Michael Waltrip will retire from NASCAR after 30th and final start in the Daytona 500

Nate Ryan

Michael Waltrip will call it a career after one final start in the race that made his NASCAR career.

Running the No. 15 Toyota for Premium Motorsports (which has a guaranteed spot via charter), Waltrip, 53, will retire after making his 30th start in the Daytona 500 on Feb. 26.

The four-time winner in Cup has won the Great American Race twice (2001, ’03) and also won in July 2002 at Daytona International Speedway. His most recent victory came at Talladega Superspeedway in October 2003.

He will be backed by longtime sponsor Aaron’s in a “Thanks Mikey” paint scheme.

“I can reflect on my career with a lot of emotions and one company that has been there for me is Aaron’s,” said Waltrip, who hasn’t raced full time since 2009 and has been working as a Fox Sports analyst in recent years. “I started working with Aaron’s almost 20 years ago with some commercials and six Xfinity Series races when I had a team behind my house. We have been together ever since and it makes my heart smile thinking about all the great things we did together.”

Aaron’s will release a video next week highlighting Waltrip’s top five moments with the sponsor.