Nextel Cup veteran faces an anxious time in the run up to Saturday's Bud Pole qualifying session at the Talladega Superspeedway this weekend after he and his #55 team fell out of the top 35 in owner points last weekend.

Adding to Waltrip's worries is the fact that in the only other restrictor plate race of the 2006 season so far at Daytona, his #55 NAPA Dodge was among the slowest in single lap qualifying, a situation that, if repeated, would leave Waltrip watching Sunday's Aaron's 499 from the sidelines.

Eliminated from last Saturday's race at Phoenix in a multi-car crash in turn four, Waltrip's #55 team, owned by himself and former Jasper Motorsport boss Doug Bawel and run with assistance from Bill Davis Racing are no longer guaranteed a place in the starting field for each Nextel Cup race and will have to race their way in via their qualifying time

“The reality is, this year has been tougher than I thought it would be,” said Waltrip, who will be one of 13 drivers battling for just eight places on the 43-car grid for Sunday. “I never dreamed we would be outside the top-35 but we are, so we need to really focus on fixing that.

“We understood that this year would be a bit of a challenge without factory support. We thought we could survive that and build and be ready for our Toyota venture in 2007. Talladega is a big part of that. If we can make the race, then we can start patching up what's been going wrong and hopefully get better going forward.”

If Waltrip can make the race, he instantly becomes one of the favourites to win. At Daytona he proved that, although he was dirt slow in qualifying trim, he had a car capable of winning the race while running in the all-important draft and with four restrictor plate wins under his belt, few would argue.

“We are going to work from Monday until we hit the track on Friday to make sure we give ourselves the best opportunity to qualify,” said Waltrip.

On what will be his 43rd birthday Waltrip will attempt to make his 41st start at the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway, which would place him fourth among full-time active drivers with starts at the 2.66-mile track.

“The race is on my birthday, man,” said Waltrip. “I can't miss the race.” The last time Waltrip missed a Cup race was in1998 at Phoenix International Raceway. He has missed only that one race in his last 571 starts.