"Dancing With the Stars" competitor Michael Waltrip knew exactly who we wanted to dance with before joining the dancing competition show.

In a recent interview with Reel Life With Jane, Waltrip, a NASCAR great, said the show "is just a blast."

"I'm going to start dancing my big butt across the dance floor, and get to work to finish off that dance that I've got to do," he said. "I want to thank all of the NASCAR fans that voted. ... And I look forward to being a part of the story going forward."

Waltrip's professional dancer partner is Emma Slater.

"Emma's a sweet girl," he said. "She's the perfect partner for me."

The racecar driver reportedly asked for Slater special.

"When I saw her dancing with Bill Engvall a few years ago, I thought that would be the perfect partner for me," he said. "When I got a chance, I said I'll do it but I've got to have Emma. They said we can't promise you that, but I said I have to and it worked out."

An added bonus to being on "Dancing With the Stars" is that the 51-year-old is getting more fit.

"We dance from 6 to 10 p.m. and after you work so hard, eating a big meal doesn't make any sense, so I've definitely lost some weight and am getting in touch with my abs," Waltrip said. "I used to have one ab, now I think I see two. I'm just trying my best to make Emma proud of me so that we can have success on the dance floor."

Based on a September interview, Slater is already quite proud of her partner.

"Michael's excited to learn more things, and also, he's just trying so hard," she told Starpulse.com. "He's the most fierce competitor I've ever had on the show."

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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

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