“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.”

American former stock car racing driver

Michael Curtis “Mikey” Waltrip is an American former stock car racing driver, commentator, team owner, amateur ballroom dancing competitor, and author. Born in 1963, he is best known for winning the Daytona 500 twice, in 2001 and 2003, and for his long career in NASCAR. Waltrip’s four NASCAR Cup Series victories all came on superspeedways while driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc. He later became a familiar television voice, working as a pre-race analyst for the NASCAR Cup Series and as a color commentator for Fox Sports coverage of the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series. He is also the younger brother of Darrell Waltrip, a three-time NASCAR champion and commentator.