Seeing as it would be just his fourth start of the waning 2010 season, is Michael Waltrip worried about shaking off any rust when he rolls onto the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway for Friday's first practice?
Hardly.
"Especially at Talladega because I've won there before, I feel like I know that place as good as anybody," Waltrip told FanHouse.com Tuesday. "It's just something that I have no apprehension about in terms of how we're going to perform. I'm just ready to go after it."
The longtime Sprint Cup driver and two-time Daytona 500 champion will attempt Sunday's AMP Energy 500 at Talladega, his first since racing in the April event at the Alabama behemoth. Waltrip won at Talladega in 2003, one of his four career wins. He currently serves as an analyst on Showtime's Inside NASCAR television program.
His last time out at Talladega looked promising after he drove to the front and led twice for a total of four laps. But on lap 84, just 14 laps after finding the lead a second time, Waltrip was caught in a 10-car crash on the frontstretch tri-oval.
