NASCAR: Michael Waltrip to drive for Swan Racing at the Daytona 500

Michael Waltrip has joined new NASCAR team Swan Racing for the Sprint Cup season opener at Daytona on February 24.

The two-time Daytona 500 winner will race Swan’s car at Daytona next month, while David Stremme will be the team’s full-time driver this year. Swan Racing revealed at the end of last year that it was starting up after buying Inception Racing’s assets.

“Swan Racing is here to compete and build a championship contender. This one-race partnership with Michael puts a two-time winner behind the wheel and the #30 car in the mix at the Daytona 500,” team owner Brandon Davis was quoted as saying by Autosport.

David Stremme said he supported 100 percent the team’s decision to replace him for the first race of the Cup season. He said it was a great move for Swan Racing. “Michael and I have been friends for a long time. We got to talking last year and from my perspective I thought this would help to further our relationship with Toyota and be a good building block for the team,” Stremme said.

At Swan, Waltrip will reunite with his former crew chief from Dale Earnhardt Inc Tony Eury Jr, who has joined the new team for this season after working with Danica Patrick last year.