 9 Aaron’s Dream Machine/Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet to Victory Lane for the second time this season at Gresham Motorsports Park after winning the Racing Radios 100 Super Late Model event on May 12.

“It means a lot to have won at Gresham this weekend,” Elliott said. “We have had a lot of struggles with the cars over there in the past, and I feel like we are taking some steps in the right direction to improve there. I’ve been very pleased with our late model season so far, but I think we can be better and need to improve for all of our upcoming races.”

After Saturday night’s win, Elliott now has five wins and seven top-10 finishes in just nine late model events so far this season. In the 12 late model events he’s run at Gresham over the past three years, he has posted four wins, eight top-five finishes, nine top-10s and also earned three pole positions at the half-mile track.

Elliott qualified third for the 100-lap event at Gresham, but subsequently started second after the field was inverted Saturday.  Elliott consistently ran inside the top-four for the majority of the race as he paced himself and drove smart.

When the event reached Lap 83, Elliott moved into second after then leader Stephen Nasse suffered from car issues that brought out a caution. On the restart a lap later, Elliott’s teammate and the race’s new leader Ben Kennedy had jumped the restart. As a result, Kennedy was given a penalty so this moved Elliott into first. Moments later on Lap 85, an accident on the front stretch issued a red flag.

With 10 laps to go, Elliott’s lead over Bubba Pollard increased to half a second.  Elliott held off Pollard to take the checkered flag for the second time this season at the half-mile track.

Next up, Elliott will drive his No. 9 Aaron’s Dream Machine/Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet in the May 19 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East event at Iowa Speedway. He will return to Gresham Motorsports Park for the Slack Auto 150 K&N Pro Series East race on June 9.

Click here to see the Darlington Recap Video

• Started 18th and finished 20th.
• Lost laps on lap 98 and 280.
• Team made variety of changes throughout race to improve handling.
• Regained both laps late in the race.

MARTIN QUOTES: “That was a battle for 500 miles. We did everything we knew to do tonight. I’m proud of the effort. That isn’t what we were hoping for, but we’ll figure it out.” 

RACE NOTES:

• Jimmie Johnson won his 56th career victory and 200th for Hendrick Motorsports
• Top five included Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch and Truex Jr.
• There were 22 lead changes among eight drivers.
• Eight cautions for 38 laps.
• NASCAR estimated a crowd of 63,000

MWR NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers Martin Truex Jr., Mark Martin and Clint Bowyer will sign autographs from 1-3 p.m.

Up to 300 wrist bands for each driver will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis at 9 a.m. on Monday, May 21 in the MWR team store. A wrist band is required for an autograph. Wrist band distribution is limited to one band per fan per day until all bands have been distributed. No purchase required to obtain a wrist band.

To guarantee an autograph from all three drivers, express passes to all autograph lines will be available for all fans who purchase more than $100 in merchandise from the team store on May 23.

Team business partners plan to bring interactive displays and SiriusXM Radio will broadcast from MWR. Music, a free poster, prizes and the MWR transporters will also be part of this year’s event. Food will be available for purchase.

Due to out-of-state commitments, Waltrip and Brian Vickers will not be present.

Michael Waltrip Racing is at exit 28 on I-77 in Cornelius, N.C. about 15 miles north of Charlotte, N.C. The team’s race shop and team store will be open to the public throughout the day.

Elliott will return to Gresham this weekend to race in the 100-lap super late model event on Saturday, May 12.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to have some really solid late model races at Gresham,” Elliott said. “I believe the reason why is because the Aaron’s Dream Machine/Hendrickcars.com team has really worked hard to improve our No. 9 Chevrolets and not just go from one race to the next. This hard work and dedication gives us that competitive edge because we strive to get better each race weekend.”

Elliott has competed in 11 late model events at Gresham in the past three years. He has posted three wins, seven top-five finishes, eight top-10s and also earned three pole positions at the half-mile track. So far this season, the 16-year-old Elliott has earned four wins and seven top-10 finishes in seven late model events.

Most noteworthy this weekend is Mother’s Day on May 13. Elliott’s mother Cindy has played an important role in Elliott’s racing career from the day it started. As a young child, Elliott spent as much time as he could in the garage with his father Bill early on, while Cindy continued to show her son other sports like golf and tennis.

“I do have some ideas for Mother’s Day, so I’m definitely looking forward to it,” Elliott said. “My mom has always and continues to be really supportive of my racing career. It may not have been her first choice on the list for me to do with my career and my life, but she’s supportive of it for sure.”

At the conclusion of late model qualifying that starts at 6:30 p.m. local time on May 12, Elliott will participate in an autograph session on the track before the event starts.

He has raced against many of the sport’s greatest drivers including Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip and modern day heroes like Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

Martin raced at the 200 mph superspeedways and banged fenders on the notorious bullrings in the days before SAFER barriers, HANS devices, full-faced helmets and roof flaps.

Nothing he’s encountered has ever unnerved the 53-year-old Batesville, Ark. native who’s made 40 trips to victory lane.

But, there’s still one thing in racing that makes his skin crawl.

“It’s good luck charms,” laughs Martin. “I don’t like them at all.”

To this day, Martin immediately hands off anything that most consider “lucky.”

“I try not to insult fans when they give me something,” he said. “I try to be nice and say thank you, but I can’t get rid of them fast enough.”

That’s unusual in a sport where some drivers carry a rabbit’s foot in the car, tape verses to the dash, put lucky coins in their uniform pockets. Through the years drivers have shunned green paint schemes, eating peanuts near the car before the race and driving the No. 13.

But, Martin said he has good reason to shun the supposed bringers of good fortune.

His dim view of good luck charms dates back to one Sunday afternoon in 1993 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. A well-meaning fan gave Martin a four-leaf clover he taped to the dash of his car.

“I got hit in the back right after the green flag came out,” Martin recalled. “I got hit so hard it destroyed my car and ruined our race. We got all tore up.”

That was the end of good luck charms for Martin.

“I have been anti lucky charm ever since.”

HISTORIC DRIVER READY FOR HISTORIC TRACK: Mark Martin To Make 46th Start at Darlington 

One of NASCAR’s greatest drivers races on one of the sport’s great tracks this weekend when No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver Mark Martin returns to action at Darlington International Raceway. The 53-year-old Martin owns two Sprint Cup and eight Nationwide Series victories on the 1.366-mile South Carolina track. The Batesville, Ark. native hasn’t lost any speed in his 30th year of competition. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver has won poles in two of the seven races he’s entered in 2012 and is 24th in driver points — despite choosing to sit out three of the season’s 10 races. 

What are your thoughts on returning to Darlington?  “Darlington is the ‘Lady in Black.’ I don’t think I’ve missed one there since 1988. I always enjoy racing at Darlington – that’s a driver’s challenge.”

How do you like driving for Michael Waltrip Racing? “I am just so proud of MWR and all the people there and the teamwork that they have shown there starting with Martin Truex, Jr., who has put so much work into getting the program where it was when we started the season and everybody combined. They really have a lot of great people there with great attitude, great teamwork and, man, have I got one awesome crew chief in Rodney Childers. This is so much fun and such an incredible privilege to drive a race car at this point in my career. We’ve made improvements every race that we’ve got to run together, so Rodney (Childers) and I are starting to figure some things out in the car that I like for the long haul, so it’s working well.” 

Notes:

• AUTOGRAPHS: Mark Martin will sign autographs for the public on Friday 10-10:30 a.m. in Darlington. Martin will join Kevin Harvick, Paul Menard and Regan Smith in the Fan 101 tent across from the Toyota display between USAF and National Guard displays.
• MARK MARTIN OPEN HOUSE: Martin hosted his eighth annual fan appreciation event at his Batesville, Ark. car dealership and museum on Saturday. Michael Waltrip and Clint Bowyer joined Martin at the autograph session that drew about a thousand fans.   DARLINGTON CAREER: Martin owns two wins (Sept. 5,1993 & May 9, 2009) and 17 top-5 finishes in 45 starts at Darlington. He’s completed of 14,853 of 15,357 laps (96.7%) and led 801 laps. Click here for Martin’s career stats.
• MYRTLE BEACH: Join Michael Waltrip at the first annual SKID PLATE Race at Myrtle Beach Speedway on Thursday. The race is part of a fundraiser for “Victory Junction” featuring  NASCAR personalities. For more information contact Kinsley Parsons at kparsons@victoryjunction.org or click here.
• DARLINGTON CHASSIS: Primary 726 - finished 12th at California Speedway. Backup 708 – has not raced in 2012

Date:                           Friday             May 11

Practice                       11:30 a.m.       SPEED

Practice                       2:00 p.m.         SPEED

Qualifying                    3:30 p.m.         SPEED

Date:                           Saturday        May 12

Race                            7:00 p.m.            Fox

He had to do it again on Sunday in the NHRA Southern Nationals, but at least he was able to put in a little more work by advancing to the second round of Funny Car eliminations in his Aaron’s Dream Machine Funny Car for Don Schumacher Racing.

It was only the second time through seven Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events this season that Hagan and crew chief Tommy DeLago advanced out of the first round, and the team did not qualify for one event (Charlotte 1).

“You know, we got better this weekend but we’re still not as strong as we should me,” Hagan said.

The Aaron’s/Mopar Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car made four solid qualifying runs and started Sunday ranked seventh among the 16 drivers in the championship eliminations.

After getting past rookie Alexis DeJoria with a time of 4.225 seconds at 284.27 mph, the car faltered in the next round against teammate and event winner Ron Capps. Hagan’s performance of 4.328 seconds (280.19) did not challenge Capps’ 4.165 (303.57).

“We had a problem with the engine but nothing showed up on the computers,” Hagan said. “It’s a mystery. And now we get to go to Topeka with an unknown variable.”

While Hagan remains confident in DeLago, he said recognition should be given to his crew that for the past two weekends worked in hot and muggy Houston and now Atlanta.

“Those guys deserve a lot of credit,” Hagan said. “They have worked so hard and haven’t had a chance to celebrate much at all this year. We need to get this turned around … and we will.”

FUNNY CAR
Event winner: Ron Capps
No. 1 qualifier: Robert Hight (4.104 sec., 308.35 mph)

Matt Hagan, Aaron’s Dream Machine/Mopar Dodge Charger R/T
Qualified: No. 7
Round 1: HAGAN (4.225 sec., 284.27 mph) def. Alexis DeJoria (4.274, 261.47)
Round 2: Ron Capps (4.165, 303.57) def. HAGAN (4.328, 280.19)

Full Throttle Points Standings
(Unofficial, updated after seven of 23 events)

Funny Car
1. Robert Hight, 702
2t. Ron Capps, 499
2t. Mike Neff, 499
4. Cruz Pedregon, 403
5. Johnny Gray, 384
6. Jack Beckman, 377
7. Bob Tasca, 358
8. John Force, 354
9. Jeff Arend, 324
10. Courtney Force, 320
11. Bob Bode, 260
12. Matt Hagan, 255

NEXT EVENT
May 18-20, Dollar General NHRA Nationals, Topeka, Kan.

Clint Bowyer Race Summary: No. 15 Aaron’s/Alabama National Championship Toyota driver Clint Bowyer started 24th and finished sixth in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver dropped to the back early in the race to log laps and avoid any early trouble. Bowyer began to move up through the field at the half-way point and worked his way to second late in the race. An accident seconds after the restart on lap 184 swept up Bowyer’s Toyota causing minor damage. Bowyer started 10th for the green-white-checkered finish and moved into position on the backstretch pushing Kasey Kahne to battle for the lead. The pair couldn’t quite catch winner Brad Keselowski and second place-finisher Kyle Busch. Bowyer finished sixth. The No. 15 team returns to action next weekend at Darlington Raceway.

• Started 24th and finished sixth. Now 10th in points.
• Dropped to the rear of the field early in the race
• Raced his way up to second just past the half-way point
• Restarted 10th for green-white-checkered finish
• Recorded his fifth top-10 of the season

BOWYER QUOTE: How warm was your car on the final lap?
“The Aaron’s/Alabama National Championship Toyota was blowing water before I even got to the line, but that was my only shot. Kasey (Kahne) made a couple good moves to juke and jive up there. Never led a lap for the Alabama gang — really wanted to. All in all it was a good points day for us. It is fun — it’s unbelievable how the storm brews all day long until the last few laps there. You just go like hell and hope for the best.”

How difficult was it to control your engine temperature with the small grill opening? “I wish we could find a different way to do it, but unfortunately right now we have to answer to the fans and that’s all we can do right now. Hopefully, before we come back here we can fix it a different way and keep it to where we can race all day long.”

MICHAEL WALTRIP RACE SUMMARY: No.55 Aaron’s Color Your Way to Talladega Toyota driver Michael Waltrip finished 19th in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver started ninth and grabbed the lead around lap 25. He led for 21 laps and remained in contention for the win until a lap 184 accident seconds after the restart damaged the No. 55. Waltrip returned to the track and finished 19th – the last car on the lead lap. Mark Martin will be back behind the wheel next Saturday night when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moves to Darlington Raceway.

• Started ninth and finished 19th.
• Led 21 laps.
• Started his 93rd restrictor-plate race – tying teammate Mark Martin for most restrictor-plate starts
• Next race for Waltrip is the June 24 race at Kentucky Speedway

WALTRIP QUOTE: “We took off and the guys in front of me didn’t go. I let off (the throttle) and got clobbered. It was just a chain reaction. I tell you – I had a blast! I’m going to be better on Fox because those guys speak in a code out there. It’s just crazy being out in the middle of them, seeing how they drive and the moves they make. I’m just really happy I got to experience it. I was hoping for a better finish, but I really enjoyed myself.”