Carpentier to Return to the Driver’s Seat of the #55

Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) announced that Patrick Carpentier will return to the driver's seat of the #55 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota for driver Michael Waltrip at the upcoming NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Watkins Glen International. Earlier this season, the Canadian driver produced an 11th-place finish for Waltrip at the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway. "Patrick is being rewarded for perseverance," said Waltrip, who has 22 starts that equate to one top-five, four top-10 and 14 top-20 finishes at the 2.45-mile road course. "At Sonoma, he drove for me and started out with a car he wasn't happy with. He worked with my crew chief Bootie (Barker) and my NAPA boys to get an 11th-place finish. We also had a little deal on the side. If he was able to finish solidly at Infineon Raceway and he deemed the experience of working with my team as fun and wanted to do again, then he and I would ask NAPA to allow him to drive again. We all agreed so Patrick will drive the #55 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota for NAPA and me at Watkins Glen." The NAPA Auto Parts team prepared for the upcoming event by testing with Carpentier at Virginia International Raceway on July 22nd. Michael Waltrip Racing