LAS VEGAS — The blueprint for Michael Waltrip's newfound success at Dale Earnhardt Inc. came from Dale Jarrett.

        Waltrip broke through for the first victory of his Winston Cup career two weeks ago in Daytona, finally winning in his 463rd start and at the beginning of his 16th season in NASCAR's top series.

        It was a bittersweet moment, though, with Dale Earnhardt, the man who gave Waltrip a chance when others had given up on him, dying in a crash just seconds before Waltrip took his first checkered flag.

        In the aftermath of that tragedy, Waltrip has dealt with the personal and professional consequences of Earnhardt's death with dignity.

        Now, heading into the third race of the season third in the standings — just 10 points behind leader Rusty Wallace and seven behind Sterling Marlin — Waltrip is finally able to look forward.

        “I knew that with Dale Earnhardt and his team, I had a real chance to win races,” Waltrip said. “Dale told me I was going to win. He made it very clear that's what he expected.”

        The precedent was set by Jarrett in 1996, when he won the Daytona 500 in his first race after switching to the No.88 Ford of Robert Yates Racing and working for the first time with crew chief Todd Parrott.

        “They won their first race and had success after that,” Waltrip said. “This was a new team (at DEI), but all the pieces were proven, or I thought they were.”

        Last year, both Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Park — now Waltrip's DEI teammates — won for the first time in Winston Cup.

        All that added up to confidence that Earnhardt had given the 37-year-old Waltrip all the tools to win. He wasn't even surprised to do it in his first race in the No.15 Chevrolet.

        “I didn't really buy into the fact that it's going to take us some time to jell,” he said. “I felt that with my experience and my knowledge and the kind of cars I was going to get ... that I should be able to run good right away.”

        After a week of mourning and helping Earnhardt's family and friends cope with his death, Waltrip finished 19th in Rockingham, N.C. Now his head is back into his racing as he prepares for today's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

        Jarrett will start from the pole, with Waltrip fourth in the 43-car lineup.

        “There's no question that Michael Waltrip is a good driver,” Jarrett said. “It wasn't any fluke that he won the Daytona 500. It was just getting the right chemistry with the right team. The amazing thing is he never won before.”

        Jarrett, the 1999 Winston Cup champion, is on something of a losing string himself. The last of his 24 career wins came in August in Michigan, 19 races ago.

        “We haven't lost any confidence,” Jarrett said. “This team is still working together and doing what it takes to win. Every year it gets harder to win, because there's so many guys out there who can do it.

        “You've got all these guys who have been winning for years, and last year we had, what, four first-time winners? But that just makes it more satisfying when you do win.”

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