Random Thoughts

September 12, 2008

UPS Will Sponsor David Ragan in 2009

No surprise here - it was made official today that UPS will move from Michael Waltrip Racing to Roush-Fenway Racing to become David Ragan's sponsor. I'd be disappointed that MWR was losing a major sponsor but the writing has been on the wall for quite some time that they had no intention of sticking around regardless of how well David Reutimann raced for them since they didn't feature him or any of the MWR drivers in the last series of ads they did in tribute to Dale Jarrett. Ragan is a young driver who has shown that he can be a Chase contender but I think they're going to have a hard time duplicating the amount of success and exposure that they got with DJ. Reutimann has also raced extremely well of late so if his results are like this next season he could very well be a Chase contender himself.

Ron Rogowski, UPS's Director of sponsorship said,

"When Dale announced his retirement, it gave us an opportunity as an organization to really sit down and take a look at our whole program. This gives us an opportunity with Roush Fenway Racing, with (crew chief) Jimmy Fennig, not only to be back in victory lane but to be able to develop the rock star driver we're looking to develop."

Ragan a rock star? They may very well have an image and personality makeover in mind for him during the off-season but at the moment it's hard to see Ragan, who is kind of on the quiet side, as a "rock star." Usually he just fades into the background, particularly in comparison to his other teammates at Roush. I'd think that UPS would have wanted to go with a driver who shows a lot more personality but maybe they think that's something they can bring out in him.

What's troubling to me is "partgate" back in March when Jack Roush made a big issue of the swaybar off of one of his cars that ended up at MWR for a time. Some thought he was making a big deal out of nothing back then and wondered why he was even making it a public issue. I have to wonder with how early the teams and sponsors start trying to get their plans together for the following season, particularly when it comes to sponsorship, whether they were already making overtures to UPS at that point and "partgate" was an attempt to make MWR look bad and lessen the chances that they'd remain. Odds are that's likely just a crazy conspiracy theory that has no merit but you never know what some might do when it comes to multi-million dollar sponsorships with major companies like UPS. Just doesn't sit quite right with me.

I also wonder what DJ thinks of all of this. He's a long-time good friend of Michael Waltrip, he thinks highly of David and he raced for MWR himself. So while I'm sure he understands that UPS needs to do what they feel will offer them the most exposure for their money, maybe there's a part of him that isn't so happy with the direction that UPS went in. After all, he hand selected David to replace him in the #44.

It will certainly be interesting to see what UPS has planned for Ragan.

Posted by silverdsl at 05:08 PM | Comments (0)

May 19, 2008

Some Thoughts on All-Star Weekend

Because I really hate to be one of those fans who complains a lot I'm going to start with the things I liked from the All- Star weekend. Friday night's truck was great! I always love seeing a driver win for the first time and that was the case for Matt Crafton, who won his first truck race in his 178th attempt. What was outstanding was the way that things worked out the two drivers battling for the win at the end of the race - Crafton and Chad McCumbee - were both looking for their first win so if Crafton hadn't been able to hang on there likely still would have been a first time winner in Victory Lane.

It was an eventful night for Ron Hornaday, who accidentally wrecked Kyle Busch, and then got wrecked himself by Todd Bodine. Hornaday immediately became a hero to many for wrecking Busch, even though he did so completely accidentally. Unfortunately for Hornaday even though he was able to race his way up front even after the incident with Busch, he made another mistake and cut Bodine off which resulted in Bodine turning him. Hornaday was furious at Bodine afterwards, but hopefully he'll calm down after he sees a replay and talks to Bodine, who was apologetic and upset after the race for wrecking Hornaday. Nascar penalized Bodine for aggressive driving but I can't say that it was that obvious to me that there was intent behind what Bodine did. Johnny Benson was also penalized towards the end of the race for jumping the restart, a call that seemed extremely questionable considering race leader Erik Darnell had trouble getting his truck going.

Other than the truck race, something I liked was how they paid tribute to Dale Jarrett, who was making his last Cup start ever (at least until some team makes him an offer he can't refuse to get him in a car for his Champion's provisional). Some fans have complained that there wasn't enough done for DJ, but considering he had also been honored during his last points start at Bristol, I have no problem with what they did prior to the All-Star race. Granted, I've never been a big fan of DJ's so if I was maybe I would have felt that what was done was lacking, but I think DJ got a good amount of attention considering there was quite a bit of other things going on that night. It was a nice touch the way DJ was introduced last during the driver's introductions so the fans could salute him at length with a standing ovation and it was great to see him finally drive the truck.

So now that I talked about the things that I liked, I have to talk about what I didn't like. As per usual TV managed to ignore more than a few drivers who took part in the All-Star festivities. I completely understand that some drivers are more popular than others so more attention is going to be given to the drivers that TV thinks their audience wants to hear about. So it doesn't bother me if they talk a lot about certain drivers. However, it would be nice if occasionally other drivers were mentioned as well - did they ever mention Carl Long even once? Yes, he was in the Sprint Showdown, as was Tony Raines, Reed Sorenson, Kyle Petty, Regan Smith and Scott Riggs, all of whom I don't remember being mentioned at all. David Poole said this morning on Sirius, I guess in response to a caller's complaint along these lines that he doesn't care about who's racing in 23rd. Well, I have news for him - a lot of fans do! Whether their driver is in 1st or 43rd, fans most definitely care about what's going on with their favorite drivers.

That said, one other thing that bugs me (and this is more of a general complaint rather than related solely to the All-Star race) is when fans complain about how their driver doesn't get any coverage in the media and then they don't do anything about it. As noted above the media is going to give the most coverage to the drivers and teams that they think their audience wants to hear about. So it's essential for fans to let the media know how much they want to hear about their favorite drivers. Of course fans need to be realistic that the amount of coverage that a driver like Paul Menard is going to get is going to be far less than what Tony Stewart gets, and they also need to realize that there are some constraints in terms of time and space, particularly on busy news days for those in the media. But fans need to make their voices heard by emailing, writing letters by snail mail and calling various media outlets to let those in the media know how much support a particular driver has. That doesn't mean that they should whine and complain every week when their driver doesn't get any coverage during a broadcast, but letting those in the media know that they're a fan of a particular driver, or thanking them when they give attention to a driver or team can make a difference. Claire B. Lang from XM for one very much caters to what her listeners want and will seek out particular drivers or talk about them on-the-air when fans call or email her about them.

My biggest issue with the All-Star festivities wasn't the coverage, it was with the racing. I thought the All-Star Race (and the Sprint Showdown) stunk. It wasn't just that Michael Waltrip didn't have a good night, I though the majority of the racing for most of the night was pretty boring, so much so that I didn't watch much of the final segment of the All-Star race and I almost always watch every lap of every race that I'm home for no matter what. maybe part of the problem is that the All-Star festivities were hyped and built up for weeks ahead of time, but it seemed like the racing was really lacking. Sure, Kasey Kahne was able to race his way to the front of the field and a few others were able to make some forward progress at times but for most of the night it seemed like passing was very difficult and when there's very little passing it makes for uninteresting racing. That's not a good sign for what fans can expect in the Coca-Cola 600 next weekend. Hopefully that it'll be a points race will make for better and harder racing but it was said that we'd see that this past weekend because the drivers didn't have to worry about points so they could go all out. If that was all-out racing, I shutter to think what conservative racing would have been like.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:34 AM | Comments (0)

May 01, 2008

In the News: Michael Waltrip (5/1)

Yesterday was Michael Waltrip's birthday and while I'm sure he would have loved to have spent it on a beach somewhere he was at Churchill Downs for a UPS sponsored event in conjunction with the Kentucky Derby along with Dale Jarrett and David Reutimann. But as usual for Michael according to someone who was there he was in good spirits and had a smile on his face. Michael, David and DJ signed autographs for fans and they also got to see all the horses and make their picks for which one would win the Derby. It sounds like it was a fun event whether your choice in racing is horses or car!

All three drivers were asked by a reporter from the Orlando Sentinel about which they thought was harder racing a horse or racing a car, and all three seemed to think horse racing sounded pretty hard to them.

"I know our races are a lot longer," Reutimann said. "But there's something about riding something that has its own thoughts."

"For me, racing a horse because I'm too big," Waltrip said.

Waltrip suggested a training strategy that involved him on the horse for training and then putting a little jockey on it for races. By comparison it would feel like nothing was on the horse.

"As high-strung and tempermental as these horses have to be, [it must be difficult,]"Jarrett said. "We look at our racecars like they have personalities. It's a good question."

An interesting question for sure. Cars have so many parts and so much overall has to be right for a driver to have a successful day of racing. But a jockey has to control, as David said, a living creature with it's own thoughts. There's no amount of new tires or adjustments to the track bar that will make any difference when it comes to a horse!

Michael also said that he could never be involved with horse racing. He said,

“The emotional attachment to the animal would be confusing to me. I would want it to do well but I wouldn’t want it to get hurt. I’d be nervous all the time. I’m going to stick with cars. I don’t fall in love with them.”

I have to admit that my first reaction when I read that was "Awwww!" I think it's really awesome that Michael admitted to getting emotionally attached to animals. Of course there are other animal lovers in the garage area, many of them in fact, but I'm not sure how many of the men would be willing to show their sensitive side and admit to falling in love with animals! But in Michael's case he had or has had horses on his property in North Carolina and his daughter Macy barrel races so he's been around horses a lot and has probably come to feel a connection to the horses he's had. I can't picture Michael on a horse given his size but at one time or another he probably has ridden - I sure would love to see some photos of that!

What was weird to me was seeing photos of Michael wearing a UPS logo on the shirt he was wearing. I'm not sure I've ever seen him wear the UPS logo on anything he's wearing quite so prominently other than when it's been on his racesuit. I suppose Michael was trying to do everything he could to make UPS happy considering the speculation that they're leaving Michael Waltrip Racing.

In other news MWR has a new member of their executive team - Terry Bassett - who is the new Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. He will oversee sales, marketing, media relations, licensing and sponsor services. Although he most recently was with the Miami Dolphins football team, he has experience in motorsports having worked for International Speedway Corp and Penske Motorsports. This is a good move for MWR and one that I'm surprised that they haven't made sooner considering what an outstanding understanding Michael has for motorsports marketing, fan relations and all things related to the media and sponsors.

This weekend both the Cup and Nationwide Series is in Richmond. Michael has won a Nationwide race at this track and finished in the top ten in Cup there as recently as 2005 so he's definitely capable of good results if his car is good enough. Given the disappointment of last weekend at Talladega when he came so close to possibly winning the race, a strong finish this weekend would be great for him and his team!

Posted by silverdsl at 04:07 PM | Comments (0)

April 02, 2008

UPS Evaluating Their Options

Both UPS and NAPA Auto Parts have sponsor contracts with Michael Waltrip Racing that run through the end of this season. Rumors have circulated since early last year that both sponsors were looking to go elsewhere. The talk in relation to NAPA has mostly quieted down but UPS has acknowledged that they are indeed evaluating their options, whether they want to continue to sponsor the #44 beyond this season or move to another team. Apparently UPS wants to be on a car that will be in contention for a championship and they want to sponsor a driver who is a "rock star" like Dale Jarrett.

When I think of rock star I most certainly don't think of DJ. Perhaps UPS means that they want to align themselves with a high-profile driver who is popular and can get them a lot of exposure. Because DJ certainly doesn't have a flamboyant, in-your-face, look-at-me kind of personality. In fact, it's hard for me to see how that kind of a persona would fit the UPS brand. As for racing for a championship, well so does every sponsor but that's a lot harder to deliver these days than ever even for the better teams in the garage area. I can understand how UPS might be frustrated with missing races and the way MWR has struggled but they voluntarily followed DJ to MWR so they had to know there was a risk that the performance wouldn't be all that great. Actually even before that the performance hadn't been so spectacular. The last time DJ was anywhere near in contention for a Championship was 2002 when he finished 9th in the points. Maybe the problem is that UPS is seeing one of their competitors, FedEX in Victory Lane regularly and in Chase contention every year with Denny Hamlin and they want to be with a team that's equally as successful.

In the past it's been rumored that UPS might be interested in sponsoring Greg Biffle, and as much as I hope they stay at MWR, I do think Greg would be a good fit for their brand. In fact Roush-Fenway Racing may have a number of cars in need of sponsorship next season since AAA won't be back on the #6 and I think some of the sponsorship on the #99 is also up for renewal. I already question Jack Roush's motivation for speaking out about his missing swaybar since it seems like it only stems from a vendetta against Lee White from Toyota. I'd be even more suspicious if UPS ended up at Roush because I'd have to wonder if Jack was deliberately trying to make MWR look bad as a way to help convince UPS to leave. I'm sure Roush won't be the only suitor for UPS though - they've shown that they're willing to spend money and do a lot of marketing, advertising, commercials and promotions, so they're exactly the type of sponsor that a lot of teams would want.

Of course UPS could just end up staying at MWR. I think David Reutimann is an excellent fit for their brand too and he even worked for UPS years ago. He's also got a lot of talent behind the wheel and I have no doubt that if he had competitive cars to race he could contend for wins and maybe even the Chase as well. However, UPS may not be willing to have the patience to wait for MWR to start fielding cars that are not only competitive but that David can race up front with on a regular basis. Unfortunately it's also possible that they aren't happy with some of the continuing negative headlines since last season - the mess at Daytona, Michael's accident, now swaybar-gate. While none of those things effected them directly they may wonder what else might be on the horizon.

My fear is what happens if UPS leaves MWR. In the past I'd say that MWR would just find a replacement sponsor and move on. However, with the way the economy is these days convincing a company to spend $15-20 million, the average amount it takes to field a competitive Cup car, is a tough sell. Even getting a company to spend less is difficult. Rumor has it that Domino's, who sponsored the #00 for part of last season, wanted to return to MWR but couldn't afford to spend the money - I guess that's what happens when profit drops as dramatically for a company as it did for Domino's last season. Complicating matters is that NAPA's deal with MWR also runs out. It would be bad enough if UPS left but a complete disaster if NAPA left as well because then MWR wouldn't have sponsors for any of their cars. At least with NAPA they're so tied in with Michael. Even though the results on the track haven't been very good lately, they've still gotten a lot of exposure via their association with him. I don't think there's anyone else in the garage area who could do the commercials that NAPA does like Michael can. Still, it's a concern - what happens to MWR if they lose UPS and NAPA and don't have replacement sponsors lined up?

Posted by silverdsl at 01:16 PM | Comments (0)

March 20, 2008

Random Nascar Thoughts on Random Thoughts (3/20)

*It's pretty quiet since it's an off-week for all the Cup teams so there might not be too much posted in this space for a few days depending on what happens in the Nationwide race in Nashville.

*Scenedaily.com has an article on how Mike Bliss and Fitz Racing are racing competitively against all the Cup-backed teams even though they have a shoe-string budget. Bliss has raced so well so far that he's 6th in the points and could be even higher depending on how he finishes at Nashville since some of the Cup drivers ahead of him in points won't be racing this weekend. It's great to see this team get some positive press. Often the independent, Nationwide-only teams are overshadowed by the Cup drivers and their teams so it's nice to see the #22 team get some recognition for how well they've done so far.

*The only problem for Bliss and the #22 team is that they only have sponsorship for 25 of the 35 races this season so a lack of financial resources could end up being their undoing. I hope that if they continue to race well a company will step up to sponsor them. Bliss might not be racing Cup anymore and he might not be a "name" driver but he is a former truck series Champion who has shown he's capable of getting good results in the Nationwide (and Truck) Series.

*Chase Austin was supposed to take over the #64 from David Stremme for Rusty Wallace, Inc. for this weekend's race at Nashville but Stremme, who has been in the car for the first five races this season, will remain behind the wheel. The team says that Austin will eventually race the #64, but it's not a good sign that before he even raced one race in the #64 he's being replaced.

*Tony Raines has been named the driver of the #08 Cup car for Martinsville. One never knows what might happen but I can't say I have much confidence that he'll do any better than Carl Long or Burney Lamar when it comes to making a race. It's not that Raines is a bad driver, it's just that so far the #08 hasn't seemed to have anywhere near the horsepower or speed the team needs for them to make races.

*Boris Said is going to race the #25 Nationwide car for Team Rensi Motorsports in Mexico City and Montreal. Apparently Bobby Hamilton, Jr., the usual driver of the car, and the #25 team were going to skip those two races until an agreement was reached with Said. I assume that this came about because Said brought sponsorship in the form of No Fear with him to make this possible.

*Plans to honor Dale Jarrett at the All-Star race were unveiled yesterday at Lowe's Motorspeedway. Jarrett will race the #44 with a special, really nice looking paint scheme. However, if Jarrett's in the #44 that weekend, what car is David Reutimann going to race that weekend?

Posted by silverdsl at 02:21 PM | Comments (0)

March 16, 2008

Photo of the Day - Dale Jarrett

Dale Jarrett, Pocono, August, 2007. In honor of DJ retiring and making his last points start today. Thanks for all you did to help Michael Waltrip Racing!

Posted by silverdsl at 09:45 PM | Comments (0)

March 13, 2008

Random Nascar Thoughts on Random Thoughts (3/13)

*Tony Stewart is continuing to complain about Goodyear's tires. While I definitely think he's on target that Goodyear has to address the driver's concerns regarding the tires that were brought to Atlanta, I'm just wondering how long Tony is going to keep complaining like this? If Tony is so concerned with the safety of the tires and so dissatisfied with the tires that Goodyear brings to the track, why is he going to get in his car and race this weekend at Bristol?

*Until 2007 not only did Valvoline sponsor and have an ownership stake in the #10 car, but they also had technological partnerships with a number of other competing teams including Roush-Fenway Racing, Bill Davis Racing and Petty Enterprises. Concern about a conflict of interest where they were helping teams other than their own try to get to Victory Lane led to them giving up their ownership role. I've always wondered whether companies that are involved as sponsors or in other ways with a variety of teams have concerns like that. Back in 2004 when Wyler Racing started their own team they were also an associate sponsor on the #62 truck, and I always wondered how that worked considering they were giving money to another team that could have ended up helping the #62 beat their own truck. Perhaps Wyler had concerns like that too since if I remember correctly they stopped being an associate sponsor at South Point Racing once the #62 team folded and the season ended.

*The trucks tested at Martinsville the past two days and A.J. Allmendinger was testing for Morgan-Dollar Motorsports, the team he raced for in the truck race at California. I hope this is a sign that A.J. will be racing that truck in the future since he's not going to gain any more experience that will help him in Cup if he's just sitting on the sidelines observing. Through Thursday morning A.J. was in the top ten cumulatively, but he was also fast in pre-season Cup testing and that apparently didn't translate when it came time to qualify.

*Dale Jarrett is racing his last points race this weekend at Bristol. I suppose I should be more upset about that since he's a Michael Waltrip Racing driver but I've never been a big fan of DJ and he hasn't grown on me any since he joined MWR. In fact, I think I might have come to like him even less for reasons that I'm not going to get into. Still, it's always a little sad when a veteran driver gets out of the car for good (though these days retirement doesn't seem to stick for a lot of drivers). DJ is a former Cup champion who won 32 races over the course of his career, including two Daytona 500s. Because the results haven't been too great for him the past few years I think it gets a little lost how much success DJ has had over the course of his career. Though I've never warmed to DJ, he's definitely accomplished a lot in Cup and he will be missed by many. He'll still be going to the track each week though as a broadcaster for ESPN where he'll be an asset in the booth.

*I didn't hear it myself but supposedly it was said on Nascar Now that if Sam Hornish, Jr. is outside the top 35 in owner's points after this weekend that Penske Racing might look to swap points between the #2 and the #77 again. What if Sam keeps dropping out of the top 35? How many times are they going to swap points and how many times is Nascar going to allow them to do it? It's a situation like that where a team takes advantage of the rules in an almost abusive way that might force Nascar to address points swapping in a way that will restrict the circumstances under which teams are allowed to do it.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:09 PM | Comments (0)

March 01, 2008

All Three Michael Waltrip Racing Cars Make the Show!

Oh happy day! Yesterday all three Michael Waltrip Racing cars qualified for Sunday's race at Las Vegas. The best part was that all three qualified solidly on time and there was no need for provisionals! What a difference a year makes! Last season I would be anxious and upset about what was going to happen from practice where the MWR cars were usually among the slowest of the go-or-go-homers right through qualifying, where things often didn't work out so well for them. But from the start of practice yesterday it was clear that much has changed and I felt optimistic from the start that there was a pretty good chance that all three MWR would make the show! David Reutimann was not only the fastest of the go-or-go-homers in practice, he was one of the fastest overall cars in practice! Michael was also fast, finishing practice the fourth fastest of all those who needed to qualify on time. Dale Jarrett was the only one who didn't do so well, ending up at the bottom of the speed chart to the point where I was sure he would need to use a Champion's provisional to make the race, but I was wrong about that!

This was the first week that the new qualifying procedure for the go-or-go-home cars was used. I think it worked extremely well, though I didn't really like having to wait until the end to find out whether Michael and his teams were going to make the race. I was thrilled when David and Michael both locked themselves in, no waiting and hoping for other go-or-go-homers to do worse to enable them to make the show, this year they both made it right away. The only question was how DJ was going to do - very well as it turned out! DJ qualified 16th and there was no need to use a provisional! That his team was able to pick up so much speed between practice and qualifying really shows how far the entire MWR organization has come since last season. That simply wouldn't have happened last year. Make no mistake the teams worked just as hard last season as this season, but the resources, personnel and knowledge base wasn't there to enable them to get the cars right for qualifying when they were off in practice. But based on how they got DJ's car right for him, it seems like they've major advances in their ability to make changes to the cars at the track to improve their performance.

I'm so happy for Michael and all of MWR! I think they've still got a ways to go before they're going to be racing up front and contending for wins, but I think it's a huge first step that they're showing that they have the ability to qualify for these races on time and then finish the races in the top 35. Anything can happen in Sunday's race and during the next two race weekends so I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch but if all three MWR cars can finish in the top 35 on Sunday, qualify for the next two races and finish those in the top 35 too, then they won't have to worry about having to qualify for races on time (as long as they stay in the top 35 in owner's points). That would be a major accomplishment for an organization that had such a terrible first season. After the cars are locked in, they'd be able to start working on improving the competitiveness of the cars during races and from there I think we'd start to see some really solid finishes, particularly from David and Michael.

So far this weekend lady luck has been on MWR's side - I hope it continues!

Posted by silverdsl at 09:42 AM | Comments (0)

February 26, 2008

Michael Waltrip Racing Struggles at California

A lot of Michael Waltrip Racing fans had high hopes headed into California but things didn't go as well as most would have liked. Luck was on their side on Friday as Cup qualifying being rained out put all three cars into the race, but it wasn't a stellar weekend on the Cup side after that. David Reutimann finished the best of all three cars in 23rd, Michael Waltrip was 28th and Dale Jarrett was 33rd. On the positive side all three cars finished in the top 35 which is important since the biggest goal over the first five races is locking themselves into the top 35 in owner's points, but I'm sure they would have liked to have finished a lot better to make some upwards movement in the 2008 owner's points standings. I can't say I'm entirely surprised by the results this weekend. Michael had said on his XM show last week that their qualifying runs during testing at California were extremely good but they weren't as confident about their race set-ups so they changed a bunch of things. Seems like they're going to have to change a bunch more things for the next time they come to this track.

The weekend had to be very stressful for Michael, and not just because his car wasn't very good. On Friday his sister Connie's son Jason passed away at the age of 28. The loss of anyone is always difficult but it's even harder when it's someone who is so young. I'm sure both Michael and DW both very much wished that the weekend would end as soon as possible so they could fly back to be with their sister. So Sunday's rainout had to be even harder for them to bear than for others in the garage area. Michael had a tribute in his car to his nephew and the thoughts and prayers of all his fans are with him and his family.

Unfortunately right from the start the race was a trying one for Michael and his team, in fact before the green flag even flew they had problems. As Michael was going around the track for the parade laps, a clamp fell off the oil line and every drop of oil in the car poured onto the track, creating quite a mess. That mess turned out to be a blessing for Michael because the delay in the start of the race due to the cleanup allowed his team to fix the problem, get oil back in the car and get him back on the track before the race started. Michael had to be completely freaking out inside when that happened, particularly since at first it wasn't known whether it might be a terminal problem or not - had he not been able to race he would have taken a big hit in the owner's points. But luckily his team did a good job of calmly taking care of everything and Michael was able to start the race without losing any laps.

However, it quickly became clear that the car wasn't very good, and if it was bad on Sunday it was even worse yesterday. No matter what Paul Andrews did for the majority of the race, much to Michael's frustration, it didn't seem to make things any better. When his cars aren't good Michael has always been known to get extremely agitated and yell, however, I've never heard him yell, scream and curse quite as much as he did yesterday, something that was probably partially a result of hat he was dealing with in relation to his nephew. At one point he screamed "motherfucker!" out of the blue at the top of his lungs and since I was at work I thought I was going to have to turn off Trackpass if he didn't settle down since I was at work even though I had it on low. Michael complained throughout the race that the car was one of the worst that he'd ever driven and so loose that he was going to wreck... and that's kind of what happened.

On lap 150 Michael spun out but luckily he only brushed the wall and the damage was minimal so his team was able to get him fresh tires and get him back out without losing any laps, though I think he was already a lap down at the time. Curiously Michael said after the race,

“I don’t know what happened when the NAPA Camry spun out. It was a crazy deal. It wasn’t handling well, but I didn’t expect that to happen. It was pretty unpredictable out there.”

So if he didn't expect it to spin out, why did he say at least once that the car was so loose that he was going to wreck?

In any event, after that Paul Andrews, Michael's crew chief, continued to make changes and finally those changes worked and the car got better. At one point Michael said that the car was the best it had been but that it was still terrible - but even with that terrible car towards the end of the race he was able to pass some others to finish 28th. Not a good result but considering how many problems there were it's better than it could have been. I was impressed with Paul - no matter how much Michael yelled, Paul simply said 10-4, tried to be encouraging and went to work on making changes. I liked how calm he was even though Michael was clearly very upset, and I think that will be an asset going forward. Some think that Paul won't last the season, but I think if he's able to brush off Michael when he's frustrated and yelling without taking it personally or letting it get to him, I think they'll eventually make a pretty good pairing.

For a while it seemed like David was going to have an excellent finish - he was racing in the top ten and seemed like his car was better than Michael or DJ's but by mid-race on Monday David had dropped back. That had to be disappointing but if David continues to finish in the top 20 and top 25 at least for the next few races he'll be in the top 35 for sure - or at least the #00 will be since David is switching to the #44. I suspect if the #00 is in the top 35 in owner's points and the #44 isn't they'll swap the points when David takes over the #44 so UPS is locked in each week. As for DJ, he never seemed to be able to make much forward progress like Michael and I imagine he was also battling handling issues. Spinning on the last lap was unfortunate because it cost him a number of spots but he was still able to finish in the top 35.

I don't know what to expect next weekend at Las Vegas. I know what I want to see, which is all three cars qualifying for the race and then all three finishing in the top 20 at least if not better. However, next weekend may be a struggle as well. I suspect that MWR is concentrating all their efforts on qualifying right now so I'm not as worried about whether they're going to make the race, particularly since there are "only" 48 cars entered, though of course anything can happen so until qualifying is over and they're in for sure I'll still be nervous. What I'm a little more concerned about how is competitive the cars are going to be under race conditions. They really have to have some solid finishes to lock themselves into the top 35 and stay there. But hopefully we'll see some good things from MWR next weekend.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:47 PM | Comments (0)

February 17, 2008

Mixed Day for Michael Waltrip Racing

The highlight of the Daytona 500 came early for Michael Waltrip when he started on the front row and led a couple of laps. However, due a loose handling car he had to drop back in the field until the first round of pit stops when his crew made some changes for him in an effort to get it right. Unfortunately just when the car started getting right for Michael and he had raced his way into the top 20, and was likely posed to make his way back up front, things went bad as Michael got into the back of Denny Hamlin presumably as he checked up to avoid the Jimmie Johnson-Martin Truex, Jr. wreck. Although the damage wasn't bad enough to send Michael to the garage, the front end got bent and it was impossible for him to make any headway after that. The disappointment was evident in Michael's voice at the end of the race as he was only able to finish 29th.

After proclaiming that he had a car good enough to win the race with earlier in the week, I felt really bad for Michael that he wasn't up there contending for the win at the end of the race. However, there was still a lot of positives for Michael and Michael Waltrip Racing in this race. I really liked what I heard in terms of the communication between Michael and his crew chief Paul Andrews. Although Michael seemed irritated at the start of the race Paul was able to take command and stayed in control through the race, whereas in the past Michael has dominated his crew chiefs. But today while Michael gave feedback and made suggestions, he let Paul call the shots from the pit box. Also, when Michael got damage in the wreck, Paul did an outstanding job of keeping Michael and the team calm. They simply went about the business of fixing the car and getting Michael back on the track without losing a lap or freaking out - very well done. In addition, even when the car wasn't to Michael's liking while he complained, he didn't curse or yell as he's done in the past when things haven't been right. Instead he was mostly quiet, an indication to me that while the car wasn't handling well, it wasn't all that bad either - a far cry from last season when he would complain constantly all race long about how terrible the car was.

While Michael didn't finish well, Dale Jarrett and David Reutimann both had solid finishes, especially in comparison to last season. DJ finished 16th, the highest finishing MWR car like last season, and David finished 18th. Looking at the big picture, that two of the three MWR cars finished in the top 20 is terrific, and I think even that all three cars finished in the top 30 and on the lead lap is pretty good, even if it's not entirely satisfying. What that means is that all three teams have taken the first step towards being in the top 35 in owner's points after the first five races, something that's even more important than contending for the win in one race. Of course I would have loved to have seen Michael or another MWR car in Victory Lane or otherwise finish extremely well but that all three cars finished the race on the lead lap keeps me from being too disappointed about the race for MWR.

MWR did a few other cool things in this race that don't relate to the actual finish. First, since it was DJ's last Daytona 500 before he retires all the other drivers in the field signed his car. I assume that DJ will get that car at some point which will make a really cool memento. In addition, all three MWR cars raced with gold wheels until the first pit stop when they reverted back to their usual awesome looking chrome wheels. The gold was in honor of the 50th running of the Daytona 500 and they'll be autographed and auctioned off to raise money for charity. I love the way Michael is always thinking of creative ways to help good causes and in this case he paid tribute to a race that's always been important to him. Also, as a two-time winner of the Daytona 500 Michael took part in a special pre-race show with all the other former living Daytona 500 champions including his brother. It was really sweet to see Michael with his arm around DW when all the former champions went out on stage. I also liked seeing Michael with Macy - she might be getting older but it's clear she still enjoys being with her Daddy!

Overall I think MWR had a very good Speedweeks with only a few bumps in the road. Michael qualifying on the front row and all three MWR cars making the Daytona 500 is a definite highlight, as is all the very positive media coverage they got this week. Although the #99 Nationwide team will be penalized for the carburetor issue, on the Cup side Speedweeks was significantly better for MWR than it was last year and that's something to be happy about. If nothing else MWR showed this week that they're heading in the right direction. Hopefully next weekend at California all three teams will qualify for the race and continue to build on their finishes at Daytona!

Posted by silverdsl at 10:24 PM | Comments (0)

February 15, 2008

Photo of the Day - #44

Pocono, August 2007. In honor of Dale Jarrett racing his way in today - a photo of him heading out to practice from last season in the car of yesterday.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:13 AM | Comments (0)

February 14, 2008

Michael Waltrip Racing Will Have Three Cars in the Daytona 500 and other Duels Thoughts

Terrific day for Michael Waltrip Racing! It was outstanding enough when Michael Waltrip qualified on the front row for the Daytona 500 and David Reutimann also locked himself in, but today Dale Jarrett raced his way into Sunday's race despite starting from the back during the second Duel. That's right, DJ didn't have to use a past Champion's provisional like last year, in fact it wasn't available to him because Kurt Busch had to use it due to having mechanical problems in the first Duel that prevented him from trying to race his way in. So DJ's car, his ability behind the wheel, and a big dose of teamwork got him into Sunday's race!

To me what I saw today from the MWR teams is as impressive as anything this Speedweeks. For one thing Michael was able to lead laps today and contend against some of the strongest cars in the garage area. He even said at one point over his radio that his team had built him a car that he thought he could win the Daytona 500 with! What a thrill it was to hear that! But what really impressed me was the way all three MWR drivers worked together to get DJ into the race. They had a mutual goal and they achieved it. Michael, David and DJ discussed their plans over their radios and were determined to get DJ in the race - so they did it. That kind of teamwork showed me just as much as the cars having more speed how far MWR has come. Last season it seemed like the three teams were somewhat separate. Of course they all shared information and all, but it seemed like they were each so wrapped up in trying to make races and their own strategy for doing so that there wasn't necessarily a cohesiveness there. I really felt that was there today and I think that's just one more sign of how much stronger MWR is now that they were a year ago. A lot of that is because of Michael's leadership - he knew that there were issues that needed to be addressed and he did what he felt he needed to to fix them.

In the past Michael has been criticized for taking on too much by trying to drive and be an owner at the same time but I think he did an excellent job of balancing both today. He took care of himself and his team by leading laps and trying to see what his car was capable of in race conditions, but then he dropped back to make sure that DJ made the race, something that was essential for MWR. It can't be overstated how important it is for all three MWR cars to be in the Daytona 500 - it makes their sponsors happy and it also makes a statement that they're a very different organization than they were at this time last season. Not to mention the Daytona 500 is the most prestigious race of the season and it's going to be the last time DJ takes part in it. Of course this is just one race and MWR still has to get their cars into all the other races this season but I think getting this season off to such a positive start is huge for them. As Michael said on his XM show tonight, he just wants all three teams to get solid finishes - that's what I want to see too, but I'd be beside myself with happiness if Michael's solid finish was his third Daytona 500 win. I guess some think it's ridiculous to even dream about that, but I think it's very possible if all the pieces fall into place for Michael in the right way on Sunday.

Overall, the Duels were pretty exciting as they always are. There's always lots of hard racing since there are so many go-or-go-home teams trying to race their way in with very few spots being available. I think it's probably pretty shocking to many that Kenny Wallace got one of the transfer spots in the first race and John AndrettI in the second race. I certainly never expected either of those two to be able to do it, but maybe I should have at least in the case of Kenny. In 2005 Kenny raced his way into the 500 in a MWR car so he has experience in this exact situation. In addition, Furniture Row Racing is using engines from Hendrick Motorsports this season, something that already helped Kenny's teammate Joe Nemechek lock himself into Sunday's race on time. Kenny also had help from his brother Mike, who also has experience racing his way into the Daytona 500, who acted as Kenny's spotter today. Naturally, both Kenny and John were thrilled with what they achieved today. It definitely was great to see a couple of underdogs have their moment in the sun!

Toyota has to be very pleased with what they've seen in Speedweeks so far. Michael on the front row for the Daytona 500 was a great start but Denny Hamlin becoming the first Toyota driver to win a Cup event when he won the second Duel had to make them extremely happy. It appears that Joe Gibbs Racing is going to pick up right where they left off even in spite of the manufacturer change - I doubt this will be the last time one of their cars is in Victory Lane this season. In addition, they'll have nine teams racing in the Daytona 500, four of them because they raced their way in.

However, Toyota's excitement is probably tempered just a little by the engine problems that many of their teams experienced that led to some of them having to make engine changes before the Duels. Engine issues were a weakness for Toyota in Cup last season and I'm hoping it won't be again this season. I sure didn't like seeing Dave Blaney's engine blow, but hopefully that was the last of the engine gremlins for the Toyota teams this week.

The other thing that Toyota probably isn't entirely happy with is that while the majority of their teams will be racing on Sunday, they still didn't get all their teams into the show. Brian Vickers did an incredible job of coming back from an early spin and a tire issue to race his way in - I don't think I've ever seen him smile as big as he did after his duel - but his teammate, A.J. Allmendinger failed to make the Daytona 500. I can't say I'm surprised that Jacques Villeneuve both failed to race his way in and also started a big wreck. Though some have sung his praises I've not liked what I've seen of him in Nascar thus fan including today and apparently more than a few of his fellow competitors were figuring he was a wreck waiting to happen today. I don't think it bodes well for Red Bull Racing or Bill Davis Racing that they're starting 2008 essentially where they did last season. Sure, all of their teams could end up making the next four races and lock themselves into the top 35, but missing the first race of the season puts them at an immediate disadvantage that might be hard to come back from. It's particularly bad for Jacques and BDR since they were depending on a strong Speedweeks to try to attract a sponsor - without sponsorship the #27 team might fold.

Unfortunately ten drivers and teams failed to make the Daytona 500. It has to be particularly heart-breaking for Boris Said since he had the 9th fastest speed in qualifying. But he failed to race his way in via the first Duel and in spite of David Reutimann trying hard to help Boris by taking one of the transfer spots because Boris had helped him last year, Boris wasn't able to fall back on time either when John Andretti passed David on the last lap. I was really hoping Boris would make the race since I like him a lot and I think he's shown that he can race a Cup car well on a variety of tracks so I wish he would get more of an opportunity to race. Patrick Carpentier looked good for a while but towards the end of the race he brushed the wall several times and eventually blew a tire. I really thought he was going to be able to race his way in since his car was so good but his inexperience behind the wheel probably helped lead to his undoing - I'm thinking that 2008 may be the third year in a row that the #10 spends time outside the top 35 in owner's points.

Incredibly for a while it seemed like he would race his way in but he got caught up in the wreck that JV started, thus ending his chance - I have no idea how Stanton and his team were able to build a car that good when they had never really been competitive in Cup in the past but I'm thinking they may want to give trying to qualify for a restrictor plate race another go later in the season. Ken Schrader gave it his all but a lack of speed and tire issues did him in - as much as I like Ken I really didn't expect him to be able to make it in. Perhaps saddest of all though is that for the first time in 46 years - yes, 46 years, the Wood Brothers won't have a car in the Daytona 500. I can't say I'm surprised by that either considering that the #21 struggled all Speedweeks. Although they've been around for a very long time I have to wonder how much longer the #21 will be able to survive, particularly if they aren't able to get back into the top 35.

Oh yeah, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the first Duel but I'm not sure anyone noticed outside his many fans given all the other drama that was going on with the go-or-go-homers.

Hopefully the Daytona 500 will be as exciting as the Duels were today!

Posted by silverdsl at 11:06 PM | Comments (0)

February 13, 2008

Random Nascar Thoughts on Random Thoughts (2/13)

*Good to see the Michael Waltrip Racing teams continue to be fast during practice today. In the second practice Michael was 2nd fastest, David Reutimann 6th fastest and Dale Jarrett 9th fastest. I hope that's a sign of good things to come in tomorrow's Duels as well as in the Daytona 500. DJ will definitely need as competitive of a car as possible to race his way in via the Duels tomorrow but unfortunately a number of other go-or-go-homers including Patrick Carpentier and Stanton Barrett who are both in his Duel appear to also have very good cars. It's pretty surprising to see Stanton that high on the speed chart as that team has been slow all Speedweeks so far. If they were to somehow make it into the 500 over more established teams it would be a huge upset. Some go-or-go-home teams continue to struggle to find speed including those of Ken Schrader, A.J. Allmendinger and Sterling Marlin. Anything can happen in the Duels but those teams can't be feeling too good right about now.

*There's been some interesting discussion about what Michael Waltrip will do and have David Reutimann do during their Duel, the reason being that Dale Jarrett is also in that race. The question on many people's minds is whether Michael will go for the win and tell David to go for the win if he can or whether he and David will lay back on his instruction to help DJ race his way in. That pits Michael the owner who knows that it's essential that DJ gets into the 500 versus Michael the driver who would want to do what ever he can to win if he thinks that's possible. My guess is that it will be a combination of both based on how the race plays out. Michael will likely do all he can to help DJ race his way in but if he has a chance to win I don't think he'd pass it up. A MWR ending up in Victory Lane would be pretty important for the organization too for a variety of reasons including because of how happy it would make the sponsors. How about if DJ wins the Duel? That would certainly make everyone happy!

*One of the biggest problems for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. last season was how many times he lost engines during races. Ironically, today the #88 teams was one of the many with engine issues that were so bad that the involved teams had to make engine changes. In fact all of the Hendrick Motorsports teams made engine changes due to a lifter problem. The HMS engines are some of the most dependable in the garage area - it's pretty unusual for them to have engine problems let alone ones that require them to change engines on all of their cars. The problem may also extend to some of the other teams that use HMS engines and at least one of the Hass-CNC Racing teams will be making an engine change as well. Any of the teams that change engines will have to start from the back during the Duels but it won't effect where they start during the 500.

*Turner Sports who produces Nascar.com has entered into an agreement with Roush-Fenway Racing to do their website as well. While I've never liked the Roush website too much, the Nascar.com website is even worse. It's hard to navigate and extremely difficult to find even the simplest of information. In addition, even on a high-speed connection the site is often very slow to load probably because of how graphics heavy it is. Other than when I'm using Trackpass I avoid spending much time on the site. It'll be interesting to see what they do for an individual team's site.

*Ray Evernham continues to redefine what he'll be doing now that he's taken a step back from the organization that bears his name. Today it was announced that he would be joining ESPN as an analyst which will include appearances on Nascar Now and in the booth for selected Nationwide races. I think he'll be a pretty good addition to ESPN's Nascar coverage. He's a weekly guest on Dave Moody's show on Sirius and I enjoy listening to him on that show. A lot of fans lost respect for Ray due to the whole Erin Crocker mess, but he has a lot to offer in terms of knowledge about the cars and the sport overall, both as a former crew chief and current team owner.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:52 PM | Comments (0)

February 10, 2008

Michael Waltrip Qualifies on the Front Row for the Daytona 500!!!

Oh happy day!!!! I knew Michael Waltrip had a good chance at locking himself into the Daytona 500 today after he practiced so well yesterday, but in qualifying anything can happen so I was still a bundle of nerves watching qualifying. Michael went out last of all the go-or-go-homers and not only did he lock himself into the race, but he flirted with the pole and ultimately qualified second! On top of that David Reutimann also locked himself into the 500 with a terrific qualifying lap! What an outstanding day for Michael Waltrip Racing, that two of their three cars are locked into the 500 and Michael will start on the front row! I'm so happy for Michael - this has to feel so good . He's talking right now on Nascar Live on Speed and he sounds so proud! Kenny Wallace asked him if the trophy he got for qualifying on the front row is the most important trophy MWR has ever gotten and Michael said that yes, it is and that he wants to put it on a chain and wear it around his neck all week! Michael was all smiles in that interview and sounded happier than he has for a really long time!

MWR has really come such a long way since a year ago! Some said that MWR would fold before the year was out but the organization has survived and is far stronger than they were back then. Talk about showing something to all the naysayers! I'm sure there are some who are going to say that qualifying 2nd is no big deal, after all it's not a pole and there's still the race to be run. But it's a huge accomplishment for an organization - and a driver - that struggled so much last season. I never stopped believing in Michael or MWR - I knew that eventually all of Michael's hard work would pay off!

One thing that Michael's mentioned a few times in the interviews he's done today is that none of what he's been able to do would be possible without NAPA, that their belief in him and in MWR is what kept them going. I'm really glad that NAPA stuck by him - and they should have stuck by him. In spite of all the negative stuff last season Michael has gotten them a tremendous amount of exposure which has helped them sell a lot of auto parts in the time that he's been associated with them. I know that I, and lots of other fans, wouldn't be shopping at NAPA if not for their association with Michael. They too have to be extremely happy because Michael qualifying on the front row is going to get a huge amount of media attention!

The only negative from today for MWR is that Dale Jarrett still has to race his way into the 500. I can't say I'm surprised that DJ didn't qualify as well as Michael and David did since he often struggled last season in qualifying. While DJ is very capable of racing his way in in Thursday and he appears to have a decent car, it's not going to be easy because there are many others who will be fighting hard for a tiny amount of available spots. The Duels are going to be crazy! I wish DJ had locked himself in as well but I'm very relieved that I won't have to worry about Michael and David having to race their way in.

Overall it was a really wonderful day for MWR - MWR made a statement today that they're capable of coming to the track with fast cars. Hopefully next Sunday they'll make another statement and show that this season they're going to race competitively!

Posted by silverdsl at 04:40 PM | Comments (0)

February 08, 2008

Random Thoughts on the Bud Shootout Draw Show on Speed

*Last night Speed broadcast the qualifying draw for tomorrow's Bud Shootout and because Michael Waltrip is racing in it I watched. While I enjoyed certain aspects such as Kenny Wallace joking around with the drivers, I felt like I was watching paint dry at other points - the show just seemed to move really slowly and the producers knew it since they kept telling Kenny to hurry it up. The drivers also looked bored to tears for most of the show. Most fans probably loved it even though it ran long but I think the show could have been better if they found a way to move the show along a little quicker. Dropping the taped intros for each driver would help - the majority of people watching know who the drivers are.

*Michael had to wait until nearly the end of the show to find out where he would start the race but waiting that long paid off because by the time he drew all the starting spots at the tail end of the field had been pulled. He'll start 3rd which is terrific and I expect we'll see him lead at least a few laps tomorrow night as a result of starting so far in front. Michael was thrilled with the way qualifying worked for the Shootout, joking that it was his easiest qualifying ever - I'm sure he wishes that qualifying every week could be as stress-free and simple as choosing a bottle!

*Throughout the show Michael was taking photos with a digital camera. Although this was commented on several times since he was having drivers pose for photos after being interviewed by Steve Byrnes or when Kurt Busch got the pole, it was never followed up on as to why he was taking the photos. It seems to me that would have been a natural question for Steve or Kenny to ask Michael when it was his turn to be interviewed and make his draw. But it remains a mystery as to why he was taking so many photos and whether fans will eventually get to see them anywhere. Michael was probably pretty happy to be a part of the Bud Shootout festivities so he might have wanted to take photos for his own purposes or the camera might have been a new toy that he was enjoying playing with. I've always thought that Michael would be a good photographer if he ever did it regularly so I was happy to see him with the camera last night, but I don't know how often he'll actually use it - when I talked to him about taking pictures last year he said that he's a perfectionist in terms of wanting the photos to come out exactly right and that it can be frustrating when they don't, plus cameras these days are a bit complicated for him. But a point and shoot like he had last night is easy to use, easy to take good photos with and easy to have on hand at all times. I'd love to see the photos that Michael took last night and any others he takes end up on his website!

*When Dale Jarrett went up to make his selection I couldn't help but notice that Michael showed absolutely no interest what-so-ever which seemed a little peculiar to me considering he owns the car that DJ will be racing. From what the camera showed Michael didn't even look at him once yet he at least glanced at most of the other drivers when they were making their draws. It may mean nothing at all but it definitely made me wonder if something's going on there - I've wondered just how well DJ's decision to retire early sat with Michael.

*I was astonished when Kenny asked Martin Truex, Jr. about whether he was going to marry his long-time girlfriend Sherry Pollex, and even more floored when Martin responded by saying "no" and that it "wasn't in the cards." I don't know if Martin and Sherry are still together, but if they are I wouldn't be too happy in her shoes with hearing him say on TV that he had no intention of marrying me. The look on Martin's face when Kenny asked the question was like he had smelled sour milk and with good reason - even if Martin plans on getting married to Sherry at some point I don't think Kenny's question would have been appropriate. It's one thing to ask a driver about being newly engaged, getting married, when they have a new baby or other happy news but for the most part I think the driver's personal lives, particularly as it relates to their relationships should be off limits as a topic for questions and especially in a setting like that.

*Casey Mears was so sick last night that his crew chief Alan Gustafson had to participate in his place. Hopefully Casey will be better by this afternoon to take part in practice for the Shootout! Casey wasn't the only one feeling under the weather. Several other drivers including Kurt Busch mentioned yesterday during media day that they weren't feeling well. Whether it's the flu bug or something else that's bit those drivers, hopefully it won't spread to anyone else - Speedweeks is busy and difficult enough for the drivers without them being sick on top of it.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:51 AM | Comments (0)

February 05, 2008

Thoughts and Predictions - Toyota

Seems like everyone is making their predictions about what the 2008 season has in store for the various teams and drivers, so I figure I might as well get into the act too. I'll take a look at each manufacturer's Cup teams in a separate entry, then maybe do an entry for the Nationwide and Truck Series as well.

Michael Waltrip Racing- I figure I'll start with my personal favorite organization. I feel very optimistic that Michael is going to surprise some who have written him off as being done as a driver - in the races that he was able to qualify for last season he showed that he can still race up front at restrictor plate tracks, and is capable of solid finishes at other tracks. I believe Michael will contend for wins at the four restrictor plate tracks and his results overall will improve but it all depends on how competitive the cars are that MWR are fielding this season. David Reutimann will continue to be consistently good for MWR. He's shown he can race up front in every series he's raced in when he has a good car - we may see a lot of that this season from David, again depending on how good his cars are. There's no question in my mind that in the Nationwide Series David will once again contend for the Championship and will hopefully win it! Dale Jarrett and his team will likely be highly motivated to improve on their results from last season so that DJ retires on a high note but I'm not expecting a trip to Victory Lane before he steps out of the car. While everyone seems to think very highly of Michael McDowell's ability behind the wheel and there's no question he has talent, I'm a bit concerned about how things are going to work out for him in the #00 - it's a big jump from ARCA to Cup. Sponsorship has to be a concern as well - if MWR can't find a sponsor for the #00 how might that effect their ability to give McD a competitive car?

Of course I'm biased because I'm such a big fan of Michael's but overall I believe MWR is going to show a significant amount of improvement between last season and this. MWR has added a lot of good personnel on the competitive and management sides including Cal Wells and Dr. Eric Warren. Ryan Pemberton and Paul Andrews as crew chiefs for David Reutimann and Michael Waltrip respectively should be assets as well. While test results aren't really all that meaningful, it's still a positive sign that the MWR teams had more speed in pre-season testing this year than at the same tests last season - that's an indication that they've made progress that will hopefully translate into improved competitiveness on the track. Michael is very determined to show that he can be successful as an owner and I think this season he and MWR both will not only start to achieve that success but show that they have a long-term future in this sport.

Joe Gibbs Racing - As much as I'd like to see a MWR driver get Toyota their first Cup win, I suspect it's likely to come from a JGR driver and it probably won't take long. JGR is likely to be just as successful affiliated with Toyota as they were with Chevy - this is an established organization that knows what it takes to field competitive cars and their drivers are extremely talented. JGR will help the other Toyota organizations not only via information sharing and with the shocks project they're all working together on, but also because all the expectations and attention will be focused on them which should take some of the pressure off of the other teams.

Any of the JGR Cup drivers are capable of contending for wins on a weekly basis and with luck on their side all three could make the Chase. That is, if none of them trip themselves up. All three are among the most talented drivers in the garage area but both Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch are also among the most volatile, and Denny Hamlin has let his emotions get the best of him in the past as well. Tony can't seem to go more than a couple of months before he's ripping a fellow competitor - sometimes even a teammate, tangling with the media or angering Nascar. Questions about whether Tony is going to sign an extension to his contract with JGR could end up being a distraction as well.

Hall of Fame Racing - An association with JGR should help, as will that they are starting the season in the top 35 in owner's points, but HoF is still a one-car team with a driver whose results have been unimpressive in Cup so far. J.J. Yeley will have to race well consistently throughout the season. J.J. hasn't been in Cup for long so he may be still developing as a Cup driver, but I don't anticipate we'll be seeing him contend for wins too often. HoF will be fielding a second Cup car at selected races for Brad Coleman, who I suspect could turn into a more successful Cup driver than J.J. one day.

Red Bull Racing - Another organization that I think will show a lot of improvement over last season. While RBR hasn't seemed to have made as many changes as MWR has, they have added some key personnel and like MWR they had very positive tests last month. I think Brian Vickers could be another driver like Michael who shows significant improvement over last season, particularly when once considers in the races that he was able to qualify for he often raced in the top 10 or top 15. I'm not sure we'll see quite as much improvement from A.J. Allmendinger since he doesn't have as much experience as Brian does - racing every weekend would help him a lot but it remains to be seen as to whether he'll be able to qualify for every race this season. If A.J. doesn't improve over last season there could be a driver change at some point - RBR is backing Scott Speed in an ARCA car this season so he could be waiting in the wings to take over for A.J.

Bill Davis Racing - I think BDR's problems are often overlooked by the fact that they have so much success in the Truck Series and because Dave Blaney was Toyota's most successful Cup driver last season. As an established organization that isn't new to fielding Cup teams BDR should have been better than they were last season, even though it was Toyota's first season in Cup and there were issues to deal with in relation to that. There are major questions as to whether BDR will be able to field two cars for the whole season to the point where Jacques Villeneuve may have to pay the costs of his car out of his own pocket. Many are expecting a breakout season for Dave in 2008 but given BDR's struggles for a few years now I don't expect to see him racing up front as much as his fans would like. Though test results don't provide a true picture of how a team's season is going to go, it's not a good sign that they struggled to find speed at times during testing last month. That could be an especially big problem for JV since he will have to qualify for races on time. Although some liked what they saw from JV in the truck and Cup races he was in, I was unimpressed and I'm particularly concerned that it seemed as if he caused a few incidents in a truck race or two, likely because of his inexperience. If BDR can't give him competitive cars and he struggles his time in Cup could be a short-lived disaster.

Overall, Toyota should have a lot more success in the Cup Series than they did last year. I'm not convinced that they'll dominate the series like Chevy did last season which is what some fans seem to think is going to happen but I do think that adding JGR will help get them to Victory Lane pretty quickly.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:42 PM | Comments (0)

January 24, 2008

It's Official: Michael McDowell to the #00

In early January word leaked to Nascar.com what many had already suspected that Michael McDowell would take over the #00 at Michael Waltrip Racing after the first five races when David Reutimann shifted to the #44 in place of Dale Jarrett. Last night as part of Nascar's media week, MWR had an event for 200 members of the media, at which it was officially announced that McDowell would indeed step into the #00 in March at Martinsville. That's a tricky track for any driver, let alone a young rookie with very little experience in any of Nascar's three highest levels. McDowell will race the Nationwide race at Daytona, and I would assume that MWR will look to put him behind the wheel either in actual races or at testing as much as possible from then until March to ensure he's as prepared as possible to take over the #00.

It's obvious McDowell has talent otherwise he wouldn't have done so well in ARCA last year, I'm just not sure if he's going to be able to have similar success in Cup with so little experience. However, those at MWR have a lot of confidence in him. As do others. Apparently one reason that Michael picked McD (McDowell's apparent nickname which I'll use to distinguish between the two Michaels) over Josh Wise is not only because he felt McD was more ready than Josh, but also because Boris Said vouched for him. Michael said,

"Boris said, `That kid gets it. He can go. No matter what he gets in, he's fast. Once I talked to Boris, and went to a couple of tests with Michael, to me it was a no-brainer. And there's never been that many of them."

I have to admit that part of me wishes they had put Boris himself behind the wheel of the #00 until McD got a little more experience. That would have given MWR a veteran driver who is good on restrictor plate track and outstanding on road courses. Boris is a bit of an unknown on other tracks, but so is McD. If McD knows how to fast that's big - Michael's said before that you can teach a young driver when to ease up but it's almost impossible to teach them how to go fast. I also like that Boris also said that McD is good on road courses - those kinds of tracks can be very challenging to even veteran drivers.

As for McD, last night he said,

"Michael said at a press conference last year that I was a candidate for the No. 00 Toyota Camry, but said that if I couldn't get the job done, somebody else would. I will never forget that. It pushes me even more to be prepared and I'm glad he said it. It's game time and there is no time to celebrate this opportunity. It's time to get serious."

I like the fact that McD realizes that he can be replaced if he doesn't get results and that it's giong to motivate him. The fact is that there's a lot of young drivers who would love a shot in Cup - including Josh - and some of them might have sponsorship to bring with them. I think it's too much to expect that McD is going to run up front every week as a rookie who has never raced in Cup before and has only a few Nationwide races under his belt. But as long as he can show improvement from week-to-week, not tear up too many race cars and hopefully race well enough to stick in the top 35 or qualify for races if he's outside the top 35 I think they'll keep him in the #00.

As I probably said in a previous entry about McD, while I'm very happy that MWR has found a talented young driver to work with, I'm the slightest bit disappointed that so far it doesn't seem like there's anything in the works for Josh. It just seems like ever since McD came along Josh is an afterthought which is unfortunate because I think he also has a lot of talent. I would hate to see his development be stalled or for MWR to lose him. So hopefully between now and the start of the season MWR can put something together for him like they did for McD.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:02 AM | Comments (0)

January 23, 2008

Dale Jarrett to Replace Rusty Wallace in ESPN Booth

ESPN finally realized what fans had a long time ago - Rusty Wallace wasn't a good fit in the booth during races. So this season the soon-to-be-retired Dale Jarrett will replace Rusty in the booth for the entire season, except for those races that he's in the car for. Contrary to what the rumors had said last year, Rusty won't be fired. Instead he'll become ESPN's lead analyst for their pre-race show and other studio shows. I think being an analyst only in the studio will suit Rusty much better. Rusty is knowledgeable about the sport considering how many years he raced Cup and he's also very opinionated - something which will come in handy as ESPN's lead analyst. I'm really glad that Rusty won't be in the booth for Nationwide races especially - it was often uncomfortable listening to him trying to be unbiased when it came to talking about the struggles of his son, Stephen. In addition, it was embarassing when Rusty didn't know who was in what car or how to pronounce driver's names - hopefully that's something that ESPN has addressed with Rusty and won't be an issue in his new role. Rusty will be in the booth for those races that DJ will be in the car for but that will only be a limited amount of races.

Most fans - including myself - are very happy about DJ taking Rusty's place in the booth. He was very good when it came to doing TV work from what he saw of him on a limited basis last season. However, if ESPN doesn't address some of their other issues that fans are dissatisfied with when it comes to the way they cover the races it might not matter who's in the booth. So it will be interesting to see if at some point fans turn on DJ if he's not what they expect him to be.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:38 PM | Comments (0)

January 15, 2008

In the News: Michael Waltrip (1/15)

Michael Waltrip looked pretty happy this morning at testing at Daytona and it's no wonder - both he and Dale Jarrett continued to be fast during single car runs today. In this morning's session, Michael was 2nd and 6th fastest, and DJ was 4th and 9th. Cumulatively in single car runs Michael was 3rd and DJ 5th - that's excellent because the single car runs are when Michael Waltrip Racing (and the other teams outside the top 35) are working on things they can use during qualifying. Overall, all the Toyota teams have continued to do well. That doesn't mean that they're going to dominate during Speedweeks but it definitely makes me feel confident that things are going to go a lot better for MWR and the other Toyota teams this year than last at Daytona. This afternoon's test session, as well as both of tomorrow's, will feature drafting practice - hopefully the MWR cars will make a good showing in the draft as well. If nothing else it will make both teams feel good about themselves.

What I'm liking about how well MWR has been doing during testing is that there's been a lot of positive media coverage about Michael and his teams that emphasizes optimism about how improved MWR is going to be this season. After how much negativity was directed at Michael and MWR last year, it's great to see the coverage be so positive now. Today there was a good article in USA Today about how much progress MWR has made since last season. A big factor in what helped MWR - at least on the financial side - was Rob Kauffman coming on-board as a partner. Ty Norris said,

"He's forced in financial support and restraint at the same time. He's a stabilizer. If people were on the fence about whether we're a real organization, Rob helped eliminate some of those questions."

I think Kauffman buying into MWR eliminated some of the doubts in some people's minds because it's unlikely that someone with as much experience in investing and business was going to get involved with an organization that he thought was doomed to fail.

Eric Warren, who joined MWR to be their Director of Engineering last year said,

"People started talking inside the garage that something big is happening at Michael Waltrip's, and I want to be part of it,. You get people who are thinking about going to Hendrick or Roush."

That's a pretty big deal when people chose a relatively new organization that has struggled a lot over established and successful organizations like Hendrick or Roush!

Best of all is what Ty said about MWR's goals for this season and especially Speedweeks. He said that MWR set goals to put at least one car in the top 20 and have all three cars be in the top 35 in owner's points. He also said, Norris said the 2008 goals are a victory, putting at least one car in the top 20 and the others in the top 35.

"We had a companywide meeting three weeks ago, and no one left thinking we wouldn't win the Bud Shootout, (qualifying races) and Daytona 500. Those are lofty visions, but they're realistic this year. The cars are way better."

Of course it's not too likely that even the most elite teams in the garage area will sweep all the events during Speedweeks but there's no question that MWR is likely going to have a chance to contend for fine finishes and outstanding results in all the events during Speedweeks! I'm also not sure that MWR will be able to get all three cars in the top 35 and have them stay there all season considering one car will have a rookie in it after the first five races. However, I definitely don't think it's out of the question for two out of the three cars to be in the top 35 and for one of them to be in the top 20 in points. In fact, one writer a few months ago pointed out that had there been no top 35 rule Michael would have made more races since he often was among the 43 fastest cars but got bumped by drivers in the top 35 who had to use provisionals. Well, had Michael been in those races and raced as well as he did in the races he did make, the #55 would have finished 19th in owner's points! So I don't think it's unrealistic to think that MWR might very well achieve their goals this season!

Posted by silverdsl at 04:20 PM | Comments (0)

January 14, 2008

In the News: Michael Waltrip Racing (1/14)

Dale Jarrett and Michael Waltrip are taking part in the second Cup test session at Daytona this week and the early test speeds are very good for both of them. While the standard disclaimer applies that it's hard to draw definite conclusions from testing since every team has a different agenda and some teams may be trying things that they can't use during actual races, I'm very happy to see DJ was fastest this morning (184.987) and Michael was 7th fastest J(183.299). Those speeds are particularly good to see because this morning's session was single-car runs which is similar to the way things are for qualifying and of course both DJ and Michael are outside the top 35 in owner's points so they'll have to make the first five races of next season on speed. There's no telling how things are going to go for the rest of testing this week, but at least early on Michael Waltrip Racing has to feel good about how they're doing.

Part of the reason why things are looking up for MWR as compared to where they were at this time last year is because of the new personnel they've brought on-board including Paul Andrews, who will be Michael's crew chief this season. Paul, who got to know Michael when they were both at DEI, has also know Ty Norris, MWR's general manager for years dating back before he was also at DEI, and it was Ty who asked Paul if he might be interested in joining MWR. Recently Paul did an interview for MWR's website and I have to say I like his optimism - not only does he think that MWR as a whole has a lot of potential, he also thinks that if Michael qualifies for the Daytona 500 that he can win it for the third time - I have to agree! Michael really needs someone as his crew chief who believes in him and his ability to win and Paul definitely seems to believe in him. Paul says that he would like for Michael to be the first Toyota driver to end up in Victory Lane and I would very much like for that to happen too!

Before going to testing in Daytona, Michael was in Nashville for the third annual Sound & Speed, which raises money for the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Victory Junction Gang Camp. Nascar drivers and country music stars join together for autograph and Q&A sessions, and there was also a concert and an auction. In the past Michael has been MC of the auction, which attendees have said has been hysterical. Someone who was at Sound & Speed said that when Michael was introduced for his autograph session something was said about how he was the stripper from the Wildhorse Saloon, which is where I think the auction took place. I would love to know the story behind that, and oh, does the imagination go wild with that one!

As I mentioned last week, Michael will be returning to the booth for Truck Series broadcasts again this season, something I'm really happy about. Some fans find Michael annoying as a broadcaster and because they don't like him believe that everyone who works with him must dislike him as well. But based on what Krista Voda, who works with Michael on Truck race broadcasts said recently that's not the case. She said of working with him,

"Michael is a riot. He is always so relaxed. If the rest of us are stressing during a commercial break, he is likely singing! Michael cares about the Truck Series, and, even as busy as he is, dedicates time to studying the series each week. We don't always see him as much, because he's pulled in so many different directions, but he's there when it counts."

I can't say I'm surprised in the least that Michael would be singing during commercial breaks! It doesn't take much to get him to break into song. Nor is is surprising that he would be more relaxed during commercial breaks than others. He's said previously that doing TV work is like a hobby for him, something he loves, and not like work. Plus, in comparison to the stress and pressure that comes from racing and all that he had to deal with as an owner last season being in the booth must seem like a vacation!

I agree with Krista about Michael caring about the Truck Series - he's talked about the series on his XM show and it's very obvious that he's a fan of the series and it's drivers. That he takes the time to prepare for broadcasting the races is clear too - some things may be fed to him by the producers but Michael seems to be very familiar with the teams and drivers. Of course some of that comes from having raced against some of them and being a presence in the garage area for years so that helps him to get to know people, but Michael seems to be familiar with the "nobody" or young drivers just as much as he is with the veteran or "name" drivers.

In other MWR news, David Reutimann won't be testing his Nationwide car until later this week, but he was extremely enthusiastic and optimistic about the #99 team while at Cup testing last week. David seems to think that the Championship battle might come down to himself and Carl Edwards again, which is probably a safe bet. David recognizes that Carl is a tough competitor and talented driver, so wining the Championship over Carl won't be easy. I think David can do it though. As he says consistency is key - if David can be as consistently good all of this season as he was the second half of last season he will be in the hunt for the Championship again, and the points battle will be a lot tighter.

Now if only MWR can get things sorted out with Josh Wise. Apparently sponsorship is an issue and it may prevent him from racing as much this season as originally planned. That's very disappointing to me because I think Josh is tremendously talented and I think it's important for MWR to continue to develop him for the future of the organization. Hopefully they'll be able to find enough sponsorship so that he'll race frequently in the Nationwide Series or elsewhere this season.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)

December 26, 2007

Unanswered Questions Heading Into 2008

As 2007 comes to an end there's lots of unanswered questions heading into the new year for a lot of teams, drivers and Nascar itself...

*Will Brendan Gaughan find a ride? I think the last thing that anyone expected was that Brendan would still be looking for a ride this late but then again it was also pretty surprising when the merger between South Point Racing and Wyler Racing fell apart which led to South Point Racing closing their doors.

*How many other teams might have to fold due to financial or other issues?

*What team will Ted Musgrave race for in 2008? At the end of the season there was a lot of talk that he had a deal in place but nothing's been announced yet.

*Will Morgan-McClure Motorsports field a Cup car next season? That they're heading into 2008 with no driver, no crew chief and no sponsor doesn't seem to bode well for them.

*A lot of fans have dug in their heels and are insistent that everything about the "new" Nascar is horrible as compared to the way things used to be. Any change, no matter how small is met with negativity, and more and more fans seem to like complaining and being negative about everything they hate about Nascar from some drivers to the governing body more than they enjoy watching good racing (yes, there is some of that!) and cheering for their favorite drivers. How is Nascar going to respond to these increasingly vocal fans?

*How long will Steve Park keep looking for a ride before the desire to race is greater than his desire to find an elite ride? And if he doesn't race next year either, how long before Steve acknowledges that he might be done?

*How many other talented drivers will have to sit on the sidelines next season for all or part of the season due to a lack of quality rides, sponsorship or other factors?

*Rumors circulated at the end of the season that all or part of Bill Davis Racing might be sold. Will that sale actually happen? More and more teams are finding that they need to bring on additional financial partners due to the ever increasing costs of racing so it wouldn't be surprising to see this sale go through at some point.

*How will switching manufacturers from Chevy to Toyota effect Joe Gibbs Racing? Some are predicting that JGR won't skip a beat and will be just as competitive as ever, while others are predicting that 2008 will be a disaster for them. I think 2008 will more likely be somewhere in the middle - an organization like JGR doesn't suddenly become non-competitive that quickly, but with how many problems Toyota had in Cup in 2007 I don't think it will be smooth sailing either.

*How will Dale Earnhardt, Jr. adjust to racing for a different organization for the first time in his Cup career? Many are already penciling him in as the 2008 Cup Champion but I think things won't be as easy for Junior in 2008 as some think. Aside from making the transition from DEI to Hendrick Motorsports, Junior will also be dealing with new teammates who are just as high-profile as he is, new major sponsors and new obligations that could be a distraction from what he's trying to accomplish on the track.

*Will HMS continue their dominant ways in the Cup Series next year? Will Jimmie Johnson win his third Cup championship in a row? I believe HMS will continue to be one of the best organizations in the garage, but I suspect that some of the other elite teams will close the gap a little. I expect Jimmie to contend for his third championship in a row.

*Will BDR, Michael Waltrip Racing and Red Bull Racing improve in performance in 2008? MWR has made the most changes, bringing in a new financial partner, new upper management, a Director of Engineering, three new crew chiefs, as well as additional personnel and resources. However, BDR and RBR must also be working hard to ensure that they are more successful next season. Some believe that Dave Blaney is poised to have a breakout season but BDR has struggled so much the past few seasons I'm not convinced of that. I think Brian Vickers will likely have a much stronger 2008, assuming that RBR can give him more competitive cars than they did this season.

*Who's going to end up in the #00 for MWR after the first five races? It's expected that one or both MWR development drivers, Josh Wise or Michael McDowell, will end up in the #00, but MWR has been known to surprise - will a veteran end up in the mix?

*How will all the open wheel drivers fare in Cup in 2008? With two of them needing to qualify for races on speed to start the season, and a limited amount of experience in Nascar for all of them, the results might not be pretty.

*Will drivers who struggled such as Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler, Michael Waltrip and Jeremy Mayfield rebound in 2008?

*What company will replace Craftsman as the sponsor of the Truck Series?

Posted by silverdsl at 01:58 PM | Comments (0)

December 15, 2007

New Crew Chief Lineup for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2008

Yesterday Michael Waltrip Racing announced their crew chief lineup for 2008. In a previous entry I had said how great it would be if Ryan Pemberton ended up at MWR, but that I thought he would likely go to a more established team - I'm very happy that I was wrong about that! Pemberton will be David Reutimann's crew chief next season, first when he's in the #00 for the first five races of the season, and then when he moves to the #44 team. Pemberton was most recently the crew chief of the #01 at Ginn Racing and DEI, where he worked with Joe Nemechek and Mark Martin. Previously he worked with Ernie Ervan and Jerry Nadeau. Michael Waltrip will also have a new crew chief - Paul Andrews, who Michael knows from when they were both at DEI at the same time. Andrews was Steve Park's crew chief at DEI for one of his wins and also worked Jeremy Mayfield, Jeff Burton and most recently with Bobby Labonte and Kyle Petty at Petty Enterprises. The crew chief of the third Cup team will be Bill Pappas, who doesn't have any Nascar crew chiefing experience, but has had considerable success as a chief engineer for Chip Ganassi Racing and Panther Racing among others in IRL and CART. He was the chief engineer for Juan Pablo Montoya when he won the Indy 500 in 2000. In the Nationwide Series, Jerry Baxter will remain as crew chief of the #99 car for David.

I'm really glad that Michael is getting a crew chief who has a lot of experience with other veteran drivers and at a lot of different organizations. Buddy Cisco was officially the crew chief last season once they settled on someone, but Bobby Kennedy was clearly callling the shots on race day. I think Bobby and Michael worked together extremely well but Bobby is probably needed in other areas at MWR. Paul has worked with a variety of different drivers with different personalities so he likely has the patience and ability to handle Michael's strong personality, plus he will hopefully be able to give Michael competitive cars so that he will be able to make races and get good results. Having one crew chief from the start of the season to the end of the season will give the #55 team the stability that they didn't always have last season and that should help both the team and Michael. While the results can't be considered good for Michael last season since he DNQ'd for so many races, he did get two top tens which is two more than he got in 2006 in 35 races for Bill Davis Racing and a pole, so based on what they were able to do in a limited amount of races, I expect to see Michael and his team have a solid season next year, especially with the addition of Paul.

Although I suspect that David is likely disappointed about Frank Kerr not continuing as his crew chief since they worked so well together this season, I think that Ryan will really help David in his sophomore season. David is an extremely talented driver but he didn't often get the change to show that in Cup in 2007. With a crew chief who has guided other drivers into Victory Lane I think we'll see David develop even further as a Cup driver and race up front more often in 2008 than he did this year. I think some fans are upset about David getting a new crew chief but when an organization has an opportunity to get a crew chief like Ryan who can help them improve, they need to take advantage of it. In addition, at the moment it's unknown as to what Frank will end up doing next season - it's possible MWR has another role for him or maybe he was offered an opportunity with a different organization that he felt he couldn't pass up. He's worked for Robby Gordon previously, for some reason I get the feeling he could end up there again at some point.

As for Bill Pappas, while there is no question that he has impressive credentials in other racing series, I wonder about the wisdom of using a crew chief with zero experience in Nascar for a team that will likely have a rookie driver (and maybe two rookies drivers) with limited experience in Nascar themselves. That seems like a huge risk for an organization that doesn't have much room for error. Obviously MWR must be impressed with Pappas and believe in his ability to help them succeed otherwise they wouldn't have hired him, but things could be rocky for a while as Pappas adjusts to working in Nascar. One thing that occurred to me is that since the driver for the #00 after the first five races of 2008 hasn't been announced yet that MWR could have changed their minds about putting Michael McDowell and/or Josh Wise behind the wheel. While I think we'll likely see McDowell in that car for many, if not all, of the races, I wonder whether MWR is considering an open wheel driver like so many other teams have and that's why they brought someone in with experience in those series.

Overall while I'm a little unsure as to how Pappas is going to work out, I'm pretty excited about this lineup of crew chiefs for MWR for next season. I think it's really going to help them build on the progress they made at the end of last season! I can't wait for Speedweeks in February!

Posted by silverdsl at 03:37 PM | Comments (0)

November 28, 2007

Season in Review: Michael Waltrip Racing

To a lot of people 2007 was a complete failure and a disaster of a season for Michael Waltrip and Michael Waltrip Racing. In some ways it was with the Daytona mess, Michael's accident and the struggles to make races and be competitive. However, there were some accomplishments and high points to this season too which prevent this season from being a failure in my mind.

For one thing Michael took MWR from a Busch team in his backyard with a handful of employees, and turned it into a huge organization with hundreds of employees, multiple major sponsors, fielding three Cup teams, a Busch car (likely soon to be two), and until the truck was sold a truck team, all of which is housed in an incredible facility - Raceworld USA. I'm in awe of the way that Michael was able to grow MWR. Some are thinking but he didn't do it successfully, but he still did it, and this was only the first year of a journey as an owner that will probably continue for many years into the future. For all the problems on the track, there's one thing that did turn out the way Michael wanted it to - Raceworld. Not only is a destination for Michael's fans, but for all race fans, and attendance has been very good since it opened in May. Raceworld is something for Michael to be proud of. I think what he did with Raceworld is innovative and will revolutionize how race shops cater to fans who visit.

On the track there were a lot of disappointments, particularly on the Cup side, there's no denying that. Still, as the season went along there was definite progress, particularly with the #00 and #55 teams. David Reutimann works so incredibly well with the #00 team and the way they've gelled as a unit is definitely a success of the season. Michael was able to get MWR their first Cup pole at Talladega, which was also Toyota's first Cup pole with an engine they built - no small victory considering that the Toyota built engines seemed to often be lacking in power. Plus, although Michael only made 14 races this season, he got two top tens, two top 15's and a top 20. That's not too good for an established team, but to me that's not bad for a team in it's first year that's struggled so much. With the additions of engineering expertise from Dr. Eric Warren and additional financial resources from Rob Kauffman, plus everything else that MWR is doing to make themselves a stronger organization, I feel very confident that we'll be seeing much better results for MWR in Cup in 2008. That doesn't mean I think that they'll be winning races and racing up front all the time next season, but I do think that MWR showed signs that they're capable of fielding cars that can race competitively and I think we'll be seeing a lot more of that in the future. I don't think a win is out of question either - David is an extremely talented driver, and when he has a good car, which he had at Talladega, Michael is always a threat to win at restrictor plate tracks.

On the Busch side, David was awesome! Not only did he win his first Busch race, but also his first Busch pole. And he and the #99 team were in the hunt for the Championship. Finishing 2nd in points is probably a disappointment to the #99 team but I think it's outstanding considering it was David's first full-time Busch season and he was dealing with a lot of stress on the Cup side. I'm really looking forward to seeing David battle for the Busch championship next season as well. It's also great that MWR added some more young talent in 2007 - in addition to Josh Wise, who we'll hopefully see in a second Busch car next season, they signed Michael McDowell, who also appears to have a lot of talent. Both of them are the future of MWR and it's going to be exciting to watch them develop.

One area in which it's hard to find as many positives is with Dale Jarrett and the #44 team. I have no doubt that the team worked hard all season, but they didn't seem to make as much progress as the #00 and #55 teams did as the season went along. At times, particularly towards the end of the season they did have a lot more speed in qualifying than they did earlier in the season, but even when they made races they never seemed to be able to do much in the actual race, whereas at times David and Michael were able to race their way to decent finishes in a few of the races they made. Maybe it was just that the team dealt with a lot of bad luck in the form of getting swept up in wrecks or having mechanical failures but I didn't feel like this team showed as much as the other two did. One positive is that contrary to some of the rumors that were circulating UPS is staying at MWR, and they'll be gaining a fine driver to represent them instead of DJ in David. Perhaps another positive will end up being that DJ is retiring earlier than expected. DJ is a past Champion and an accomplished driver who has won 32 races over the course of his career but his heart doesn't seem to be in racing like it once was. So it might do this team some good to have another driver behind the wheel. The #44 team will turn into the #00 team, most likely with Michael McDowell at the wheel possibly sharing time with Josh, and/or a veteran. An infusion of youthful excitement might be exactly what this team needs.

What Michael had to deal with this year might have broken some others who aren't as strong as he is. Not only did he have to worry about qualifying in for races himself, but also whether David and DJ were going to make it in. But Michael kept showing up week after week, no matter what, even when he had replaced himself with Terry Labonte. Some others might have given up, taken themselves out of the car, and stopped coming to the track. That would have been the easy thing to do, just quit racing, quit trying and only be an owner. Everyone would have understood if he had taken that route. But he didn't. Even on weekends that he DNQ'd Michael was there for his teams, took care of his hospitality obligations, and almost always did some sort of appearance for the fans. When he was able to race Michael sometimes the finishes were poor, but when he had a decent car he made the most of it, which resulted in those two top tens. No matter how difficult things were, Michael continued to be outstanding as part of the team in the booth for the truck races - I love his enthusiasm for the series and those racing in it! Although his smile was strained some weeks, Michael also entertained fans on Inside Nextel Cup each week. But best of all as far as his media work goes is the XM show he started doing this season. I looked forward to listening to Michael Waltrip Out Loud each week. Whether that week's results were good or bad Michael never hesitated to be candid on his show about MWR and everything else that was going on in the sport.

I'm a long-time huge fan of Michael's because of his talent behind the wheel, because of how fascinating and intelligent he is, and because of what a great person he is, but I've come to be even more of a fan of his this season. I wish that I had even close to the amount of determination, perseverance and sheer force of will that he has. There were times when Michael got down this season - sometimes very down - but overall, he continued to be forward-thinking and optimistic about the future for himself and for MWR. He rarely complained or blamed others and instead tried to find ways to make the best of things. I've come to admire all the go-or-go-homers and their teams because of how hard they work to make the best of the situation that they're in, but I really admire Michael's "no quit" attitude (as Ty Norris once put it).

In August I got to spend a little time with Michael at Pocono and he was wonderful as always. I always treasure the times I see Michael because I don't know when - or if - I'll see Michael again. For me that was a definite highlight of the season - seeing Michael and getting to experience all the sights and sounds of the garage area. Maybe the most incredible race-related experience I ever had was watching Michael get strapped into his car on pit road prior to the race and then standing there as the command to "start your engines" rang out. Hearing all those engines start up from so close was so awesome and almost overwhelming I thought I was going to pass out! Even though I knew that Michael wasn't likely to finish up front, I was still unbelievably excited - Michael made the show and I was going to see him race! Due to a fuel pump issue he ended up finishing 38th but I didn't care - I just loved being there! All of Michael's fans appreciate how terrific he always is - he made the day, no year, of many fans this season by taking the time to interact with them. But a big highlight for the Walnutz was definitely when he talked about how much he appreciated our support in the Chex Most Popular Driver Newsletter.

All in all it was quite a season with a lot of ups and downs - okay, a lot of downs. But the slate is wiped clean now and it's on to 2008, a year that will hopefully be filled with a lot more happiness and positive things for Michael and his teams than this season!

Posted by silverdsl at 01:09 PM | Comments (0)

November 10, 2007

No Michael Waltrip Racing Teams will Race on Sunday

As much as Michael Waltrip Racing has struggled this season, they've still managed to get at least one car in every Cup race this season until this weekend. Qualifying for tomorrow's race at Phoenix was a disaster for MWR - Dale Jarrett was almost embarrassingly slow, David Reutimann lost an engine on the warm-up lap and Michael was bumped out of the field by Bill Elliott needing to use a Champion's provisional. Like last week when the #55 team missed the show after having done so well for so many races in a row previously, I'm not too happy with the way things went this weekend. It was pretty obvious based on the practice speeds that DJ had no chance of making the race and that it would be borderline for David and Michael. That can't be happening. As the season went on the MWR teams had done a much better job of showing up with cars that had the speed necessary to make races, and I hate to see them take a step backwards. They absolutely have to show up with cars that are decent off the truck because one practice isn't enough to make changes to give them the speed they need to make races. In addition, while teams are always going to have mechanical issues, it can't be happening during qualifying when there's no margin for error for the MWR teams. Of course since they don't build their own engines, that's a Toyota issue - it's incredibly disappointing for the #00 to miss races to begin with and even more frustrating when it happens for reasons that are out of their control.

What I'm really bothered by though is Michael missing this race. While the #55 team needed to come to the track with a car that had more speed, Michael qualified 32nd, better than six go-or-go-homers, which should have gotten him into the race. However, because one of those cars was the #21 and Bill is guaranteed to race thanks to his Champion's provisional, Michael goes home and Bill gets to race even though he was slower. Even though MWR has used the Champion's provisional to their advantage, I wish they'd eliminate that provisional all together so no team can use it to get into races even when they're lacking the necessary speed. In addition, Michael was bit by having such an early qualifying draw. He went out second and as qualifying went on the track cooled down considerably, which meant that those that went out later picked up a lot of speed. Had he had a later draw I suspect Michael would be racing tomorrow. It seems to me that all the go-or-go-homers should qualify together so that there's no advantage for some teams over others based on their qualifying draw.

But more than all of that, as it has all season, it bothers me that Michael was one of the 43 fastest cars yet he's still going home. Michael routinely out-qualifies drivers like Robby Gordon and Kyle Petty, yet both of them are guaranteed to race each week because they're in the top 35 in owner's points, even though they're sometimes significantly slower than Michael. Of course all the teams are aware of the rules and need to adjust what they do accordingly, but I think it's ridiculous that Michael out-qualified 17 other cars and his team still had to pack up and go home. I highly doubt that Nascar is going to make many - if any - changes to the rules regarding qualifying for next season, but they're doing a tremendous disservice to many teams and sponsors. The rule was created to protect big-money sponsors and teams that show up every week to race - well there's big-money sponsors such as NAPA and UPS who spend a significant amount of money not just on their cars but in the sport overall that are being hurt by this rule, and all of these teams are attempting to race every week. It makes it so hard for new teams to have any kind of success and that's a problem that Nascar doesn't seem too concerned about.

I also feel terrible for Michael. He's been so happy and proud of the improvements his teams have made recently. That none of them will be racing on Sunday has to hurt pretty bad. With one more Cup race left, next weekend at Homestead will be very important for MWR so they can finish the season on a positive note. I suspect there might be a large entry list since it's the last race and one with a large audience both at home and at the track since the Cup Champion will be crowded. So it won't be easy for all three MWR cars to make the show, but I'd at least like to see two out of their three cars make the race. I'll have my fingers crossed all week that we'll see Michael (and hopefully his teams) racing at Homestead!!

Posted by silverdsl at 11:32 AM | Comments (0)

October 15, 2007

Dale Jarrett Says He Won't be Back Once He Retires... Or Will He?

Dale Jarrett says that once he's retired he won't come back to race selected races like Bill Elliott or Terry Labonte have done. He said,

"As far as coming back, and people wanting you to get in a race here and there, I just don't see that happening, whatsoever."

That sounds pretty final, as if DJ's made up his mine that once he's done, he's done. He certainly makes it sound like his fans should make every effort to see him in one of the last few races he has left between this season and the All-Star race next season otherwise they'll never see him race again. But is the door to DJ ever racing again really slammed shut? I don't think so.

DJ went on to say,

"The only thing that would change that would be if UPS came to me and said, 'We need you to run this race.'"

Which means that DJ actually is willing to race again after he retires if UPS wants him to. Which might mean that if DJ doesn't use all of his Champion's provisionals up before he gets out of the #44, UPS might very well want him to get back behind the wheel of the #44 or another car for them since he'd be locked into the show because of his provisional. I hope that if UPS or MWR decides they'd like DJ to race beyond the seven races they have planned for him next season that it'll be in a 4th car (or in a Nationwide car or truck), not that David Reutimann is going to be taken out of the car. In addition, DJ's provisional makes him a valuable commodity until Nascar eliminates that provisional entirely so somewhere down the road some team may make DJ an offer he can't refuse.

One thing that continues to strike me about DJ's comments about retiring is that thus far he's still not talked about how much he loves racing, how much he'll miss it or anything to make me think he still feels the burning desire to race and compete that so many other drivers feel even when they're not racing full-time anymore. DJ makes it sounds as if the decision to walk away isn't all that hard for him, and sticking around to race even the few races he'll be racing next season is more about UPS and Michael Waltrip Racing than anything else.

Contrast that with Bill Elliott who is having a hard time walking away for good. Bill said about continuing to race for the #21 team,

"I still enjoy racing. I still enjoy the guys. They're a lot of fun to race for, and I just hope we can do some good."

He continued,

"For me, it's just hard to quit cold turkey. I would just as soon rather work my way into doing stuff."

But when pressed Bill was unable to say when he might ease completely into retirement. Of course there's nothing wrong with either driver's approach. Every driver has to do what they feel is best and what makes them happy. For DJ letting go of racing is - for now at least - a lot easier than it is for Bill. It'll be interesting to see if that changes when DJ has to step out of the car for the final time next season.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:06 PM | Comments (0)

October 12, 2007

Michael Waltrip Racing Announces New Partner; Dale Jarrett To Retire

What a day for Michael Waltrip Racing!! Lots of exciting news for sure! As rumored, Dale Jarrett will race just six races next season before turning the #44 - and the UPS sponsorship - over to David Reutimann. David, who has extended his contract with MWR for the next three years, will start the season in the #00 before getting into the #00. In addition, Michael announced that he was bringing on a partner, Rob Kauffman, a founder of Fortress Investment Group, who has acquired 50% ownership of the new company formed as a result, Michael Waltrip Racing Holdings, LLC.

I'm thrilled that David was not only re-signed, but re-signed for the next three years! He's an outstanding driver and person, and I've been so impressed with him, not only this season but also when he was in DW's truck as well. David has so much talent as a driver, and I have no doubt we'll be seeing David win some Cup races as soon as he has cars that are competitive enough to allow him to race up front regularly. I think David will end up being a good fit for UPS - it's clear they like David, and from the sounds of it, DJ thinks very highly of him too and played a major role in getting David into the #44. It's a little disappointing that David won't be able to continue racing the #00 since that number has so much family history for him, but UPS would like to remain with the #44. What's good is that David said yesterday that he'll apparently be keeping his crew chief, Frank Kerr, and his team - that's outstanding for David because he has such a great rapport with them and they seem to work extremely well together.

David will also race the #99 again full-time in the Nationwide Series because he wants the opportunity to race for a Championship again in that series. While I love to watch David race in the now-Busch series, and I think his chances of winning the Championship next season are pretty good, if there's one thing that I wish was different is that I would have rather seen David concentrate on Cup only next season, and that the #99 would be used for driver development. But I can't really complain too much about having more opportunities to see David race!

Although DJ is only going to be racing a handful of races next season he plans on remaining involved with the #44 team and UPS. DJ talked about how much he wanted to help MWR and the #44 team grow, but I have to wonder if the extent to which he's going to be involved next season is because he still has contractual obligations to UPS and MWR because of the deal he signed prior to the start of this season which was supposed to be a two-year deal for DJ to race full-time through the end of next season. What makes me think that is when it was said that DJ would fulfill all his hospitality obligations to UPS. I can see how UPS might want to get as much mileage about of DJ as possible before he retires completely considering how closely connected DJ and UPS have been the past seven years. UPS is really going to get the best of both worlds - a talented driver in David, and continue to have DJ represent them. As I've said previously in this space I've never warmed to DJ, and once he said that he didn't care one way or another whether he continued to race, nor was he very upset when he didn't make races, I thought it was definitely time for him to get out of the car. So I can't say I'm as heart-broken as a lot of fans that DJ's retiring. I appreciate all that DJ has done to help MWR get off the ground and I can recognize that DJ has accomplished a lot in the sport, but I just don't have the same fond feelings for him that others do.

I also practically jumped up and down for joy when it was confirmed as part of this announcement that Michael will continue to race the #55 full-time next season! Michael had said that was the plan a number of times recently, but the best laid plans have a funny way of changing. Some have said that surely NAPA wants Michael to step aside, but it's pretty clear that NAPA wants Michael to continue representing them and racing for them otherwise another driver would be in the car next season. Eventually I know the day will come when Michael steps out of the car for good just like DJ is doing, but Michael told Nascar Now he has no plans to retire and that he intends on continuing to race as long as he feels he can race competitively. If he has a good race car I know Michael can race up front and contend for wins so now that the MWR cars are getting more competitive, I hope that means that Michael will continue to race for a few more years, but I suppose that depends on how quickly the drivers in MWR's development program progress.

One thing that wasn't announced at the press conference was who the driver of the #00 would be when David moves to the #44. It was said that they would consider putting either Josh Wise or Michael McDowell in the #00, but that they're also considering other options. So the speculation about who might get that ride will continue. I imagine that a lot of it will depend on sponsorship - whether they find some and who that sponsor wants in the car, though based on Ty Norris's comments just now on XM it also depends on whether Josh and Michael will be ready by next April to race in Cup. I'm very happy to hear that it sounds like Michael McDowell has joined the MWR driver development program. Michael has spoken highly about him recently and he appears to have a lot of talent and potential, just like Josh. I think it's a little soon to put either of those two drivers in the #00 though, especially full-time. I'd rather see them race full-time or share a ride in the Truck or Nationwide Series so that they can get experience before move up to Cup. Maybe putting a veteran in the car who is willing to split time with the two young drivers, as well as mentor them, much like Mark Martin is doing at DEI would work. No, I don't think Steve Park is going to end up in this ride. Not when he hasn't raced Cup or worked much with a sponsor since 2003. Though I saw elsewhere that apparently Michael mentioned in one interview or another that Johnny Benson was being considered - I wish Steve had hooked up with a Toyota truck team at some point because that might led to other opportunities with other Toyota teams.

Contrary to what David Poole reported, Fortress Investment Group isn't buying into MWR. However, Rob Kauffman, a founder and managing director of Fortress is making a personal investment in MWR. That was made clear several times, that this is a personal investment by Kauffman. I think this is ultimately going to be a very good thing. Kauffman will be a huge asset on the financial and business side, which will allow Michael to focus on the motorsports side, an area that Kauffman has no experience with. Since Kauffman lives in Europe I suspect that Michael will remain in control of most of the day-to-day operations and much of what happens just as he always had. It's interesting that this partnership is going to result in a new company, Michael Waltrip Racing Holdings, LLC. For one thing Michael's name remains prominent, but additionally, I have to wonder as someone else on Michael's forum wondered about as well what that new company actually entails and what kinds of protections are in place for Michael to retain actual ownership of Michael Waltrip Racing and the teams.

What no one saw coming was that Cal Wells, formerly the owner of PPI Motorsports would come on board as Executive Vice President of Operations. MWR essentially merged with PPI prior to the start of this season when they not only purchased the owner's points from the #32, but also hired most of the #32's crew and some other personnel. It had been thought that this deal was mostly on paper, particularly since Cal was working with Robby Gordon Motorsports as a consultant for a while. However, a few months ago Michael made a comment on his XM show that Cal was still actively involved, and it's clear now that was very true. Some of Robby's fans have to be all twisted up inside that Cal was hired by Michael, not Robby given that Cal has known Robby since he was young. However, Cal had said in an XM interview that while he wanted to help Robby out as much as possible he could never go into a formal business arrangement with him because he felt it would damage their personal relationship due to Robby's control issues and overall attitude as owner. Robby's loss is definitely MWR's gain! It'll be humorous to see all the ways that Robby's fans, a large percentage of whom can't stand Michael, try to spin what was announced today as negative news that's a sign that MWR is on the verge of folding as many are trying to convince them is going to happen - I think not! In fact, if Robby doesn't look to make some of the same kinds of moves that Michael has - develop young drivers so he can expand and bring on outside partners, his organization might be the one in trouble.

Believe it or not, this morning, a few hours before this announcement was made I actually got to talk to Michael. Some friends were visiting Raceworld today and got to spend a little time with Michael. So one of them was kind enough to put Michael on the phone. It was a very brief conversation, in which he did most of the talking since I was too excited about hearing his voice to say much! I honestly can't even remember exactly what was said beyond him saying that he wished I was there and that he hoped to see me soon - no clue if it was explained to him who I was and that he actually knew that he was talking to someone who is a familiar face to him or whether he says stuff like that to fans who he talks to on the phone all the time. But even in that short conversation, he sounded so happy - he's always happy around his fans, but I think what he was announcing today was making him happy too. This season has been such a struggle for him, but the future looks really bright for MWR. It has to make him feel good that someone believes in him and his organization and their chances for success enough to invest so much in it. I'm really, really happy for Michael - after a very rough start, it appears that things are really starting to turn around for MWR - I'm very excited to see what next season has in store for Michael and his teams!

Posted by silverdsl at 12:22 PM | Comments (0)

October 10, 2007

In the News: Michael Waltrip Racing (10/10)

Dale Jarrett has a press conference scheduled for tomorrow and Michael Waltrip Racing has a press conference on Friday, and at the conclusion of both we'll know what the lineup will look like for MWR next season. It's all but certain that DJ won't race full-time in 2008, and might race as few as six races, just enough to take advantage of his Champion's provisional. Last night on Nascar Now Michael confirmed that he and David Reutimann would both race full-time for MWR in Cup in 2008, and there will also be two Busch cars, one for David, and the other presumably for Josh Wise or another young driver so they can continue to advance their driver development program. The only thing that's still unknown is who will take over for DJ next season once he steps out of the car. It's heavily rumored that David will move from the #00 to the #44 after the first six races, with another driver stepping into the #00.

It's still unknown what driver that will be it's been rumored that MWR has talked with both Jeremy Mayfield and David Stremme. I'm not surprised that MWR would show interest in those two. For one thing they already talked with Jeremy once about a ride last year before he opted to sign with Bill Davis Racing. In addition, although some fans think no team would ever possibly have any interest in Jeremy because of what's perceived to be his attitude issues, the reality is that Jeremy is a proven winner on the Cup level who knows what it takes to get into the Chase. What would also appeal to MWR is that he's raced Toyotas before in Cup and understands the challenges that come with racing for a team not locked into the top 35 in owner's points. However, some fans of Jeremy apparently spoke with Michael at Raceworld yesterday and he indicated that while he had spoken with Jeremy, it didn't look like things were going to work out with him.

Which leaves Stremme. When David was released I immediately thought that MWR might show interest in him, though at the time I was thinking he would be their back-up plan in case David Reutimann signed with another team. Although the results haven't been very impressive for David S. in Cup, he's young, marketable and seems to be pretty good with the media so I can see how that would make him attractive to MWR. He also knows how to qualify for races on time - last season when his car dropped out of the top 35 in owner's points, David was able to make races on speed. It's not the same as dealing with that over a full season, but he definitely stepped up and qualified well when he needed to. That said, David has never been high on my list of drivers that I like and he's one of the few drivers who I've wondered whether he's over his head in Cup. To be fair it's possible that David has never been given cars that are as competitive as he needs to show what he's truly capable on the Cup level, but I've not seen too much from him to make me think that he's going to win a lot of Cup races, but maybe that could happen with the right team.

Of course there could be some other driver that they're talking to as well. MWR sometimes plays their cards close to the vest - that Bill Elliott was going to race some races for them last season with Burger King as a sponsor came out of left field. There's other drivers like Tony Raines who are available, or MWR could look outside of Nascar and try to lure another open-wheel racer to try their hand at stock car racing like so many other teams have been doing lately.

One thing's for sure, contrary to what some believe, MWR isn't folding at the end of this season, UPS and NAPA aren't bailing and it appears that they're going to have three teams next season. It appears they may still have to find sponsorship for the third team so I'm not 100% positive until I hear what's announced on Friday as to whether that will be a full or part-time team, but I think MWR is going to make every effort to race it full-time. I'm sure some are going to assume that everything that MWR is doing are panic moves are because they found out recently that they'll be losing sponsors, but Michael said on his XM show last night that what they'll be announcing on Friday is something that's been in the works for six months. It's increasingly clear based on the rumors that circulated earlier this season, as well as DJ's more recently comments, that he had decided quite some time ago that he lost some of his enthusiasm for racing, something Michael has probably been aware of for quite some time. In addition, I suspect that MWR has known the the deals they had with Burger King and Domino's might not last past this season. Burger King never seemed to do much with their sponsorship, which made me wonder how committed they were to sticking around and it's been said for a while that there might be financial consideration that would prevent Domino's from being as involved in Nascar as they had been previously. It's possible that one or both of those sponsors will be back with MWR next season, but I would guess that MWR has been working on finding additional sponsors in an effort to try to continue with three full-time teams. Fact is, while some fans are convinced that no one at MWR has a clue about what they're doing, the reality is that MWR is made up of people with a significant amount of experience working in motorsports, just like any of the other Cup organizations.

In other news, Michael and Ty Norris feel good about the direction MWR is heading in, particularly with the addition of Dr. Eric Warren as Technical Director. Michael said,

“We worked really hard to get into a position where, when somebody like Dr. Warren showed up, we were ready to take that help and run with it. Our guys have done a tremendous amount of work, and Toyota as well, to get us to the point now where we feel good about where we are.”

MWR seemed to be moving in the right direction even before Dr. Warren came on board, but since they hired him there's no doubt that they've made even more progress. Not only have all three cars started making races more regularly, but they've started racing a lot more competitively too. In the past I would expect that even if Michael made a race his car wouldn't have enough speed to where he'd actually be able to race and he'd spend most of the time racing around in back. Now it seems that when he makes races he's actually able to do some real racing, including at times up front like he did at Talladega, which is great to see!

Ty said,

“The biggest mistake we made was in the summer of ’06, when we designed our structure, one of our lead people would be a ‘technical director.’ But we didn’t want to plug somebody in who didn’t have those qualifications. And then we had two people turn us down, two nonbelievers who bailed on us at the last minute, because they said ‘Man, you guys aren’t even under one roof yet, and you don’t have enough cars built.’ So when they bailed, we went into the season without that key position solidified. So we went through the first part of the season on gut feelings, throwing stuff at it, rather than basing things on science. Now with Dr. Eric Warren coming on, all those things we were looking for in the summer of ‘06 are starting to come around.”

It's hard to know exactly who Ty is referring to when he talks about there being non-believers, but I would guess that one is Matt Borland and the other is Larry Carter, as someone elsewhere suggested. Carter left prior to the start of the season to become Jamie McMurray's crew chief, and Borland left when he didn't work out as DJ's crew chief. While Carter might be happier at an established organization where there are no concerns about having to make races, I wonder if he's really satisfied working with Jamie. Although Jamie did start the season fairly strong and won at Daytona, the results for him since have been pretty unimpressive, much like the rest of his career.

Ty also talked about how hard Michael has worked. He said,

“Even people who have been in this sport for 20 years don’t understand what it has taken Michael to build this team, the countless hours, how much money, and how much work to keep it together.”

Something that continually amazes me is how many fans, seem to think that putting together a Cup team and fielding competitive cars is easy and that the struggles that MWR has had to endure this season mean that Michael's an idiot and that the organization as a whole is a failure. That couldn't be further from the truth. There are some things that I would have liked to have seen MWR do differently - and I'm sure there's not a single person in the organization who doesn't wish that they could erase the whole Daytona mess - but there's never been a doubt in my mind that Michael, Ty and everyone at MWR are working extremely hard to make the organization a success. It's not easy. Mistakes are going to be made. But in the end, I'm pretty confident that MWR is going to be successful.

Although some fans are having a hard time admitting that MWR is starting to improve, some in the garage area have taken notice. Ty said,

“The cool thing about it has been our resiliency,” Norris said. “People left us for dead. But we didn’t quit. And now even Jeff Gordon came up to and said ‘Man, you guys are making it work.’ People are recognizing that it’s going to work, that we’re going to survive."

I think it's great that someone like Jeff would take the time to acknowledge the progress that MWR is making. There's no doubt in my mind that MWR is going to survive and some who think that they're a sinking ship are going to end up being very surprised by what happens in the future.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:53 AM | Comments (0)

September 30, 2007

Dale Jarrett May Not Race Full-Time Next Season

Turns out there was some truth to the rumors - which were denied - that circulated a number of months ago that Dale Jarrett was going to retire at the end of this season instead of waiting until next season as originally planned. DJ said today that he approached his sponsor UPS a few months ago with a number of options for what they wanted him to do next season - race full-time, race part-time or even step out of the car completely. From the sounds of it, DJ will be in the car for at least one race, but it definitely sounds like there's a strong possibility that he may not race the entire season.

DJ said he wasn't being pressured to step out of the car, instead that he wanted to do what was best for Michael Waltrip Racing and for UPS.

"The only thing I can tell you, it can be anywhere from one to 36 races. The biggest factor, obviously we want to make Michael Waltrip Racing better, [but] the biggest thing, mainly, is what's best for UPS. It would be totally unfair to say they're forcing me to do something because that's not the case whatsoever. I want them to be able to do what's best, and they want me to do what's best. I have a tremendous relationship there. I feel fortunate to have the best sponsor in the business at the end of my career, and I want to do and give them what is best for them and what they deserve."

It seems to me that what would be best for Michael Waltrip Racing is for DJ to stay in the car through the end of next season to give Josh Wise or Ken Butler III enough time to gain the necessary experience so they could replace DJ in the #44. Otherwise, it's a scenario where either MWR would have to put one of those drivers in the car before they're ready, sign a driver like David Stremme or Jeremy Mayfield temporarily or if sponsorship can't be nailed down for the #00, put David Reutimann in the #44. I can't see UPS wanting a revolving door of drivers in the car since they've built a major marketing, advertising and promotional campaign around one driver - DJ - for so long. For that reason I can't see them wanting to drop DJ so suddenly either. Perhaps there will be a situation where DJ and Josh or Ken split time in the #44, similar to how Mark Martin will be sharing the #8 with Aric Almirola. I also have to wonder how DJ's Champion's provisional will effect things - if there's no changes to that rule, I can't imagine MWR and UPS not wanting to take advantage of his provisional to ensure that they make the first eight races of next season.

What really gets me is that DJ sounds like it doesn't really matter to him either way whether he races next season or not. He said,

"Obviously having some time because we've missed some races, I've realized that at this point in my life that it wouldn't be devastating if that was the situation, that I had more weekends off. I didn't enjoy not being in the races, but since I was at home, I enjoyed being with my wife and my kids, I enjoyed going to the golf course on Sunday mornings and seeing guys I haven't golfed with in a long time. It wasn't total devastation. It was hard at first. That's why I feel I can accept either role at this point in time.

"I have a whole different outlook on things now, I think my mindset is if they tell me that running the Daytona 500 and we do something different from that point, I'd be perfectly happy with that. If they say our program is built around you and our people really want you to run all 36 races, I can do that again, too. I'm happy with all of that."

Talk about a different mindset from Michael and other drivers who have missed races this season! I think it hurts Michael to DNQ at this point in the season just as much as it did to start the season - the shots of him with his head in his hands as he was being driven away on the cart after DNQ'ing a couple of weeks ago, as well as the way he talked about how miserable he was when he woke up race day morning in New Hampshire when he wasn't going to be racing tell the tale on that. Michael continues to talk about his passion about racing and Nascar, and unlike DJ he still seems devastated when he misses races. It seems to me when a driver is perfectly fine with not racing then it's time for him to step out of the car. That's not to say that DJ isn't giving 100% effort when he's behind the wheel or doesn't enjoy racing anymore at all, but that the drive, determination and passion to race wasn't what it once was. And I have to wonder how that effects the results for the #44 team. When I was at Pocono a couple of months ago I sensed that there was something up with DJ's team. Things just seemed strange about his team, as if the attitude and approach was somehow different than the others in the garage area, yet they were there doing all the same things that every other team was. I have to wonder if his team senses that DJ's might not be as fully committed to racing as he once was? It seems to me it makes it hard on his team to perform as well as they might be capable of if they know that their driver isn't heartbroken if he doesn't race on Sunday.

What I don't understand is why DJ wasn't more upfront about some of this when he addressed the rumors that were circulating earlier in the season. He made a point of addressing the media and insisting that the rumors were false. Michael also denied that there was any truth to the rumors. Now they both look silly - and some will think they were lying - because it turns out that all along DJ has been entertaining thoughts of getting out of the car. I suppose DJ might not have been completely sure about what he wanted to do or whether UPS was going to be okay with him not racing full-time next season, and he might not have fully conveyed all of what he was thinking to Michael. And neither of them might have wanted to address what was going on least some jump to conclusions that DJ's reasons were due to his dissatisfaction with MWR. While strong results on the track would probably make DJ more willing to stick around, I suspect that regardless of what organization DJ was racing for he might still be thinking of taking a step back. From the sounds of it, DJ feels differently about racing than he once did and he's ready to move into another chapter in his life, that might include some racing, but he'd be okay if it didn't.

I have to admit that I won't be terribly upset if DJ isn't the driver of the #44 next season. I've never been able to warm up to DJ like one might think I would since he's one of Michael's close friends and races for him. Even after meeting him in person last season I didn't find myself liking him anymore than I had previously - in fact the opposite happened. I found DJ to be nice but kind of standoffish. I thought that maybe it was just a bad day for him, but I've since heard that's just his way, he's simply not one of the more fan-friendly drivers unless he has to be. So I wouldn't mind seeing DJ replaced with another driver - Josh Wise is going to be awesome for MWR some day but I don't think he's ready to get in a Cup car yet, at least not full-time. I'm not crazy about David Stremme - while I think he's very marketable, I'm not sold on him as a Cup driver. However, it seems to me that Jeremy Mayfield would be a good choice for the #44 for a year or two if DJ were to step aside early. He's a veteran driver who is familiar with Toyotas and also with the difficulties in being with a team outside the top 35 in owner's points. He's talked with MWR about a ride before and he knows how to race up front and win. I can't see him being a long-term solution since MWR needs to get some youth in the mix, but I think he'd work out well in the short-term, especially since he's probably going to be in the mindset where he's going to want to prove to the garage area that he's not done yet.

It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:33 AM | Comments (0)

September 24, 2007

Michael Waltrip Finishes 15th at Dover!

Dover ended up being mostly good to Michael Waltrip and his teams other than a very scary incident on lap 80 of yesterday's race when Art Harris, gasman for the #55 was hit in the back of the head by a tire that bounced into the #55's pit box during pit stops. Although it looked pretty bad at first, Harris was alert by the time he was taken to the in-field care center, and later treated and released at an area hospital. Harris will likely be pretty sore for a while, but he's okay, which is a very good thing! What likely saved Harris from serious injury is that pit crew members are required to wear helmets if they go over the wall - a very wise move by Nascar to make those helmets mandatory. A weird twist of fate in this incident was that the errant tire came from another MWR car. A tire rolled away from the #44 and into traffic on pit road, and David Ragan hit it, which bounced the tire into the #55's pit. It was incredible how fast it happened and how much force the tire had - after seeing that it's clear why Nascar penalizes the teams when they let tires get away on pit road.

Otherwise the race weekend started off on a very good note for Michael Waltrip Racing as all three of their cars qualified for the Cup race, for just the third time this season. I was absolutely thrilled that Michael made this race! I had a good feeling he would even though he had missed the previous two races and there were a lot of cars entered since the last time the series was at Dover Michael broke a string of eleven DNQs by qualifying for the Autism Speaks 400. So I had a feeling he and his team were going to rebound again at Dover, a track that's been good to them in the past. I wasn't quite as confident that MWR would end up with all three cars in the show though. I didn't have too many doubts that David Reutimann would make the race, after all he's shown that he's an outstanding qualifier. But Dale Jarrett and his team haven't seemed to make many improvements since the start of the season so the necessary speed to make races often isn't there for DJ. But right from the start of practice DJ and his teammates were fast and backed it up in qualifying. Well done! Kudos to all three MWR teams for beating some solid teams to make the show!

I'm really impressed that Michael was able to finish 15th in this race! Granted one reason for that was the big wreck towards the end of the race that tore up a lot of cars. However, prior to when Michael lost power steering he had been racing in the top 15, at one point racing as high as 11th. So he definitely had a pretty good car yesterday. In addition, Michael finished 15th after starting 43rd, a gain of 28 spots. But what was most impressive is that Michael finished that well in spite of losing his power steering which not only made it difficult for him to race, but also caused his arms to go numb and cramp up. I don't see how anyone can doubt Michael's abilities as a driver and an athlete, or question his desire to race and determination knowing that he drove the car for probably half the race without power steering. By finishing 15th Michael was also the highest finishing Toyota.

David also had a good day. Although he didn't seem to have as good of a car as Michael did, David was able to finish 18th which has to be considered a solid finish since mechanical and set-up issues sometimes make it hard for David to finish in the top 30, let alone the top 20. But his team has really come along since the beginning of the season, and as they continue to gel as a team and the competitiveness of the cars improves, David will likely race up front a lot more often. If he stays with MWR next season that is.

Although Michael has said he has a verbal agreement with David that he will be back in the #00, and David indicated to a fan at New Hampshire that he would likely be back at MWR next season, David still needs to sign a contract to make it definite. Apparently MWR gave David a rather lengthy contract this weekend to look over that would keep him behind the wheel of the #00 for several years to come and all that's left is for David to make up his mind as to whether he's going to sign it or not. Seeing as how the 4th team at Richard Childress Racing is still up in the air, it seems to me that David is likely to stick with #00. The only hang-up is the sponsorship issue - MWR is still waiting to hear back from Burger King and Domino's about whether they'll be back on the #00 next season. However, Michael did indicate there was sponsorship for the #00, and I don't see how they could offer David a multi-year deal to race that car if there's no sponsorship. So there must be a back-up plan if Burger King and Domino's leave.

Unfortunately things didn't go so well for DJ yesterday. Yet another engine issue ended his day early. It has to be frustrating for DJ and his entire team that when they actually do make races there's often mechanical issues that plague them. Some of DJ's fans are angry with MWR, thinking that they're deliberately giving DJ inferior equipment. However, the engine are built by Toyota, not MWR. So if there's some fingers to be pointed, they should be pointed in the direction of Toyota. MWR has no idea when they get the engines from Toyota which ones are stout and which ones won't last an entire race. Overall, Toyota's engine program continues to need work. A.J. Allmendinger lost an engine on Friday morning during practice, then another engine during the first five laps of yesterday's race - Red Bull Racing also receives their engines directly from Toyota. Both of Bill Davis Racing's teams didn't even make the race, something that could be extremely costly for the #22 because it might end any hopes of them getting back into the top 35 in owner's points.

There was some other good news for MWR this weekend besides all three of their cars making the Cup race and two of them finishing well. While everyone has focused on MWR's woes in the Cup series, they've missed how well David has raced the #99 in the Busch Series this season. On Saturday David got his 11th top ten of the season in the Roadloans.com 200, and he's second in championship points. Some fans are convinced that MWR is incapable of success, but it seems to me that if they can field such a strong Busch team eventually they'll be able to do the same in Cup as well. MWR development driver Josh Wise also had a good weekend, getting his second top ten of the season in the #00 truck in Las Vegas. In seven truck races Josh has two top tens and has only finished outside the top 20 once. That's pretty good for a young driver with so little experience in the series. I don't know what their plans are for Josh next season but I'd like to see him race the truck on a more regular basis, or maybe even the Busch car.

I'm happy that I had some good things to discuss in relation to Michael and his teams! I used to do so many more entries about Michael, but this season it seems like often the news wasn't very good and I didn't feel like talking about him missing races over and over. So I'm glad that things went pretty well for Michael at Dover. Next weekend the trucks are off but the Busch and Cup series goes to Kansas. Hopefully there will be no scary incidents on pit road and the results for all the MWR teams will be even better than they were this weekend!

Posted by silverdsl at 08:29 AM | Comments (0)

August 17, 2007

In the News: Michael Waltrip Racing (8/17)

Although it was disappointing that Michael Waltrip Racing couldn't make it three weeks in a row with all three of their Cup teams in the show at Michigan, it was still a fairly good day for MWR as Michael and David Reutimann qualified extremely well for Sunday's race. Michael was the fastest of all the cars who needed to make it in on speed, qualifying 11th, and David qualified just behind him in 12th. That makes me really happy for both of them, and I'm optimistic that we'll see a repeat of the last time they raced at Michigan when Michael finished 10th and David 15th. Unfortunately Dale Jarrett DNQ'd, and I can't say I completely understand why DJ's team seems to be making less progress in relation to the other MWR teams. The thing is that when they make races DJ seems to be able to race fairly well when there's no mechanical issues, but qualifying really seems to be a problem for this team. Hopefully they'll find a way to make the race next week at Bristol when the #44 will carry a special paint scheme honoring UPS's 100th anniversary. DJ will have two chances to race at Bristol since he'll also be racing the #44 Busch car, also with that special paint scheme.

Speaking of DJ and UPS, some rumors have been making the rounds that DJ planned on retiring early, at the end of this season, and due to their unhappiness with the results this season, UPS was going to leave MWR before the end of their contract with that organization. I didn't think that rumor was likely to be true, but given how frustrating it must be for DJ to struggle on a weekly basis when he had raced competitively for most of his career, I thought there was some possibility that he might opt to retire earlier than planned, which could set other dominos in motion. However, if DJ planned on racing as expected through next season, I figured UPS wouldn't go anywhere either since it wouldn't make sense for them to leave now when it's likely they already have marketing, advertising and promotional plans in place for next season in conjunction with DJ's retirement. Why would they throw those out the window, and why would hey align themselves with another driver while DJ was still racing, which would open the door to some confusion among fans given how closely aligned DJ and UPS are? In fact, it appears that UPS isn't going anywhere and neither is DJ.

Today DJ emphatically stated that he's not retiring, and that UPS will be back next season. He said,

"I don't know where all this other stuff got started. Nobody came to me and asked me. As a matter of fact I was standing in a restaurant with some friends and a guy tapped me on the shoulder last week and said, 'I didn't realize you were retiring at the end of the year,' and I said: 'Well I didn't either. I've been on the golf course for two days, but I didn't realize things had changed quite that much.' I have no ideas of making any change, and I'm committed."

I think what really boggles my mind is that no one went to DJ and asked him about whether this rumor was true. How is that possible?! Racingone.com reported on August 8th that MWR was likely to lose UPS, drop to just two teams and that DJ would retire early. Pending a renewal of sponsorship for the #00, which is supposedly close to happening, none of that appears to be true. And Racingone.com should have done more homework before reporting that rumor. For one thing a few weeks ago, Michael said that he, DJ, NAPA and UPS are all set for 2008, and that he was 99.9% sure David would be back as long as they were able to re-sign the sponsors for the #00. Secondly, on the day this rumor was reported, MWR was having a sponsor summit which included participation by UPS, and one of the things they discussed was apparently plans for 2008 for all the sponsors. When contacted Ty Norris denied this rumor was true. Lastly, DJ himself has now denied there's any truth to the rumor. It seems to me that if Racingone.com had bothered to do even the most basic of fact-checking - picking up the phone and putting in a call to MWR or representatives from UPS or DJ, they would have known there was little to no truth to this rumor. But I guess that's the problem - reporting denials doesn't make for a very interesting story, whereas reporting a juicy rumor gets fans talking and gets some publicity for their site.

Seems to me that recently fans, websites and even some media members are reporting every wild rumor that comes their way without bothering to do any real legwork to find out if it's actually true or not. Just because someone in the garage area says that it's true, doesn't mean that it really is. When I was at Pocono, someone with one of the teams (not a MWR team) said that Nascar was going to suspend Robby Gordon for six races as a result of his actions in Montreal. Obviously that didn't happen. While people from teams talk, and there's clearly some rumors that do end up being true, there's just as many rumors that surely come from insiders in the garage area that aren't true. I've seen some fans say that someone from DEI or Gibbs or Hendrick told them this or that about another team so surely it must be true. Well, just exactly how is someone from Gibbs going to be privvy to all the inner workings at Roush and what happens at their internal meetings? Just because someone is in the garage area doesn't make them familiar with the thinking and plans of every driver or team owner. And of course, as I've said many times before, there's always the possibility that someone is spreading a rumor to suit an agenda, whether it be to make another organization or driver look bad, to gauge the reaction by fans and the media or to try to make something happen, or for countless other reasons.

I'm not against rumors, and I find it as interesting as anyone else to read about what might happen. But I think those that report the rumors (and I'm not talking about Jayski who usually just re-posts rumors from other media outlets and is quick to make corrections when necessary in most cases) have a responsibility to do proper fact-checking and sourcing of what they report (I know I must sound like a broken record).

What also irks me is because of some organizations and driver's less than stellar record when it comes to being candid about what's actually going on, there's a lot of fans who refuse to believe it when rumors are denied. Michael, Ty and DJ himself have all made statements that indicate there's no truth to racingone.com's rumor, yet there's still going to be some fans (I've see one already) who think that they're all lying to save face and that the rumor is actually true. It's true that there have been times when fans have been misled or when things have been denied that have later come to pass, but there's also just as many times when those denials are truthful. In addition, things change fast in this sport - what seems like a sure thing one day might fall apart the next, so sometimes what teams or drivers say is what they legitimately believe to be true at that time, but the situation may change down the road. I think Rick Hendrick's "no room at the inn" comment about Dale, Jr. is a good example of that. There's also times when teams or drivers aren't at liberty to reveal everything that's going on due to contracts, negotiations or legal issues. I just wish fans would sometimes take a step back sometimes and give teams and drivers the benefit of the doubt sometimes in relation to these denials. I'm sometimes guilty myself of being skeptical of denials and some teams or driver's statements, but the bottom line is that unless I'm sitting in on team meetings or have spoken to those involved in a situation, I don't truly know that these folks are liars, as some fans are convinced everyone they don't like in Nascar is. There's someone whose words I don't give much weight to anymore because that person flip-flops, and says one thing to one person, than another to someone else, but I try to remind myself, I don't truly know what's going on, and in the end I'm just a fan looking in from the outside.

Anyway, I'm hoping to see a great race for Michael and David on Sunday!

Posted by silverdsl at 06:08 PM | Comments (0)

June 25, 2007

Toyota Teams at Sonoma

Toyota was a sponsor of the Cup race at Infineon this weekend, and I suspect that was one reason why there were a number of driver changes among the Toyota teams to ensure as many of their teams got into the race as possible. But how well did the Toyota teams really fare at Sonoma? Not real well other than P.J. Jones in the #00.

Michael Waltrip Racing - I think Michael Waltrip Racing did the best out of all the Toyota teams this weekend, and there were some positives for sure. For one thing, for the first time since Daytona, all three MWR teams made a race together. That's something to be very happy about! Hopefully we'll see that happen quite a few more times this season! Terry Labonte didn't even need to use one of his provisionals to get in, which means that all three cars qualified in on time, which is also something to celebrate. In addition, P.J. Jones did exactly what he was hired to do - get the #00 in the race and finish well. 12th place may not be a top ten, but it's a solid finish, especially considering P.J. started 43rd, and it's P.J.'s best Cup finish of his career. In addition, P.J. was also the second highest finisher of the road course ringers, just a few spots behind Boris Said who finished 9th. I was also impressed by the way P.J. handled himself in an XM interview last week - he had a great attitude, and made it clear that he was getting in the car to race and give 110% even though it was just for one race, instead of just getting in the car to make laps and pick up a paycheck. In addition, he had a very good sense of humor and plugged Burger King quite a few times. Although I still don't like the decision to remove David from the #00 for this race, I do think P.J. did good for MWR, and I wouldn't mind seeing them use him again, just not as a replacement to any of their existing drivers.

But was this weekend really a success for MWR? I think the results were mixed at best. For one thing, Terry didn't do anything in the #55 that Michael couldn't have done himself. Michael's a very good road course racer, and he's just as capable as Terry behind the wheel on these kinds of tracks. Also, maybe it's just because he was focused on the race, but Terry said very little over the radio, and when he did speak, he sounded less than enthused, to the point where I stopped listening to his radio communication. So I'm just wondering - how much useful feedback did the #55 team get in the end from Terry that they couldn't have gotten from Michael being behind the wheel? That said, the team knew going in that they were guaranteed to make the race because of Terry's provisional, and that had to make NAPA happy. Based on all the huge NAPA billboards around the track, they're one of the biggest sponsors at this track, and it wouldn't look very good if their car wasn't in the race. So they had to be happy to see the #55 on the track, even though they got very little exposure on TV during the race.

Then we have Dale Jarrett who was hurt by getting spun by Johnny Sauter, but also had a very poor car that didn't allow him to make up any of the positions he lost after that incident. 26th is far from an impressive finish, and DJ himself admitted after the race that MWR has a lot of work to do on their COT program, something that's a concern since the COT will be used full-time next season.

But the worst part of the weekend for MWR might be related to David Reutimann, who wasn't even at the track. Based on what David said in an interview that was played on Saturday night during the Busch race, David, who seems to be fairly sensitive, is extremely unhappy about being taken out of the #00 in place of another driver. While I think MWR had good reasons for putting P.J. in the #00, I don't entirely understand the decision either for the reasons I've discussed in previous entires. What really concerns me is the message that might have been sent to David, even if it was unintentional. Although they've indicated that David is a big part of the future of their organization taking him out of the car sends a message to him that they don't have much confidence in his abilties behind the wheel. Now MWR may actually believe in David completely, but that might not be what he perceives they think. I'm sure MWR does believe in David otherwise they wouldn't have put him behind the wheel in the first place with so little experience in Cup or even Busch, but after being taken out of the car, David may be questioning just exactly what MWR thinks of him, and what their plans are for him long-term. I hope that they let him race at Watkins Glen, and all other tracks, and that they get some really positive results because that will go a long way towards smoothing things over with David, and making him feel better about the decision that was made for this weekend. David's an outstanding driver who is far more talented than he's been able to show in Cup, and once the MWR cars are competitive I think we're going to see some really great things from David. But I'd hate to see him get discouraged or think about moving to another organization because he's a tremendous asset to MWR - not only does he have a tremendous amount of talent, he truly loves to race and he has a great attitude.

Perhaps almost as bad is the damage that's been done in relation to the fans. I can't emphasis enough how furious a lot of fans are with the decision to take David out of the car, and a lot of that ire is being directed towards Michael, including from more than a few of his long-time fans, who are usually the people who are the most understanding and supportive of his decisions, no questions asked. No owner, team, sponsor, or driver is always going to make decisions that fans agree with, and there's no way to make all the fans happy all the time. However, it's unusual for this many fans to be this upset with the actions of their favorite driver/owner/team. When this many fans are upset and don't understand why a decision was made that's a problem. Without the fans, there's no one to support the sponsors, buy the mechandise or Raceworld tickets, no one to listen to XM shows, no one to watch Inside Nextel Cup, no one to show up at appearances, no one to cheer for the drivers and team, etc... It also pains me because the last thing Michael needs is more negativity being directed towards him, but that's exactly what's happening now. He really needs the support of his fans because of how difficult this season has been for him, and may continue to be.

Hopefully all three MWR teams will make the show at New Hampshire and finish well, which will give fans more positive things to focus on.

Bill Davis Racing - Both of their cars made the show so the weekend started out promising for Bill Davis Racing, but the end result was anything but good. Dave Blaney's finish was extremely poor due to issues with the electrical system. Butch's finish wasn't all that impressive either. I'm pretty sure that Jeremy Mayfield could have done at least as good as Butch Leitzinger, and maybe even better considering his three top tens at this track. Which by the way, is better than Dave's stats at this track, and I'm sure BDR never once considered taking him out of the #22. At least BDR supposedly got Nascar's approval to transfer the owner points that the #23 earned to the #36. But overall the weekend wasn't a very good one for BDR after Friday.

In addition, you can cut and paste everything I said about the reaction of the fans to the decision to take David Reutimann out of the #00 here in regards to the reaction of Jeremy's fans to him not racing this weekend. Teams like to say that this or that was a "business decision" as if that should somehow make it make sense to the fans or excuse anything that happens. But fans often aren't very understanding of business decisions because they see the drivers are the human beings they are, not just as faceless commodities with a dollar value attached to them and their sponsors.

Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports - Although the results weren't very good, just making this race has to be considered a success for this team considering how new they are.

Red Bull Racing - As much as it pains me to say it because I'm a fan of Red Bull Racing and their drivers, this weekend was a complete failure for this organization because both of their cars failed to qualify for the race. I'm not that surprised that Brian Vickers DNQ'd because his average starting spot at Infineon is 33rd, but I am surprised that A.J. Allmendinger DNQ'd since he has a road course racing background. I really thought that he'd make it in. But both cars were really slow during practice, and I guess they were never able to make them any better. It's unfortunate because it seemed like recently RBR had made a lot of improvements to the point where their teams were qualifying regularly for races, and Brian was racing up front in the races he was in.

RBR's failure to get either of their two cars in the race make me wonder - are the Toyota teams sharing information with each other like it was said a few months ago they were going to start doing more of? Because it seems to me that something was really off for them this week in comparision to the other Toyota teams, and I'd think that wouldn't be if the teams were sharing information with each other. I think it's essential for the Toyota teams to work together, particularly now when they're all struggling, but with how competitive things are in Cup, even among teams that are affiliated with the same manufacturer, that might not be happening as it does with the Toyota teams in the Truck and Busch series.

At least there were no angry fans of either RBR driver because RBR kept both of their regular drivers behind the wheel. Which makes sense for them since they don't have any outside sponsors they have to please, and the team's not going to bring a road course ringer in for A.J. when he has so much road course racing himself, nor for Brian since he's their #1 driver, who has gotten them results at other times this season.

So I wonder, how did Toyota really feel about the results from this weekend? I'm sure they were happy that six of their teams made the show. It would have been terribly embarassing for them if most of their cars DNQ'd since they were a sponsor of the race. But as for the actual race results? As much as it pains me to say it because I dearly want Toyota and their teams to be successful, there wasn't much to be proud of. Which has been the story for much of the season for the Toyota teams. By this time next season, I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of changes and additions to the Toyota teams, some of which I might not like very much.

I hope all the Toyota teams do well this weekend!

Posted by silverdsl at 02:55 PM | Comments (0)

June 11, 2007

Dale Jarrett Rumor Denied

Apparently there's no truth to the rumor that was reported today that indicated that supposedly XM reported on Sunday that Dale Jarrett might be released or leave Michael Waltrip Racing by choice. Claire B. Lang said that she wasn't on the air on Sunday, and the sports reporters she checked with who were on the air indicated they never reported this story. Just by the fact that the folks at XM say they never reported it is an indication there's not any truth to it, but Claire also followed up with Michael Waltrip, who called the rumor "ridiculous," so much so that he didn't think it was worth going on the air to address it. I have to agree because addressing it would probably give the rumor legs and make people think there was actually something to it.

I immediately thought this rumor was suspect. For one thing it showed up initially on the Speed message boards, yet no one could find any thing about it anywhere else. Message board rumors are some of the most unreliable since anyone can post anything and there's often no way of verifying it. In addition, sometimes people post things they hear on one of the satellite radio shows that's just speculation that they take to be fact. But the rumor doesn't make a lot of sense anyway - Jarrett has indicated that part of the reason he went to Michael Waltrip Racing was so he could take a management position there after he retires at the end of the 2008 season, and that he was very much looking forward to that. Why would he suddenly decide he didn't want to do that, especially considering what great friends he is with Michael. In addition, there's the UPS sponsorship to consider - they're apparently signed through next season and I can't imagine DJ walking away from them considering how closely tied together they are.

The unfortunate thing is that a lot of fans are never going to hear that this rumor has been denied, and even if they do some will still believe there must be some truth to it.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:57 PM | Comments (1)

May 07, 2007

More on Matt Borland's Departure from Michael Waltrip Racing

From the sounds of it, there's more to the story of Matt Borland leaving Michael Waltrip Racing than just that he and Dale Jarrett weren't working well together. Apparently Borland was hired at MWR with the understanding that at some point in the future he'd step into the Technical Director position. And in fact when the decision was made to go in a different direction with the crew chief for the #44, he originally accepted taking the position now, something that MWR felt would help their entire organization. However, two days later Borland changed his mind. Ty Norris, MWR's general manager said,

"Matt has a difficult time with the entire industry right now. Other than that, I don't need to put words in his mouth."

There's been a lot of speculation about which organization Borland is going to end up going to next, but Ty's words make me wonder if Borland has some personal issues he needs to work out before he ends up elsewhere. Particularly when one considers that Borland's issues may date back to when he was with Penske Racing last season. At Penske there was also the option of becoming Technical Director, something it was said Borland wanted to do so that he could spend more time with his family. Suddenly he was leaving that organization for MWR. Just seems as if there might be something more going on than what's been said publically. If Borland's had anything else on his mind this season - something in his personal life, dissatisfaction with the direction Nascar's going in, etc... it could have interferred with his ability to communicate well with Dale Jarrett, which in turn could have effected the way that the team was performing.

One thing that a number of fans, including myself, have picked up on is that Ty's comments differ from that of Michael Waltrip's earlier in the week. MWR released a statement from Michael, which he elaborated on with Lee Spencer and on XM with Claire B. Lang. At that time Michael never mentioned that Borland had accepted the Technical Director position, only to change his mind, and instead Michael focused on the need to make a change with the #44 team to improve performance. In the past I've felt that Ty hasn't always been on the same page with Michael regarding what's said to the media, and that's led some fans to think that one or the other must not be telling the truth. Personally, I think it more has to do with each having a different approach to how they deal with the media. Michael will give his opinions, but he tends to be more guarded regarding some specifics, whereas Ty will be more detailed in his responses. That may be partially by design so that Ty is the one addressing more of the negative news in depth, but I can't help but think that sometimes less is more. Michael spoke about how much respect he had for Borland, and how good he was for the organization, I'm not sure why Ty went so far as to say that Borland has "a difficult time" with the industry because it leads to speculation, as I just did above. I just wish that there weren't some of the inconsistencies in the message sometimes because it gives fans reasons to be suspicious and jump all over MWR, even when there's likely no reason to be doing so. But really the bottom line is that I think Borland put Michael, Ty and MWR in a tough position when he left the organization, particularly when he indicated at first his willingness to stay even if he wasn't going to remain as DJ's crew chief, and it probably left them scrambling as to how to address it.

Not surprisingly DJ failed to qualify for the race this past weekend, and I suspect it won't be the last time he DNQ's this season. But hopefully a new crew chief will enable DJ to make some improvements as the season goes on.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:46 PM | Comments (0)

May 03, 2007

Matt Borland Out as Crew Chief of the #44

I can't say I'm all that shocked by the news that Matt Borland has been released as crew chief of the #44 at Michael Waltrip Racing, because it's been said in the past that Dale Jarrett goes through crew chiefs like water. So when the results weren't very good for DJ this season, I expected that he'd probably want a crew chief change eventually. I just never expected that it would be after only nine races. I guess there was a sign that this might be coming in an article yesterday in USA Today in which Michael Waltrip said of Matt and DJ,

"(Crew chief) Matt Borland and Dale haven't seemed to be able to click like they need to yet."

What gets me is that DJ specifically asked for a crew chief like Borland, and MWR went out and actually got Borland for him. If he can't click with the exact crew chief he wants, who is he going to click with? This weekend Derrick Finley is going to be on the box for the #44, and afterwards, Jason Burdett, who was a car chief on the #88 at Robert Yates Racing, so presumably DJ had worked with him previously, will take over as crew chief. Maybe DJ will be happier with someone he's familiar with from his time at RYR.

In making the announcement that Borland was no longer at the #44 Michael said,

"Dale Jarrett wasn't happy, UPS wasn't happy, and we had to do something immediately. Originally, we had hoped that Matt Borland would take the role as the technical director, but he wasn't ready to come off the road. We need a technical director down the road, but it wasn't going to help us this weekend."

I think the other thing that bothers me is that Borland leaving MWR could hurt the organization overall. He's got a strong engineering background, and a lot of knowledge so it would seem to me that even if the cars he's worked on so far haven't been very fast, as time goes on he would likely have a lot to contribute to the process of making them better. In addition, they couldn't even convince him to stay on as technical director, and they certainly need someone in that position. I feel bad for Borland because he took a risk in leaving Penske Racing to work at MWR, and things certainly didn't turn out the way he probably expected.

Somehow I doubt that this is going to lead to immediate improved results for DJ. I think he's going to be missing some races, even if not this week at Richmond then in the near future. Fact is, he's been one of the slowest cars on the track every week both in qualifying and in the races, so slow that Michael who has missed eight straight races has been faster than him. So I suspect that Michael may end up making some races while DJ may miss some.

I think what really doesn't bode well is DJ's own words. He said before the announcement that Borland was leaving was made,

"We're going to see all this hard work pay off, but that's going to be down the road, and everyone needs to keep that [in mind], because it is something that's not going to happen next week, next month or even next year. But I believe we'll get there."

So if DJ doesn't think things are going to get better anytime soon, why should anyone else? That said, I think MWR overall needs to improve enough to where they're consistantly making races and are capable of some decent results in races otherwise their sponsors might not be so inclined to stick around, UPS included.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:15 PM | Comments (0)

April 29, 2007

Mixed Weekend for Michael Waltrip Racing

Let's start with the good news first. David Reutimann qualified 14th for today's Cup race at Talladega and raced his way into the top five where he was able to stay until the last ten laps of the race when his engine blew. It was awesome to see David race up front! I think this was the first time that a Toyota team has legitamitely been in a position to contend for a win, and not be in the top five because of having raced there as opposed to not pitting when the rest of the field has. It was equally wonderful to have the TV coverage of Michael Waltrip Racing finally be about something positive and be complimentary. David, Domino's and MWR got a lot of exposure during the broadcast today, and it was awesome to see! I loved hearing David's crew chief Frankie Kerr be interviewed.

But what was best of all to me was hearing David and his team discuss strategy during the last few laps and talk about possibly going for the win. That David was in position to contend for a win was outstanding, and it's something that he and his entire team should be proud of! On every level when David has a good car or truck he's shown that he can take it to the front, and it's clear that in Cup it's no different! I also loved hearing Michael come on David's radio and be so complimentary of David and his team. Although it has to be hard for Michael to not be racing, he did an excellent job as an owner today of trying to keep David's confidence up during the race, and express how happy he was with what they were doing. Though the engine blowing was surely a major disappointment for everyone, it still had to make them happy to see David race so well today. That had to give them hope for the future for all their teams. I have no doubt that if Michael had that extra 1/100th of a second's worth of speed that he needed to qualify in for that race he too would have been up front with David today.

Unfortunately when David's engine blew, quite a bit of oil leaked onto the track, and Nascar was less than thrilled with him because they felt he should have dropped down and gotten off the track a lot sooner. So they called David and his team to the hauler after the race for a chat. David said over his radio that the reason that he didn't get off the track sooner was because his car was filled with so much smoke that he couldn't see anything. A lot of fans were upset thinking that Nascar's deliberately giving David a hard time for some reason, and the team was upset as well. But I don't think this is a big deal. David's a rookie in Cup, and Nascar will probably just want to make sure he understands what they expect of him in that situation. The team will go in and explain why David didn't get off the track as quickly as Nascar would have liked. Everyone will make nice, the team will be annoyed for a little while about it, but it'll be fogotten about pretty quickly I think.

Unfortunately, the weekend was pretty bad for Dale Jarrett and Michael. Even though he qualified 20th for this race, Michael missed his eighth race in a row. It boggles my mind by how little Michael is missing race - just by the tiniest fraction of a second. For the third time this season David knocked Michael, his car owner, out of the field, and that has to hurt. But hopefully with a permanent crew chief, that'll help the #55 team get on track and start making races by a fraction of a second instead of missing them by that small of a margin. Then from there they can work on getting even better. At least the car had some speed this weekend since in the past they've been among the slowest on the track. That wasn't the case this week, they just came up a little short. Assuming everyone continues to have patience, and Michael isn't forced out of the car, I think they'll start making some races sometimes soon, especially since May is when they'll be using the new car that Toyota helped them build.

As for Dale Jarrett, I think he's in some trouble. DJ used his last Champion's provisional, which might have been okay if he had been able to race his way into the top 35 in owner's points today with a strong finish. However, DJ DNF'd due to an ignition problem. By his own recent admission DJ isn't a good qualifier, and that in combination with the fact that most weeks the #44 has been even slower than the #55, indicates to me that DJ might be missing some races sometime soon. I hope that's not the case but so far this season except for one race, it's seemed like the #44 have been the slowest on the track, something that's gone unnoticed because he's been making races thanks to the provisional. It's very unfortunate that DJ wasn't able to have a good race today because MWR, and likely Toyota, was hopeful that he'd be able to get into the top 35 and at least one Toyota team would be locked in that way. Unless things turn around fast, the chances of any Toyota team making it into the top 35 in owner's points and sticking there are growing less and less.

Still, in spite of the woes for Michael and DJ, there were definitely things for MWR to be happy about. As Ty Norris said over David's radio at one point - today was a "spectacular" day for the #00 team. I'm hopeful that we'll be seeing more of David, Michael and DJ race up front and contend for wins in the future!

Posted by silverdsl at 08:24 PM | Comments (0)

April 09, 2007

Dale Jarrett in the Busch Booth for ESPN2 in Texas

Dale Jarrett is slated to be part of the broadcast team for ten Busch races this season, the first of which is this weekend in Texas. Although DJ has shown that he has a firey streak that comes out when he feels he's been wronged on the track, for the most part DJ is even-tempered and he seems to handle himself well during interviews, so I think he'll be pretty good. His father, Ned, did TV work for CBS and ESPN among others and currently has a daily show on MRN, so DJ probably picked up a lot from him regarding how to be successful in the both.

Like his father, DJ might like to go into broadcasting when he retires from racing as a way to stay involved in the sport. He said,

“Over the last few years, TV was something that I have taken more interest in and looked more at because I want to stay involved in the sport. This is the perfect chance that ESPN is offering me to see if it’s something that I really want to do and want to look at after 2008 to do maybe closer to full time. And to find out if it’s something I can do and if ESPN would be interested in having me.”

I think he's very smart to start testing the waters regarding broadcasting now so he can find out whether it's really what he wants to do when he retires or not. As a former Cup Champion, who has also won 11 Busch races, and is still racing Cup full-time, DJ has a lot of knowledge about racing to share from a driver's point-of-view. Of course this is also good for DJ's sponsor, UPS, who will likely get some added exposure through DJ's involvement with broadcasting.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:58 PM | Comments (0)

March 10, 2007

Not a Very Good Showing for Toyota at Las Vegas

Qualifying was yesterday for Sunday's Cup race at Las Vegas, and five out of the seven Toyota teams failed to qualify for the race. It was worse than that - Dale Jarrett was also slow as molasses and had to take yet another Champion's provisional to make the race. Across the board, other than Dave Blaney's #22, the Toyotas were pretty putrid. I'm not sure exactly what happened either. During practice it seemed like David Reutimann had a fairly decent car, but once it came time to qualify all the speed went away. Even Michael Waltrip seemed to have a car that might have a shot at making it in, but by the time qualifying came around, the car was so incredibly ill-handling that Michael had to fight to control it, ultimately losing the battle and wrecking.

Finding out that Michael hadn't qualified for the race was really depressing to me. I know how sad and disappointed Michael must be, not only that he failed to make the race, but also that David wasn't able to qualify in. There's no chance that Michael's going to be able to get into the top 35 in points, but I think they were thinking that they'd get David and DJ in, so they would be locked in each week. Missing a race is going to make it hard for that to be possible for David. It's to be expected that there's going to be struggles for such a new team and manufacturer, but with so many talented personnel working at Michael Waltrip Racing, and Toyota having such a strong program, I had thought that things wouldn't be quite this difficult. Although some fans seem insistant on thinking that his teams missing races is a sign that Michael is a failure as an owner, one only need to look at the other Toyota teams to see that it doesn't appear to be an individual team issue - Red Bull Racing and Bill Davis Racing have their own issues too.

Before the season started, most were picking BDR to be the best of the Toyota teams since they're an established organization that's been to Victory Lane in Cup. I wasn't convinced of that because of how many problems Michael had when he got his cars and personnel from BDR. It just seemed like issues like the constant mechanical woes, that sometimes appeared to be the result of things that could have been prevented, might be something that would take some time to improve on. Jeremy Mayfield was bit by the exact same issue yesterday. According to a post on the 360otc.com forum, after qualifying they discovered a loose or detached wire in the engine that led to Jeremy being down a cylinder. No way could he qualify in for a race when he's down on horsepower. Of course mistakes are going to happen, but when they have no margin for error, it seems to me that all the wires, plug, screws, blots and every other part should not only be double-checked, but triple-checked to make sure its right. It's also curious to me that Blaney is able to do so well, but his teammate, Jeremy is struggling so much. BDR should be able to field two teams that are at least semi-decent, but thus far that's not working out so well for them.

What's also puzzling to me is how Brian Vickers can get a top ten at California, and then doesn't have a car good enogh to qualify in for a race this week. That the car was so good at California indicates that RBR is capable of building competitive cars, but what happened this week? It's not good that the momentum didn't carry over for the #83 team to Las Vegas. It's got to be incredibly difficult for A.J. Allmendinger to have failed to qualify for this third race in a row, particularly since he missed by such a small margin this week. I can't imagine how he's ever going to develop as a Cup driver if he's not going to get any experience in actual races.

Of course it's still very early in the season. As time goes on all three teams may strengthen and start to have an easier time qualifying for races. But my concern is that things will continue to go wrong for these teams, the missed races will pile up, morale will suffer, and they might struggle to improve. I hope that Toyota is working closely with these teams on ways to make the cars better. Once DJ's provisionals run out, there could be a scenario in which the only Toyota driver that races regularly is Dave Blaney - and that's if he's able to stick in the top 35 in owner's points. I also think these teams need to make sure that they don't trip themselves up. It was a loose wire for the #36 team, and the #55 team lost a lot of time in practice because they failed inspection the first time due to the car not meeting some of the required templates. Those things are going occasionally with every team, but it can't happen often with these teams because a small mistake can end up being very costly when they're not guaranteed a spot.

I didn't expect that the Toyotas would be outstanding immediately. I think it's a tall order for new teams and a new manufacturer to be racing up front and winning races right away. But I did expect at least some of these teams would be top 25 teams and be able to lock themselves into the top 35 in owner's points. Now it's looking like next season is going to start very much like this season where the majority of Toyota teams aren't guaranteed a spot in each week's race, and they'll always be struggling to catch up even in terms of practice since the teams outside the top 35 in owner's points have such a long wait to get through inspection. Really an unfortuanate situation that makes me sad for Michael and his drivers - I hope things start to improve for them soon.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:59 AM | Comments (0)

February 16, 2007

Random Thoughts on the 150 Duels

*Have I mentioned how thrilled I am that Michael Waltrip was able to race his way into the Daytona 500?!

*Dale Earnhardt, Jr. fans are up in arms about the incident between Michael and Junior in which Michael got into Junior causing him to spin, something that could have been extremely costly to both drivers, but wasn't. Michael admitted after the race that he made a mistake, but that's something Junior should be familiar with. After all, Junior spun Michael so severely in 2005, when they were teammates, that Michael ended up in the wall, with a wrecked race car, and out of the race with a chance for a good finish ruined. Not only that but just last weekend, Junior caused a rather large wreck in the Bud Shootout wth another mistake while he was trying to bump-draft Elliott Sadler. So I don't think Junior has much room to complain about Michael, as frustrating as it probably is to get spun through no fault of his own. Junior ended up finishing second in the first 150, and he'll start the Daytona 500 in 5th.

*I'm astonished that more Toyotas didn't make it into the field. As happy as I am that all three Michael Waltrip Racing cars made the show, I thought that Jeremy Mayfield and Brian Vickers had good shots to race their way in as well. Vickers had a good car but got wrecked, so that had to be incredibly disappointing for him. What really surprised me is that inspite of testing well, and having a fast qualifying speed, Mayfield never seemed very competitive during the 150. Maybe there was so much focus on a good qualifying run to try to lock themselves in on speed, that they didn't do as much with race set-ups. That proved costly, since Mayfield had to rely on Sterling Marlin racing his way in if he was going to make the race, something that didn't happen so Mayfield will sit the 500 out. Somewhere Ray Evernham is probably chuckling. I'm not too surprised that A.J. Allmendinger didn't make the race - his car never seemed to have enough for him to be competitive, so even if he hadn't been wrecked it was unlikely we would have seen him in the show. I hope fans realize it wasn't Allmendinger's lack of experience that got him wrecked, it was all Robby Gordon. On top of several Toyota teams not being able to race their way in, two other Toyota teams had mechanical woes during their 150s - Dave Blaney and David Reutimann.

*I'm also surprised that Paul Menard wasn't able to race his way into the 500. Once David Reutimann was locked in on speed, my picks to race their way in were Vickers and Menard, neither of whom were able to do it. While DEI usually fields strong cars at restrictor plate tracks, in the early going it appears that this season could be a continuation of last season where DEI struggled to give Menard a car that was fast enough to qualify for races. I think Menard should be one of the leading candidates for Rookie of the Year in Cup, but missing races and having non-competitive cars eliminates any hope of that. We'll see what happens as the season goes along, but it may be that DEI isn't up to fielding three cars right now.

*Ward Burton got wrecked in the first duel, which ended any hope he had of making the 500, a race he's won before. Ward was upset after the race and pounded on the roof of his car after the race. Thing is even if he hadn't been wrecked, his chances of racing in weren't very good since he was experiencing some mechanical issues. On top of that, let's face it - Ward was in a Morgan-McClure Motorsports car. And while they were once a successful organization, the results have been much worse more recently. I'm sure that the team is working hard to get better, but Ward should've been prepared to miss races when he agreed to race this car full-time.

*Tony Stewart won the first Duel, and Jeff Gordon the second. Not that anyone really noticed with all the attention being focused on which go-or-go-home teams were going to race their way in. Until Jeff Gordon's car failed a post-race inspection that is, but I'll have more on that in a separate entry.

*David Gilliland continued to have a strong car, finishing 4th in his Duel - I would expect to see a lot of him up front on Sunday as well. Same for David Stremme who finished 3rd in his 150.

*A number of the drivers who didn't make the field complained after the race about how Nascar should have sent the teams home who cheated. That's just sour grapes. A few of those teams wouldn't have made the field even if all the cheating teams had been sent home. Drivers and teams need to be concerned with making their cars as competitive as possible, and race as hard as they can. That they failed to make the show isn't the fault of the teams who cheated, it's because they just weren't able outrace the other drivers who they were racing against for a spot in the 500.

*All three Evernham cars were in the second 150, and Kasey Kahne was the highest finisher in 16th. Seemed like none of them were much of a factor during this race, especially Elliott Sadler. It's going to be very interesting seeing whether Elliott has more success in this car than Jeremy Mayfield did last season.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:21 AM | Comments (0)

February 09, 2007

Dale Jarrett Draws Pole for Bud Shootout

What a way for Dale Jarrett, Michael Waltrip Racing and Toyota to start the 2007 season - DJ drew the pole for the Bud Shootout tomorrow night! Of course it's not a points race, and DJ didn't get the pole by virtue of being the fastest car on the track, but a pole is a pole, and it's still something to celebrate! This will give DJ and MWR an opportunity to lead a few laps at least and maybe show a little of what they're capable of. It's really something to be very happy about. Since the Shootout isn't a "real" race in that it doesn't count for anything in the points the pressure is probably a little less so DJ can go out and just have fun - a win from the pole would certainly be fun! I really hope this is a sign that things are going to align in a very positive way for MWR this season!

Brian Vickers, the other Toyota driver in the field, also drew a good starting spot - 4th. What's good about that is that it will likely allow Brian and DJ to draft with each other. Although things didn't work out too well at Talladega last season when Brian was drafting with Jimmie Johnson, but hopefully he's learned his lesson from that mistake. It's pretty important for drivers to have a teammate, or at least another driver from the same manufacturer, who is willing to draft with them at restrictor plate tracks. Most of the drivers in the field have a teammate to work with. The only ones who don't are Boris Said, Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Bill Elliott. However, Boris's team is associated with Roush Racing so he and Greg will likely work together. Both Junior and Bill can work with drivers associated with their same manufacturer, but I suspect Junior may find it hard to find as much help as he'd like if past patterns repeat themselves. Because he's had so much success on these kinds of tracks, some drivers don't seem to want to draft with him, because they don't necessarily want to help him to win yet another restrictor plate race. Though as a non-points race it may be a different story on Saturday. He's worked well with Tony Stewart in the past so maybe they'll team up again.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:08 AM | Comments (0)

January 31, 2007

In the News: Michael Waltrip (1/31)

Yesterday Michael Waltrip and Dale Jarrett took some time between test sessions to meet with the media to answer questions. As much as I always love hearing what Michael has to say, I wish the media would come up with some different questions to ask because I'm getting really sick of hearing a defense of Toyota and some of the same topics covered over and over again. How many times can DJ be expected to answer some version of why he went to Michael Waltrip Racing? He must be getting incredibly sick of being asked.

Of course every driver at testing was asked what they thought of the newly redone track at Las Vegas. Michael said that he likes it and that he thinks it will make for good racing. About the increase in speed he said,

"It's really fast obviously, but I don't know what you think we're going to do about that. I don't know why people complain bit. We're race car drivers for gosh sake, so the cars just go fast. It's not the track's fault. The cars would be easiest to slow down than build a track that isn't fun for the fans to watch. That's my take."

Which makes a lot of sense. Of course safety has to be taken into consideration in relation to the speeds of the cars, but it does seem a little silly for race car drivers to complain about speed - normally racers want to go as fast as possible.

Naturally, Michael made sure (yet again) to refute the accusation that Toyota is throwing a lot of money around.

"Everything is going well. Toyota has been a huge support obviously. I think that the media and people in general just missed the whole key to what Toyota did for me. They brought me credibility. They allowed me to go to NAPA, say, Toyota is going to be my manufacturer. They're going to provide me with technology and equipment that will allow me to go race these other guys. It's never been and it will never be about money. We needed their support to be able to do it, not their money."

I think the credibility that being aligned with Toyota brings is great, but even better is the technology, resources and equipment that Toyota is giving MWR - that's a huge part of why they'll be successful because Toyota is going to put a lot of effort into using technology to help make MWR as competitive as possible. Of course that's where the money comes in - Toyota might not be directly giving a lot of money to MWR, but they're putting a lot of financial resources into the technology and equipment side. However, are they doing anything different than any other manufacturer? I don't think so. Toyota has an amount of money that they feel they need to and can afford to spend to help their teams - same as any other manufacturer. Is it more than the other manufacturers? Maybe, maybe not.

Another comment by Michael in relation to Jack Roush was pretty interesting. He said,

"NASCAR will be more popular because they're here. NASCAR is going to be more popular because Juan Pablo is here. What I don't understand, Jack Roush doesn't have a problem with Juan Pablo coming, why is he so mad about Toyota showing up? You can't handpick who comes in your door. This is a global society. Toyota is certainly welcomed here. I haven't talked to one driver that doesn't say it won't be good for the sport."

Michael's 100% right that this is a global society. But I think he touched on something else - no one would ever dare say publically that Juan Pablo isn't welcome in Nascar or that he doesn't belong. So why is it okay to say the same thing about Toyota? For some people, but not everyone, at the root of why they're anti-Toyota is because they're xenophobic. I suspect that some have that kind of attitude about Juan Pablo as well, but to talk openly about that might brand someone as being prejudiced. Well, some of the attitudes about Toyota seem pretty prejudiced and intolerant to me. Nascar can't discriminate - not against drivers born in other countries, and not against manufacturers based in other countries.

Something Michael has touched upon frequently in the past, and I agree with him completely, is how some have great difficulty with change, which leads to a lot of the complaining. He said,

"Any time something is new or different, it's got to be bad. That's pretty much what people think. I'm sure back in the '60s, whenever it was, when they stopped racing on dirt, everybody thought that would be the end of NASCAR. Then when the Chase for the championship came along, that had to be the worst thing ever. It's been the greatest thing ever. Toyota got fortunate. They came out along about the same time they announced Toyota was going to race in Cup, they brought out the Car of Tomorrow, and everybody hates it. So now people spend more time griping about it. Changed their target. They have to have something to gripe about. They move from the Toyota to the ugly car. I happen to love that, too. I'm sorry."

Personally, I think people are complaining about Toyota being in the sport almost as much as they are about the COT, but neither thing is going away. Nor is the Chase. Not only do some fans have problems accepting change, but I also think there's a percentage of fans who are happier complaining about how terrible Nascar is than they are cheering for the drivers they like.

Speaking of being negative, that's what Jeff Hammond was about MWR in his latest column. He said,

"Michael Waltrip Racing is struggling, and it has a lot to do with preparation. Starting three teams and trying to get everything going is taking a toll on the entire organization. Granted, Dale Jarrett is already locked into the field with a champion's provisional, but Waltrip has to make David Reutimann's ride and his own No. 55 car faster. They've got a lot of new components, and they're behind because of it."

I agree that trying to get three teams going at the same time is challenging, but Hammond lost me when he talks about their struggles in testing having to do with preparation. Anyone watching Michael Waltrip Racing: A New Era, would see that MWR has spent a significant amount of time preparing for not only testing but the 2007 season, starting months ago. Just exactly what does Hammond think they've been doing at MWR all these months? In addition, I'm not sure how he can draw the conclusion that they're actually struggling when most everyone else agrees that it's hard to truly know how a team did in testing because of all the different agendas and experimenting that teams do. Yes, it would be good to find more speed for all the MWR cars, and yes they've taken on a lot and it's difficult, but are they really behind? I'm not so sure about that.

In non-testing news apparently Michael and David Reutimann filmed a new commercial for Best Western recently that will air in March. I'm jealous of Michael because he got to go to a part of the country that I'd love to visit - Sedona, Arizona, where the commercial was filmed. It's supposed to be beautiful there!

Posted by silverdsl at 04:29 PM | Comments (0)

January 11, 2007

Dale Jarrett Addresses the Media at Testing

Not much of interest usually comes out of the media sessions at testing, unless you consider the media making a mountain out of a molehill really exciting. But among drivers who answered media questions at testing this week was Dale Jarrett, driver of the #44 for Michael Waltrip Racing. Jarrett discussed a variety of topics, many of which he's covered before, from why he went to MWR, to his goals for 2007, to Toyota's entry into Cup racing, and more.

One thing I've always found interesting is what Jarrett says was his motivation for leaving Robert Yates Racing for MWR. It's not money as many seem to think, but instead the excitment that comes with the challenge of helping build a new team. Jarrett said,

"...it wasn’t just new and exciting anymore. I just felt like a change like this was something that was exciting to me. To think about the opportunity I had to help a good friend of mine in Michael Waltrip start up his race team. I’ve been very impressed, and was even before I took the job, with everything that Michael and his people had done to get prepared for this. To help him and then to help Toyota come into the sport was a challenge that I felt like would give me that energy and that fire inside me again to really want to help and make this something special. If I can look back after everything is finished and say you know I had a big part of helping Toyota enter the Cup series and be successful, then that will be pretty rewarding."

I wonder how often drivers get bored with their rides? To fans racing is full of constant excitement, but not for the all the drivers apparently, and probably even less so when the results aren't that great. However, I have to wonder - did Jarrett lose his excitement about racing when the results weren't as good as they once were at RYR, or were the results not as good as they once were because Jarrett was no longer excited about racing? Either way, despite what some people think that Jarrett has lost something behind the wheel, I suspect the results will be decent for him this season because it sounds like he's completely re-energized by being involved in helping build MWR as well as being a part of Toyota's entry into the Cup Series.

Jarrett believes that his team can finish the season in the top 15 in points. He said,

"...a more realistic goal for us would be to be around that top 15 in the points in the first year. I think that is attainable. You know it’d be easy for us to go in and say well, I think we can finish in the top 25. But that’s not setting your goals very high and you tend not to work as hard, and we can get to victory lane I think. Not having as much testing, that’s going to hurt us a little bit. But I honestly think that we can get to victory lane and I’ve stated a number of times I’d like to be that driver to give Toyota their first win."

Although I think that Jarrett could have good results this season, I think that it might be difficult to finish in the top 15 - the competition is incredibly tough. Is the #44 team going to be on par with Hendrick Motorsports or Roush Racing in MWR and Toyota's first year in the series? I'd love for that to happen! But I'm also realistic enough to know that it could be hard to achieve immediately. Personally, I'd like Michael to be the first Toyota driver in Victory Lane, but if not Michael, a MWR driver would be fine with me!

Jarrett says that he was pleased with how testing had gone so far.

"As far as the car, the Toyota in the draft was pretty good yesterday. The car that we used wasn’t the better of the two cars for me either in speed or drive ability. But I was still pretty pleased with what I saw, especially as we made the changes to it. The first time out it wasn’t very good. But we made some changes and it responded to that and we got the car driving much better to where it would keep up and would suck up in the draft. We have two cars here today. We brought in a different car for our other car today that’s a little bit different feel and I’m excited about seeing what it’s going to do in the draft. We’ll get out this afternoon and get a lot more but I’ve been very pleased with what I’ve seen so far."

It's hard to draw too many conclusions from what Jarrett is saying. Few drivers are going to go to a media session and admit their cars suck, or that they're frustrated with the test session even if that's the case. These sessions are all about putting a positive spin on how testing is going and on the upcoming season. It's also difficult to really know how cars stack up against each other in testing because teams not only don't always show all their cards, but they might experiment with things that they wouldn't do in an actual race. But it's a good sign that Jarrett has been at least around mid-pack most of the time in testing, and that he says the cars were good in the draft.

One interesting comment that Jarrett made was in relation to Ford. He said,

"I think that Ford has slacked off a little bit in that respect over the years and that they’re still very strong. They have some very good teams out there but it’s going to cost money to be successful in this sport and you’re going to have to be willing to put those dollars out there, and when the company itself is struggling a little bit that makes it more difficult. They’re going to have to realize that’s what they’re going to have to do and hopefully we’ll start selling more Ford vehicles and that will help them. From the technology side of it I do think they haven’t put the effort there that the other manufacturers have."

Of course people associated with Ford like Jack Roush immediately dismissed Jarrett's comments, but someone who raced for a Ford team for such a long time probably has some insight into how much effort, financial and otherwise they put in. Perhaps Jarrett has seen what happens when the emphasis on engineering and technology isn't there, and wants to be sure the rest of his career he races for a team and manufacturer that puts effort into those areas.

Jarrett also refuted claims that Toyota's entry into Cup is what's driving costs of racing up because of how much they're paying their personnel and because of how much money overall they're sinking into the sport. He said,

"It’s no different than the amount of money and technology that a Hendrick Motorsports has. It’s just amazing. It’s tremendous. They can try to put it on the new guy on the block in Toyota coming in that’s creating this expense but it’s just the sport in itself and it’s the other manufacturers that are doing that too."

I have to agree. There's a tremendous amount of money being spent by teams, sponsors, and manufacturers - that would be happening regardless of whether Toyota was entering the Cup Series or not. The well-funded teams will constantly be looking at ways to utilize engineering and technology to gain a competitive advantage over each other. And the more they spend, the more they have to spend to keep up with each other.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:51 PM | Comments (0)

January 09, 2007

In the News: Michael Waltrip (1/9)

That's Michael Waltrip near the #44 driven by Dale Jarrett that he owns during testing at Daytona. I can't even begin to imagine how excited and proud Michael is to see one of the teams that he owns take part in their first official test in advance of the 2007 season. What a sense of accomplishement he must feel, and it's not even an actual race yet! What's really awesome is that DJ was 14th in both the morning session on Day One of testing yesterday, but also this morning. Of course it's a bit hard to draw too many conclusions from testing since some teams won't show all of what they've got during test sessions like this, and other teams will try things they can't do during actual races. But considering all the bleak predictions for the Michael Waltrip Racing teams for next season, it sure is nice to see them being pretty fast during testing! I hope Michael and David Reutimann are at least as fast, if not faster when they test next week!

Ty Norris certainly expects the MWR teams to be competitive. ESPN.com had a great article on MWR, in which Ty specifically told David Newton exactly that, and said,

"That's not blowing smoke. That's reality based on tests, knowing where our cars are in the wind tunnel, feeling good about what we've got going on with our engineer support from Toyota. We feel the pieces are there."

Anyone who's been watching Michael Waltrip Racing: A New Era on ESPN2, and been paying attention to the way that Michael has assembled the team of people who are working with him at MWR would certainly realize that the pieces are definitely there. That's what irks me a little when everyone predicts doom and gloom for MWR next season. It's almost as if some are still seeing MWR as the small team that operated out of the shop in the backyard of Michael's house, as opposed to the large organization that is doing everything that every other large Cup operation does, from hiring the best personnel they can, to using engineering to their benefit, to going to the wind tunnel, to conducting lots of testing, and so much more. There's certainly no guarantees that MWR will be successful this season. It's going to be difficult as a new team, especially since two out of three MWR Cup teams will have to qualify in on time for the first five races. However, with all the time, money and effort that's being put into this effort, I can't see how they can be a complete failure as some are predicting.

As I mentioned above, the ESPN2 show has been doing an excellent job of giving fans a peek at the inner workings of MWR as they prepare for this season. I've really enjoyed seeing things that fans normally don't get to see, such as when David met with Burger King and Domino's in an effort to try to convince them he should get the #00 ride, which he eventually did. Michael is happy with the show as well,

“I feel ‘A New Era’ has accurately depicted the challenges we have faced and the successes we’ve already enjoyed as a team.”

It definitely has to be considered a success that MWR got this far already! Michael continued,

“Our team has allowed intimate access into meetings, projects, tests and appearances daily. I am most proud that Michael Waltrip Racing has been able to provide our sponsors with exposure through this show. After the show stops airing, I think the race fans will want to visit Waltrip Raceworld and carry on the excitement of our inaugural year.”

I definitely agree with Michael that the show is a way to create excitement among existing fans about MWR and Waltrip Race World. However, I also think that it's a great way to create new fans who might become intrigued about following the successes and failures of MWR in 2007 after watching the show. I'm already a fan so I'm biased, but I find it hard to understand how anyone could wish failure on MWR after seeing this show, and getting to know a little those who play such an important role at MWR. It's also undeniable - the show is an outstanding showcase for the MWR sponsors, and it shows just how much of a partnership the relationship between the driver, team and sponsor is, and has to be.

All the news wasn't good for Michael this week. As a friend to Bobby Hamilton, Michael was among those saddened by his death. Michael said,

"He was one of those guys; there was no baloney. You knew exactly what he was thinking about everything."

That's something about Bobby I both admired and sometimes also disliked. I would like to see more drivers tell it like it is and give honest opinions, but I also think there's such thing as going too far, which Bobby might have done on an occasion or two, such as when his son left PPI Racing, and he had a few words for Cal Wells. There was certainly no confusion about how he felt about Cal!

Before heading for testing next week, Michael will be at Sound & Speed in Nashville. That event was a little rocky last year but hopefully it will go better this time around and all of Michael's fans who attend will have a good time seeing him!

Posted by silverdsl at 04:04 PM | Comments (0)

December 04, 2006

In the News: Michael Waltrip (12/4)

Yesterday was the Victory Junction Half-Marathon in Randleman, North Carolina, which benefited the Victory Junction Gang Camp, a cause near and dear to Michael Waltrip's heart. He also loves marathon running so it's not suprising that he took part in the Half-Marathon, logging a time of 2:26 minutes. I have no idea if that's a good time or a bad time, but Michael did say that he hadn't trained for this as much as he had for the Las Vegas marathon he ran in January of 2005 for Operation Marathon, and that this time he was going to be "real slow." I don't know much about marathon running but I've always wondered if someone as tall as Michael is would be at a disadvantage when it comes to marathon running, because he's heavier and all-around bigger than other runners. In any event, Michael said that there was no question that he'd take part in the half-marathon when he heard about it,

“When you say, ‘Camp,’ it means a lot more than words can express for a lot of people, so that makes me, when I hear, ‘Camp,’ I say, ‘What?’ They say, ‘Half marathon,’ and I say, ‘I'm there.’”

As I've discussed before in this space, Michael's dedication to charitable causes is both inspiring to me, and also one of the reasons why I like him so much. Other drivers probably wouldn't have been very anxious to give up a Sunday to run in a half-marathon, particularly just after having been in New York City for the Cup banquet, and in light of the season having just come to an end, so it eats into the little time they have to relax during the off-season. But Michael is always willing to lend a hand to a good cause whether it's for the VJGC, Craftsman for a Cure, or his own efforts to raise money for the Fisher Center Foundation to fight Alzheimer's Research through The Waltrip Challenge. Michael truly has a big heart when it comes to helping others!

I don't think anyone, including myself until I just read the article a little more closely, but apparently Waltrip Racing World has undergone a name change to Waltrip Raceworld. No matter the name Michael expressed confidence recently when talking about how Waltrip Raceworld and his race teams are developing. He said,

“We have been building this team for over a year now. My confidence comes from the successes we’ve enjoyed meeting our goals to this point. We have come a long way. We have sponsors secured and people hired. The cars are being built and tested. Our fabrication department is operating at full strength.”

I'm glad to hear that they're meeting their goals to this point! That might seem like a small thing to some people, but considering how much is on the line, it could be disasterous if they didn't meet their goals! I'm also very happy to hear that their fabrication show is at full operation, and cars are continuing to be build and tested.

Michael contined,

“We mapped out a plan with a timeline to monitor our progress. We are at a very good place. There have been many challenges and I know there will be more. I have been racing my whole life and it has always been about adapting to change. That mentality has helped our organization grow from a plan to a reality.”

I think Michael's comment about adapting to change is an interesting one considering how resistant a lot of fans are to change. If Michael has learned to adapt to change via being involved in racing his whole life, why are long-time fans having so much trouble with some of Nascar's changes? Things simply can't stay the same forever. Times change, technology change, the approach of the teams and drivers change and the sport has to change as well. Michael's adaptability is likely a huge reason why he's not only doing all of what he's doing with Michael Waltrip Racing, but also why he's been able to race for more than 20-years in Cup.

What's really awesome is that there will apparently be an announcement in the next few weeks about the crew chiefs for the #55, #44 and #00 cars. It had previously been said that Larry Carter would be Michael's crew chief next season but I don't know if that's still the plan. I'm very interested in finding out what the final lineup of crew chiefs is going to be because I think that having good crew chiefs will be key to helping MWR achieve some success next season. Those crew chiefs will also have to be able to deal with the challenges that a new team presents - it seems like it's obvious that all crew chiefs should be able to handle problems and challenges well, but it seems to me that there's some crew chiefs who think better on their toes than others.

An article on Dale Jarrett's site offers more insight into how things are progressing at MWR. Apparently the target date for MWR to be operating completely in the new race shops at Waltrip Raceworld is January 23rd. What's also exciting to find out is that DJ spent time each week at MWR during the late summer and fall, in addition to his responsibilities to the #88 team, with an eye towards helping MWR get ready for 2007. DJ also reveals that there's been a lot of progress in terms of building the cars, and they've even taken some cars to the wind tunnel. DJ said, "It's amazing how much things have changed and how quickly," Jarrett said.

"I would go over one week and there would be 12 cars sitting there built and then to go see things the next week, and the cars had been to the wind tunnel and more work had been accomplished. They've been putting in a tremendous effort throughout this whole process."

DJ sounds excited overall about being a part of MWR. He said,

"I've been doing this for more than 20 years but this is something entirely new. To be able to be a part of something of this magnitude and helping to build a team from the ground up is an incredible opportunity. There aren't too many athletes who get the opportunity for a challenge like this when they are 50 years old so I feel very fortunate and am truly excited about this new venture in my career."

It's very true - many athletes are retired by the time they're 50, instead DJ is embarking on a new chapter in his career. I think that has to be not only a very exciting feeling, but one that's sure to invigorate him and give him renewed passion about racing. And DJ isn't just getting an opportunity to build a new team, he's going to be one of the first drivers to engrave Toyota's name in Nascar's history books in relation to Cup racing!

I definitely think that it's not going to be smooth sailing for MWR and the other Toyota teams in 2007, but I'm really excited about what the future might hold! Surely things have to be better in 2007 than they were in 2006! I'm not expecting greatness out of the MWR teams in 2007, but I do think they'll be able to hold their own. And from there they'll build into competitive teams that will compete for wins. I can't wait for the day when Michael is back in Victory Lane as a driver and also as an owner!!

In the meantime if fans want to get a sneak peek at what's going on at MWR, they can do so this weekend on ESPN2. Toyota's Ride to the Cup: Michael Waltrip Racing, an 11-part series will debut on Sunday night at 10 p.m. (Eastern time). I can't wait to watch!!

Posted by silverdsl at 04:23 PM | Comments (0)

October 20, 2006

Dale Jarrett's New Number Will Be #44

UPS unveiled both Dale Jarrett's new number - #44, as well as the new paint scheme of the car that he'll be racing next season for Michael Waltrip Racing, on their website today. The new paint scheme features lightning bolts, and I think it looks a lot sharper and racier looking than the current paint scheme on the #88. Of course the number of the car that Jarrett would be driving for MWR has been a subject of much debate for a while now. At one time they were going to try to get the #88 from RYR, but more recently DJ had talked about using the #44 to keep with the double-numbers theme or possibly #50 if getting the #44 didn't work out. Apparently Petty Enterprises holds the rights to the #44 at the moment, but agreed to allow MWR to use it for now, which was pretty nice of them - I guess Petty has no plans on adding a third car in the near future.

I'm happy that this announcement has been made because it was one of the last major pieces to be announced regarding MWR's plans for next season. I'm sure they're still got a tremendous amount to do and put into place behind the scenes to get ready for 2007, but now we know the complete details about MWR's Cup lineup for next season. I'm so excited - I can't wait for 2007 to see those cars hit the track!

Posted by silverdsl at 02:14 PM | Comments (0)

September 19, 2006

Is This is a Conflict of Interest?

Apparently Elliott Sadler, Dale Jarrett, and Elliott's business manager, Brett Griffin are partners in a company that handles marketing and public relations for sponsors and young drivers in Nascar. Sounds like a solid business venture right? After all, there will always be the need for public relations representatives and marketing plans. However, this company has as it's clients Stephen Leicht, who was not too long ago teammate of DJ and Elliott at Robert Yates Racing, and CitiFinancial, who is a RYR sponsor. My question is, now that both DJ and Elliott have left RYR, how can RYR trust that when their company is advising Leicht on his career, that they're not going to advise him to leave RYR too? And how can RYR trust that one of those drivers isn't going to convince CitiFinancial to go to one of their teams? After all, UPS already left RYR for Michael Waltrip Racing with DJ.

This probably isn't the only kind of situation like this in Nascar. But it really jumps out to me because of the fact that Driver's Choice represents an RYR driver and sponsor. That doesn't seem like a good road to go down to me, because it could open all parties to some uncomfortable questions in the future.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:40 PM | Comments (0)

September 11, 2006

Elliott Sadler and Dale Jarrett Shed More Light on Why they Left Robert Yates Racing

Elliott Sadler and Dale Jarrett participated in a golf fund-raiser for a candidate for Sheriff in Brunswick County, Virginia. While they were at the golf outing they both spoke to the Roanoke Daily Herald at length about leaving Robert Yates Racing. DJ has mentioned in the past that he was concerned about the lack of focus on engineering at RYR being one reason why he was leaving for Michael Waltrip Racing, but Elliott has always declined to get into specifics until now.

Apparently Elliott was unhappy with the way the Roush-Yates engine partnership worked and how the Roush Racing cars seemed to benefit more. He said,

“I knew how much we helped Roush Racing. I knew how much the motors meant. Robert Yates and Doug Yates build so many great motors and really helped Jack Roush's bunch out a lot and Jack and those guys wouldn't return the favor, really didn't care how we ran, so that's one reason I left. I was tired of all the help we gave them and nothing in return so I really wanted to get out of that situation, get out of that picture, as quick as I could.”

I'm surprised by how critical Elliott was of Roush considering he had said previously that he didn't want to say anything bad about anyone, but perhaps he figures that now that he's no longer associated with RYR, he has nothing to lose. Thing is, it's hard to tell whether Elliott is right that RYR gave Roush a lot of help, but RYR didn't get the same kind of consideration, or whether that's just Elliott's frustration about his poor finishes this season in the #38 coming to the surface. I don't know why RYR would stay in a partnership that doesn't benefit them, but I suppose that given the other problems that the organization is facing, having to worry about being completely on their own regarding their motors isn't something that they're probably prepared to handle at the moment.

Elliott continued,

“The big difference is I believe in what the 19 team is doing. That's why I decided to go to Evernham Motorsports. I really believe in his direction. I love his fire. I love his intensity. I'm not saying what everyone at Robert Yates Racing was doing was wrong. I just couldn't buy into the system they had and the direction they were going in. I really wanted to buy into a program I really believed in and I like the way Ray Evernham does business. I like the direction he's going in so it just a little bit fits my cup of tea a little better.”

I think the key part there is "I just couldn't buy into... the direction they were going in." Translation: Elliott saw the writing on the wall that RYR is a sinking ship and he wanted out! Evernham Motorsports has their own issues, but they aren't talking about possibly shutting down a team, they've got a car in the Chase, and Elliott seems to be racing better there in just a few race than he did all season at RYR.

On the other hand, DJ repeated what he's said previously about how RYR has fallen behind on engineering, which is deadly when there's so much emphasis by the big teams on engineering. He said,

“That's where we've fallen behind at Robert's is on the engineering side and that's Toyota's total focus, on their engineering. That's how they do everything, whether it's building a good passenger car or whether it's in their motorsports department. They realize how important engineering is and their staff is second to none and I think that's what will allow us to be competitive right from the beginning.”

I hope he's right! I'm being more conservative in my predictions, in that I think that while the Toyota teams won't be terrible, that it will take some time for them to be competitive and race up front. But it's very good to hear there's such a focus on engineering at Toyota, as increasingly a strong engineering program seems to be essential for teams to suceed. I figured that Toyota was big on engineering, which is one reason why when Michael Waltrip fans get wistful for Tommy Baldwin, Jr. to leave Bill Davis Racing and be Michael's crew chief next season, I'm not among them. Doug Yates said on XM that neither Tommy nor Slugger Labbe are engineering oriented crew chiefs, and I think that in the current climate in Nascar with how important engineering is, that's a big black mark against both men. Which makes me wonder how well Tommy is going to mesh with Toyota's style of doing things next season.

Back to DJ, what I really like is that he's looking forward to the challenge that next season is going to present. He said,

“It's a new challenge for me and there's not a lot of people in sports that get to do something totally new and take a big chance like I am when you're 50-years-old. I like the challenge it presents, the opportunity to get in on the ground floor with a new team, a new manufacturer coming in. To have a hand in developing their entire program is a challenge I look forward to.”

I think it really is a special opportunity because DJ, and the other drivers who are part of Toyota's Cup program next season, will always have a place in the Nascar history books as the first to drive Toyotas in Cup. That's something pretty cool. And hopefully they will have a lot of success doing it too!

Posted by silverdsl at 03:47 PM | Comments (0)

August 30, 2006

In the News: Michael Waltrip (8/30)

This weekend the Cup and Busch Series head back to Fontana to race at the California Speedway. Before watching David Reutimann race the #99 Aaron's Dream Machine on Saturday, and racing the #55 NAPA car on Sunday, Michael Waltrip will be quite busy. There's an appearance on The Best Damn Sports Show, which will air tonight night at 9 p.m. on Fox Sports, but this morning Michael was scheduled to get a hair makeover from Jonathan Antin, a West Hollywood hair stylist to the stars, and star of his own show on Bravo, Blow Out. Apparently this will be filmed for a future espisode of Blow Out. There will surely be lots of media coverage besides since Michael is also going to give Antin a ride in a street-legal version of the #55 through the streets of West Hollywood. I have to admit that I love Michael's hair long, as I think the longer and wilder it is, the more it suits him, so I'm hoping he doesn't get too much of the length cut off.

I commend whoever booked Michael on this show, since it's a great way to get him some exposure to an audience that might normally not be familiar with him. However, there's been a couple of comments made in relation to this that bug me a little. First, the Mayor of West Hollywood, John Heilman said,

"We are encouraged that NASCAR is attempting to change its image. This is an opportunity to provide greater acceptance and understanding among all NASCAR fans."

What in the heck does that mean? That Nascar fans need a makeover? That Michael needs a makeover? That's ridiculous. Michael is very image consicious and looks great all the time. And I don't think that I need a makeover either. I might not be into trendy clothes or spending hundreds of dollars to get my hair styled, but I think I keep myself looking pretty good, as do most fans.

The other comment that bothered me is one that someone posted from a press release that I don't have a link to. But the release said that Michael's hair is the most talked about on the curcuit. And indeed it is. There's been a "Mikey Mic'd" segment on another haircut Michael got and fans often do debate and comment on the various ways he styles his hair. But I can't help but wish that there was something else about Michael that was most talked about instead of the way he styles his hair. Like his ability behind the wheel for example. Michael's a two-time Daytona 500 winner, which is no small feat, yet many seem to shug that off like it's no big deal. Or how about all the awesome things that Michael's doing to build Michael Waltrip Racing and Waltrip Racing World? He's very intelligent and has a great business sense, but many don't recognize that either.

Other than Lee Spencer that is. Surprisingly Spencer said of Michael in a column about the drivers who will be racing Toyotas in Cup next season,

There is not a better front man in NASCAR than Michael Waltrip. Who else could sell major sponsors on a multimillion-dollar vision that existed solely on paper? Once the 150,000-plus-square-foot Michael Waltrip Racing World project, an interactive motorsports complex, comes to fruition in 2007, those who doubted his business acumen won't again. Critics who question Waltrip's performance this season don't understand the difficulty of making the transition from one organization to another. Waltrip's own team for 2007 is in place with veteran crew chief Larry Carter leading the charge.

Some fans took issue with Spencer's comments about Dale Jarrett, because she wondered if DJ's best years as a driver are behind him, but I really liked what she said about MIchael. For one thing she makes note of all that Michael is accomplishing as an owner with a vision for success. I'm continually impressed by the way Michael is able to attract major sponsors to MWR, and also with what he's doing with Waltrip World. But I also like that Spencer recognizes that Michael's lack of strong results on the track have a lot to do with going from DEI to Bill Davis Racing, and not because of Michael himself. So many think that Michael isn't a good driver and that's why the results haven't been good this season, when in reality Michael's had slow cars and a tremendous amount of other issues that have been barriers to him getting the kind of results he's capable of.

Speaking of Michael and DJ, a very lucky fan won the Dale Jarrett Shootout Contest to win an opportunity to partner with DJ at the Dale Jarrett Shootout on September 26. Not only will DJ obviously be there but also Michael and other golf loving drivers such as Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Petty and Elliott Sadler. Oh how I wish I lived in North Carolina and could go to that event if if was open to spectators!

Posted by silverdsl at 01:33 PM | Comments (0)

August 15, 2006

I Wish!

Qualifying, Watkins Glen, New York, August, 2006. I really don't like to use other people's photos without permission in this space, and this one belongs to motorsports.com, but I sure do wish that this was going to be the Michael Waltrip Racing Cup lineup next season! Two out of three isn't bad, but it would be awesome if Elliott Sadler was going to be in the #00. Probably wouldn't have gone over very well with fans, the media or in the garage area if Michael had taken both of RYR's Cup drivers in addition to a sponsor for Michael Waltrip Racing. But a girl can dream, can't she?

Posted by silverdsl at 10:04 PM | Comments (0)

July 21, 2006

Robert Yates Responds and it's Not Pretty

Elliott Sadler had kind words for Robert Yates and everyone at Robert Yates Racing today when he addressed the media but he might be regretting that now after he reads what Yates said about him and others. I have to say that after reading this article on Nascar.com it's very clear why Dale Jarrett and Sadler are leaving RYR, as well as UPS. This is a sinking ship. Instead of taking the slightest bit of blame for the sad shape that his organization is in, Yates lists a laundry list of other people and entities who he feels are at fault.

He feels it's Michael Waltrip and Toyota's fault for offering Jarrett a deal too good to pass up. I have no doubt that they did give Jarrett an excellent deal. But perhaps if RYR was an organization where Jarrett felt he could finish his career on a good note, where he might add to his win total and possibly be in the Chase, maybe he would still be in the #88. Maybe if Yates had ensured that the #88 was a competitive ride this season, it would have given UPS hope for the future and they would have stuck with RYR instead of following Jarrett to MWR. That both Jarrett and UPS are willing to take a risk with a brand-new team and manufacturer, where there is no guarantee of success, rather than stay with an established organization where they got eight wins together, speaks volumes to me about the sad state of affairs at RYR. That is not Michael or Toyota's fault.

Yates went on to say that Sadler started thinking about leaving last season when he found out how much money Jamie McMurray got to change teams,

"When Jamie McMurray told him how much money he was going to make he's been strung out since then. It's got him so unfocused. That's just my opinion. I'm sure he doesn't feel that way, but that's when I noticed it."

Unbelievable! Yates is implying that Sadler is greedy and that the only reason that he's leaving is because he wants more money. Futhermore, he's accusing Sadler of being so distracted by dreams of how much money he might make, that he was unable to fully concentrate on racing. I think that Yates is entitled to his own opinions about the reasons why Sadler might be leaving, but to actually vocalize it to the media? Ridiculous and insulting. Show some respect to a driver who has been nothing but courteous towards you publically.

It stands in stark contrast to Sadler's comments this afternoon where he praised everyone at RYR, including Robert and Doug Yates, and spoke of his committment to working as hard as he can for the remainder of the season to get the best results possible in the #38. In addition, Sadler has spoke more than once earlier this season about how focused he was on the #38 and trying to turn their season around. Of course drivers say things they don't mean all the time, but given how strongly Sadler spoke at times, I have a hard time believing that he was as unfocused due to monetary concerns as Yates says he was. If Sadler was preoccupied with something, I'd guess it was how poor his season has been. Race car drivers are intensely competitive and this season has to have been incredibly frustrating for Sadler, to have not been able to get anywhere near the results that he knows he's capable of. That's more likely what's been on his mind.

Former general manager, Eddie D'Hondt, who was fired several months ago, doesn't escape Yates's ire either. Yates blames D'Hondt for the "out" clause that gave Sadler, and RYR, a way to break the contract if the team didn't perform. I suspect that many other driver's contracts also have similar clauses, but Yates says,

"I didn't like the contract. It wasn't written by a professional."

Hello! You are the owner - if you don't like the contract, then have it done differently! And it's amazing to me that in this day and age, when lawyers are involved in absolutely everything, that a contract can be signed by either party that is any way unprofessional. In fact, I have a hard time believing it.

Yates also refers to philisophical differences with D'Hondt, which he says led to D'Hondt being fired. What are those differences? Well, for one, D'Hondt, wanted to do what virtually every single other large organization does - develop young drivers in lower series! As if that's a bad thing! Yates says,

"He wanted to pretty much follow Jack Roush's deal. The difference between Jack and myself is he could do numbers. I'm a one-track mind and he's a multiple-track deal. I can't focus on so many different things."

If he can't focus on multiple things at the same time, then how is he an owner? He's got multiple teams, multiple drivers, multiple sponsors, etc... But more than that, it boggles my mind that he was against developing young talent. Particularly since one reason RYR is screwed right now is because they don't have young drivers who are ready to move up from a lower series seemlessly into the vacancies they now have. Oh sure, they have Stephen Leicht, but he's 19-years old and I highly doubt that he is anywhere ready to race Cup full-time in 2007. It is absolutely essential for organizations to have driver development programs and work with young drivers so they are prepared for the future and don't get caught with their pants down when a driver (or two) leaves for another organization. I would guess that is one of the differences as to how to achieve success for the organization that Sadler referred to this morning.

I'd guess that another difference is the lack of a large engineering program as compared to other organizations. RYR has only six engineers, as compared to 15-20 for other organizations. Jarrett noted that this was one concern he had, and I would agree that presents a problem. As much as some who are "old school" might be resistent, engineers are absolutely essential to success in this sport. With only six engineers, it doesn't seem like that area isn't a priority at RYR. I'm sure the engineers they do have work hard, but I doubt that they can do as much as organizations with twice as many engineers. Until RYR gets their engineering program up to speed with everyone else's, which in all fairness isn't always easy because it costs money, I think they will continue to struggle - increasingly teams are relying more and more on engineers to guide their efforts and there is no way of getting around that.

Darrell Waltrip agrees that RYR is in bad shape. He apparently said that losing Jarrett and Sadler means that RYR's Cup program is beyond repair, which may be a little extreme, but might not be all that far off the mark as losing two drivers and a primary sponsor is a major blow. Yates was not pleased with D.W. He said,

"He don't have to say that I'm never going to fix it. He can say I suck. He can report the facts. But he can bite my ass when he says I'll never get it fixed."

First of all, isn't saying that he sucks as bad or worse than saying that his program is beyond repair? Secondly, D.W., whether he's correct or not, has the right to his own opinions. And I have to agree with D.W. - until RYR gets with the times, realizes the value of driver development, why it's important for there to be an emphasis on engineering and addresses the other issues they have in a way that is in keeping with the way the sport has advanced, then I don't see how they can possibly get strong results. The fact of the matter is that other teams have passed them by and the longer they go without updating their organizational philosophy, the harder it may be for them to catch up.

What really gets me though is that Yates spent a lot of time blaming others for the failings of RYR. But he leaves out the one person who is ultimately responsible - himself. As owner, he allowed his organization to get to a place where two drivers and a sponsor walked out the door. the blame for those things falls on his shoulders. As owner, he needs to find a way to elevate RYR back into an organization that fields cars that can win races and compete for Championships. But I'm not sure that he's going to be able to do it.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:01 PM | Comments (0)

July 17, 2006

Dale Jarrett to Race #44 for Michael Waltrip Racing

Apparently Michael Waltrip/Michael Waltrip Racing is looking to aquire the #44 to use for the third car that Dale Jarrett will be driving. #44 would fit in very nicely with the other double numbers that MWR has - #55 and #00 on the Cup level and #99 on the Busch level. While Terry LaBonte has raced the #44 for Hendrick Motorsports on a part-time basis most recently, Petty Enterprises was the last time to use it full-time and apparently still have rights to it. So they have to agree to turn it over before MWR can use it. Since Michael is on good terms with the Petty's, I hope that means that they will be willing to let have it. However, if PE is thinking about expanding in the near future, they might want to hold onto the number. Michael also looked into getting #33 from Richard Childress Racing but he was apparently declined. I can understand why RCR might want to hold onto that number considering it is probably reminiscent to some of Dale Earnhardt's #3 which he raced for RCR.

Some have really strong feelings about the car numbers. There are some numbers I like more than others, which has nothing to do with the drivers, teams or sponsors they've been affiliated with, just that I have a fondness for certain numbers over others. However, in the end it doesn't really matter to me which number is on the race car (or truck). I'm more interested in how competitive those cars are going to be.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:07 PM | Comments (0)

July 13, 2006

In the News: Michael Waltrip (7/13)

There was plenty of Michael Waltrip related news articles last week while I was gone due to UPS joining Michael Waltrip Racing, but this week not so much. That won't stop me from writing plenty in this entry!

Michael and Bill Elliott participated in testing this week at Indianapolis Motorspeedway in preparation for the Brickyard 400, but the results were not impressive to say the least. Some seem pretty disappointed about those results, and it's definitely nothing to cheer about, but I'm not disappointed because I wasn't expecting them to be at the top of the speed charts. There has been nothing to show me that the #55 team is going to make huge improvements in the near future in terms of speed. That doesn't mean that they won't eventually get some good results this season, but since they struggle to even finish in the top 25 for most races, I think it's a stretch to think that suddenly they're going to find the magic potion that will make the cars as competitive as they need to be to be near the top of the speed charts. As far as the #00 goes, I don't think that car is on the track to try to win races, but rather so that Bill can help MWR work on things for 2007. Of course no one is going to complain about strong finishes and all parties are going to work hard to field the best car possible, it's just that the goals for the #00 are a bit different from that of the #55. So there's no telling what they might be experimenting with that might effect the performance of the car. I just hope that Michael finds enough speed for qualifying for the Brickyard since there will surely be a lengthy entry list for that race given that it is one of the biggest in terms of attention and prestige all season.

This weekend the Cup and Busch series will be racing at New Hampshire International Speedway. Michael will be racing both races, which I always enjoy, and even more so now since I suspect he won't be racing in many, if any, Busch races next season, so I need to enjoy as many of the double-race weekends as I can. On the Cup side, the pre-race report tells us that Michael has raced well at NHIS in the past, his best finish being 6th in 2004. He has two additional top tens at the track as well. Apparently Michael is one of only nine active drivers who have raced in all 22 races at NHIS - I always love neat little facts like that. Bill Elliott will also be in the #00 for MWR this weekend in the Cup race. His best finish is 4th in 2003, but he also has won the pole once at NHIS. While Michael and Bill are racing in New Hampshire, future MWR Busch driver David Reutimann will be racing in the truck series race in Memphis, where he finished 2nd last year. Sure would be awesome to see him get his first win of the year this weekend!

In other Waltrip related news apparently Buffy Waltrip, Michael's wife, will be the subject of the next episode of 7 Days, airing on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. on Speed. 7 Days is really a cool show because they follow around various people in the garage area to show what their lives are like during the week leading up to and including a race weekend. The one on Ty Norris was fascinating because it really gave a peek into the inner workings of MWR, as well as a look at the person that Ty is. I'm sure the episode on Buffy will be pretty interesting as well. So far this season, 7 Days has featured Darrell Waltrip, Ty Norris and now Buffy. I really hope that means that there will eventually be an episode on Michael as well, since they've featured so many Waltrip associated people!

There was one article from last week that I want to discuss because it highlights a side of Michael that often doesn't get much attention and that's Michael the intelligent and savvy business-man. As the article points out, Michael is often thought of as no more than a clown by a lot of fans who think that he is no more than a goofball who will do anything to plug his sponors as many times as he can. But Michael is far more than that. That side of him that is so forward thinking in terms of his vision for making Michael Waltrip Racing into a powerhouse organization and how he is so gifted when it comes to attracting outstanding people and sponsors to work with him is something that I've long admired. I'm glad that there are others who recognize it as well.

Dale Jarrett said,

"I've known Michael forever, and everybody sees that side of him that has a lot of fun and gets the sponsors' names out there. But now I've seen him in action on the business side in a lot of talks we've had since last September, and once he gets in that mode, sometimes you want to check to make sure you're with the same guy. And he can go from that to the funny guy again in a hurry. Just how he put the whole Toyota thing together and how it was a couple of years in the making, it's very impressive. You've got to give him a lot of credit for looking down the road to make it happen. He surrounded himself with very good people."

I suspect that a lot more people are going to be seeing the serious side of Michael who is so good on the business side as MWR continues to grow. And he is a force to reckon with.

Ty Norris said,

"Michael is funny, engaging and all those great things to sponsors. "But you close that door, and he's as hard-nosed a business-driven person as anyone I've been around. I don't know if he really likes to show that side of his world. I've always seen that side. He gets more for his dollar than anyone I've ever been around. He puts people at ease whether they're race fans, NASCAR, the sponsors. They all feel Michael is their best friend, somebody who is going to make you laugh. People are attracted to those types of personalities."

That last sentence is a good summary of what I believe is one of Michael's biggest assets off-the-track. He can win people over in a heartbeat and he has a magnetic personality that draws people to him. In person, as I've discovered, he is a presence and not just because he's 6'5". In addition, even the fans who complain about how annoying he is, seem to watch INC every week to listen to what he has to say. Like him or hate him, he commands attention. If he wasn't a Nascar driver I think Michael would still have been someone of power and importance - he just knows how to make things happen.

Michael's brother also pointed out something that many fans fail to realize - the way Michael is on TV or in interviews isn't the complete picture of who he really is. DW said,

"What you see on TV with Michael is an act. He and I both have that ability to act like we ain't got a clue. But we do."

Unfortunately, a lot of fans have trouble understanding that concept, that the goofy way that Michael is on Inside Nextel Cup is an act. They make ridiculous judgements about him as a person or about his intelligence level based on the way he acts, literally, on that show or others. In some ways it's a shame that some people are so hard on him because of that act and underestimate his knowledge level about racing, which is in reality quite considerable. But on the other hand, maybe it's sometimes an asset when people don't take him seriously, because they aren't on their guard when they deal with him. Michael is going to surprise the people who think that they shouldn't take MWR and their chances for success seriously because he's just a "joke." He's far from it.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:15 PM | Comments (0)

July 10, 2006

UPS to Follow Dale Jarrett to Michael Waltrip Racing

A piece of outstanding news that I missed last week was that UPS has decided to follow Dale Jarrett to Michael Waltrip Racing. Friday, it was announced that UPS has agreed to continue as Jarrett's primary sponsor for the next two years on a car whose number is yet to be determined for MWR. I had a feeling that unless they were going to be able to become the primary sponsor of a driver like Kasey Kahne, as was rumored they might have some interest in doing, that they would likely end up staying with DJ. Over the time that they've been associated with him, UPS has poured a tremendous amount of time, money and effort into making him a key part of their marketing, advertising and promotions and I think it's really paid off well for them. There aren't many Nascar fans who aren't aware of their brand thanks to the "Race the Truck" campaign.

This of course is wonderful and exciting news for Michael Waltrip Racing. I think it's quite an accomplishment that even before they've put a Toyota on the track, MWR has been able to lure so many big-name primary sponsors into becoming a part of the organization. That really shows how impressed UPS and the other sponsors are with the program that Michael, Ty Norris and everyone else at MWR has put together and that they believe that MWR will ultimately be successful in Cup racing. What this also means is that it's definite that MWR will be fielding three Cup cars next season, something which will ultimately be for the best, as much as I have some reservations about them taking on the task of having three full-time Cup teams so soon.

Of course the speculation has started fast and furious about who the driver for that third car will be. Michael made a comment at the press conference announcing the deal with UPS that the driver of the Burger King/Domino's car will be someone who is young in comparision to himself and DJ. I might be reading into that too much, but my guess is that they are looking at a driver who is in his mid-thirties so that he will potentially be around as the veteran at MWR when Michael and DJ retires. That takes a lot of the names that have been tossed around out of the mix like Johnny Benson, Joe Nemechek, Steve Park, Bill Elliott, and Mike Skinner since I believe all of those drivers are around the same age as Michael.

One driver who comes to mind as a possiblity is Jeremy Mayfield, who is obviously unhappy at Evernham, but he is still under contract to that organization though next season if not longer. Elliott Sadler would be a great fit for the third team, and he certainly works well with DJ. But since Michael has said that a driver announcement might be made in the next two weeks I'm thinking that it won't be Elliott since he's stated his committment to Yates in no uncertain terms recently. I wouldn't be surprised to see Elliott move to another team next season but I'm not sure that he would do so this early. Brendan Gaughan might be another good fit, but he's said that he won't race Cup again unless it's for his family, and I would tend to think that even with Michael's offbeat way of looking at some things, when it comes to business he will likely want Brendan to conform in ways that he had trouble doing so previously in Cup. The other name that comes to mind is that of Travis Kvapil because there's no telling if the #32 car is going to exist next season, let alone if he will be racing it. But in the end Michael may end up surprising everyone and going with a driver that no one has even considered.

Even though things have turned out so poorly for Michael in terms of the on-track performance of the #55 this season, I think the future is looking exceptionally bright on the business side for MWR. It's really incredible how Michael and everyone who is working with him at MWR have built the organization the way that they have. I think a lot of people didn't take Michael very seriously when it was announced that he would be fielding teams for Toyota next season. Many seemed to think that he was brought on board simply because Toyota knew how well he could promote their brand - no doubt he will do that well, but there is clearly far more to MWR than just a way for Michael to plug more sponsors. While I'm not sure that MWR and the other Toyota backed Cup teams are going to have immediate success, I do think that MWR is an organization that might eventually give some of the powerhouse organizations a run for their money.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:44 PM | Comments (0)

June 19, 2006

In the News: Michael Waltrip (6/19)

Michael Waltrip made a big announcement this weekend about sponsorship for Michael Waltrip Racing's #00 car in 2007. Most people had guessed that Domino's would be sponsoring the #00 car given Michael's comment on and that they are based in Michigan where the announcement took place (in Victory Lane at the track). But a lot of people were wondering how Burger King was going to fit in. As it turns out Domino's and Burger King will be splitting the primary sponsorship of the #00 next season. What makes this unusual is that normally companies in the same industry - in this case fast food - aren't all that thrilled about being aligned with a competitor. But somehow Michael, and Ty Norris, convinced them both to sign on! In a lot of ways this kind of sponsorship makes sense - they will benefit from being the primary sponsor on a Cup car, but they don't have to pay the hefty price that comes with a full season sponsorship.

I think it's awesome for Michael and MWR that both of these companies will be so heavily involved. Domino's has done some great commercials and promotions with Michael and I think there are a lot of opportunities for Burger King to utilize Michael and whoever their driver ends up being in a similar way. It also shows that Michael and MWR must be doing something right if two more major sponsors have signed on - if they weren't confident that MWR was going to be a successful operation in the future, they wouldn't be willing to spend the millions that it takes to sponsor the car. That's a nice vote of confidence for sure!

The other significant piece of news that came out of this press conference is that it sounds like it's more likely than not that MWR will field three cars next season, regardless of whether UPS follows Dale Jarrett to MWR or not. Apparently UPS as a sponsor is still in play since if they weren't, DJ would probably have been announced as the driver of the #00. But based on what Michael said on Saturday, there are other sponsors that they are talking about who could potentiallly be on the third car. He said,

“There are a couple of companies interested in sponsoring this team and we set a deadline on ourselves on making a decision. We are building all the cars we possibly can for 2007 right now, so nothing will change at this point if we go to three cars. So mid-July is our personal deadline to decide if we will indeed have a third Cup team. I would say it is better than maybe that we will have it. We feel that that all the resources and synergies that we have by having more teams, we will make our cars faster because of that– which is ultimately the goal. To get to that this early would be a real bonus to our organization.”

From all indications, it sounds like having a third team is something that MWR very much wants to do and that they think that it will benefit their organization to field more cars that less. On one hand, I think that they are headed in the right direction with that goal since the more successful organizations have more than two teams. However, I have to admit that I'm a little concerned that having three full-time teams immediately for an organization that will be new to fielding one full-time Cup team completely on their own, let alone, three might present a lot of challenges. That's not to say that it can't be done successfully if they have a good plan - and if there's one thing that Michael is good at, it's coming up with solid plans for the future - but until I see the results on the track, I'm going to worry that it might spread their resources a little thin, as an organization newly expanded.

Of course if they do have a third team, the question is - who will drive the car? There aren't a tremendous amount of available drivers but I wouldn't be surprised to see MWR do the unexpected in terms of who they might put in their third car.

All in all, while the results on the track were once again not as good as what the #55 team would ideally like, the news for MWR was very positive this weekend!

Posted by silverdsl at 04:23 PM | Comments (0)

June 13, 2006

In the News: Michael Waltrip (6/12)

The biggest news related to Michael Waltrip is that last night on Inside Nextel Cup he said that he will be making an announcement related to sponsorship for 2007 this weekend. When pressed for details, Michael claimed that everything isn't finalized yet, but made a reference to "Domino's Delivers" and according to Jayski's, though I didn't hear him say this myself, "Have it Your Way!" which is Burger King's slogan. There has been some previous rumors that Domino's and Burger King would share primary sponsor duties on the #00 Cup car for MWR next season, and there's no doubt that Domino's must be a key player in this weekend's announcement since they're based in Michigan, which happens to be where the Truck and Cup series will be racing this weekend. So the question is how much, if at all, is Burger King involved?

Another question is whether a driver announcement will also be made at the same time. That's important because if Dale Jarrett is announced as the driver of the #00 with Domino's/BK as the sponsor, it means that UPS is almost certainly either staying with Robert Yates Racing or going to another team. If DJ isn't involved with this weekend's announcement it means that the door is still open for UPS to join MWR. While I think it would be outstanding if UPS followed DJ to MWR, I also think in some ways it might be better off if MWR only had two cars next season, rather than three. That way they can concentrate on making their existing teams solid contenders, then expand. I don't think Michael is ever going to have problems finding sponsors to join his organization.

Yesterday I talked about David Reutimann being in the #99 at Kentucky. Apparently the door is still open for Michael to race there instead if the truck race doesn't end in time. What the plan is at the moment is for David to leave the track immediately as soon as the truck race ends to fly to Kentucky to race in the Busch race, but if it appears that he can't make it, Michael will leave the Speed booth, where he will be a part of the broadcast team for the race, to fly in David's place to Kentucky to race. So far there's no word on who will practice and qualify the #99, since I don't think either David or Michael will be able to do it, but I hope that person will also be on hand in Kentucky on Saturday night because it seems to me that there's a chance that both David and Michael might not be able to get there. Weather problems could certainly put a crimp in their plans, and I can see where David winning the truck race, as welcome as it might be, might also present a problem in terms of travel logistics.

Apparently a big reason for David racing the #99 in Kentucky instead of Michael is because of how well he did last week at Nashville. David said,

"After our Nashville run in the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine, we have a some momentum and we would like to keep that going. It’s hard to get that sometimes. Even before the Busch race at Nashville, I was lobbying Bobby Kennedy (Director of Competition for Michael Waltrip Racing) to let me run the race at Kentucky Speedway. At first glance on paper, it’s something that we thought would logistically impossible to pull off. After we finished in the top-10 at Nashville, they started taking a closer look at the possibility of me running the race. I’m thrilled that we are going to be able to do that.”

Although a lot of Michael's fans in Kentucky will be very disappointed that he won't be racing there, especially considering he's from Kentucky, keeping David in the car probably is a good idea since he will be racing Busch full-time next season. The more experience he gets this season the better, and the more positive results he gets, the better it will be for his confidence. I am wondering if David continues to do well in the #99 whether they will try to put him in as much as possible for races that don't conflict with the Truck Series Schedule, thus reducing the amount of times Michael was originally slated to be in the car? I would be a little disappointed about that because I like to see Michael race as often as possible, but it's probably not a bad idea.

I can't let the following comment in the post-race report from Pocono go by without comment:

As the NEXTEL Cup Series approaches its halfway mark in the coming weeks, the NAPA AUTO PARTS team and Michael Waltrip refuse to give up. Each week more communication is heard over the radio and fewer problems arise with the No. 55 NAPA Dodge, giving Waltrip fans more reason to look forward to the future.

I know full well that Michael and the #55 team are working extremely hard to improve, and I know that there is no quit in Michael, especially when he has a goal he's trying to achieve. However, let's be real. The team isn't giving up because what other choice do they have? These men are all professionals and they are going to do everything in their power to solve the problems facing the team in the hopes of improving, just like most other teams in their position would. There is way too much on the line to do otherwise. In addition, while it's true that the communication over the radio is somewhat better, it sure doesn't sound like it's where it needs to be. Joe Shear sounds much more confident than Derrick Finley ever did and he seems to have an easier time handling Michael, but I think there is still room for improvement.

I also have to ask - who is the writer of this press release kidding when they refer to fewer problems arising? In this very race, Michael experienced brake problems, which are referenced in the post-race report! From what it sounded like over the radio, those brake issues prevented Michael from being able to race as well as he might have otherwise. In addition, the cars that Michael have been given each week are still slow - he is barely able to pass some of the slowest cars on the track - that's a pretty big problem to me! Adding Joe Shear and having Bobby Kennedy, Larry Carter and others take a more active role is a good thing, and there might be other things happening behind-the-scenes that are helping to take things in a positive direction. But even I, a huge fan of Michael's who wants nothing but the best for him, can see that there are still a lot of challenges and problems facing this team.

Having worked in public relations myself I understand what spin is all about, but sometimes it seems that Nascar PR people use a lot of creative license in how they describe the fortunes of their teams.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:49 PM | Comments (0)

May 17, 2006

In the News: Michael Waltrip (5/17)

Michael Waltrip gave a rather lengthy interview to Nascar.com this week in which he made a lot of interesting comments. Michael was first asked about whether it was a relief to have been able to make the official announcement about Dale Jarrett joining Michael Waltrip Racing in 2007. I love this part of the answer,

"Racing and building a team is a project. You've got 100 pieces you've got to fit together and when you get them all fit together there will be 100 more you'll have to assemble at that point."

Why? Because I always think of silly season and where drivers might go as a giant puzzle. I love to speculate and think on various scenarios for how the puzzle pieces might fit so it's neat to me that someone who is actually in the sport views things in a similar way. Building a successful team does take a tremendous amount of pieces, probably more than most fans realize. It's not just driver, crew chief, pit crew, sponsor - there are so many other people who are involved in all aspects of an organization and so much equipment from what's used on race day to what's in the shop. One of the things that I've come to admire about Michael is how well he seems to put all these pieces together. The results might not show it this season, but I think all of that hard work is going to pay off next season.

Michael also said,

"So I felt good about Dale joining us for the last couple weeks."

That makes me laugh because that means that when Michael first brought DJ's name up during the media session he did a couple of weeks ago at Talladega, he probably already knew that DJ was going to be racing for him next season. I suspected that might be the case because I didn't think that Michael or DJ would talk about it so openly if there wasn't a good chance that it was going to happen.

Back when the Cup cars tested at Charlotte a few weeks ago, the car that Bill Elliott tested had a Toyota engine in it, which apparently both Bill and Michael really liked.

"Well, I was impressed with the Toyota engine. I liked it because it felt good. Bill [Elliott] liked it, too, and that was something that was real important for me -- that Bill would get a feel for it and think that it was something that he liked as well. We both agreed that we liked it. The car handled great."

In fact the car was faster than his #55 NAPA car, so it's too bad that Michael can't start sneaking some of those Toyota engines into his cars now! Maybe before the end of the season he'll be able to race with some Toyota engines, or even whole cars. That would be sweet!

Michael was also asked about what the biggest plus was for working with Toyota. He said,

"Credibility. When I went to NAPA and I went to Domino's, Burger King, Best Western and Coca-Cola -- all the sponsors that have signed up so far -- they believed in me and Ty [Norris, MWR general manager] and our management team, and they believe that Toyota will build us a car that we can go out and make some headlines with. They wanted to be a part of that.... And that credibility is what enabled me, not only to get wonderful sponsors, but also to get Dale Jarrett and Ty Norris and some of the key individuals in place in our organization."

NAPA, Domino's, Best Western and Coca-Cola must have been pretty impressed with Toyota and what Michael will be able to do when he's aligned with Toyota if he was able to lure them to leave DEI with him. Some fans have worried about these sponsors leaving him if his season continues to go so poorly. But what it sounds like is that those sponsors left DEI with him, not because of this season and racing for Bill Davis Racing, but because of 2007 and beyond when he would be racing for Toyota.

A lot of fans are very dismissive of Michael, and are fond of mocking him, as well as what they percieve to be his lack of success, in their eyes, on the Cup level. However, being one of the flagship operations for Toyota is a sign that Michael is no joke. There is no way that Toyota would be aligning themselves with Michael if they didn't feel that he could produce for him as a driver and as an owner. Yes, it's true that part of Michael's appeal is how he excels as a spokesperson, how well he handles the media and how much exposure he will get Toyota. But no company invests this much in someone who they don't think highly of. And the fact of the matter is that there is much to admire about Michael.

Later in the interview Michael was asked about the increased role that Larry Carter and Bobby Kennedy are going to have with the #55 team. He said,

"The problem with that is, I find myself torn. This 2006 season is important, obviously, to establish Waltrip Racing in the sport. But Bill Elliott's Burger King program is also important in 2006 -- and that's Larry's responsibility. And ramping-up for our 2007 Toyota teams is very important -- and that's Bobby Kennedy's responsibility. So it puts us in a position where we really have to be careful on splitting someone's responsibilities up so that you don't get in a position of halfway doing both, because if you do, both will suffer."

This is something that I'm not sure some fans understand. They see Michael struggling this season and want changes to be made immediately, and involve Carter, Kennedy and all other top personnel at Michael's disposal so that he can start running up front by the next race. But building a foundation for 2007 is also extremely important. Yes, part of that foundation is the #55 team, but from everything that's been said, what Elliott will be doing in the #00 car is essential for next season. I would like the #55 team to get back into the top 35 in owner points because it is important for them to be locked into the first five races next season. But otherwise, Michael isn't going to be contending for the Chase this season. So I think that putting all their resources into the #55 team as opposed to what they need to do for 2007 wouldn't be wise.

Michael also said,

"So the goal right now is to get a full-time crew chief in at Bill Davis Racing to look over my cars for me. We're working hard on that, but Bobby and Larry and some of their guys are trying to fill the gap until we get that done. No really solid, long-term decisions have been made on what's going to happen there. We're just trying to fight through until we get a guy in place to help us down the road."

I'm really interested in who the permanent crew chief for the #55 might be if not either Carter or Kennedy! Someone from inside MWR or Darrell Waltrip Motorsports? Or would they look outside?

Michael also repeated that David Reutimann will be in one of his Busch cars full time next season. It's obvious he thinks very highly of him.

"What a wonderful person he is. He's a good guy and a heckuva driver, so we'd like to see him win that Truck Series championship this year. He's got a ways to go to figure out how to beat Todd [Bodine] and Ted [Musgrave], but he's right there on their heels so hopefully he'll have a good year in the truck and go out and run really well in Busch next year."

You know what's great? Unlike the current trend where owners want young drivers, Michael is going to be giving a guy who is 36 a chance in his Busch car. Granted, Michael has also talked about putting 21-year old Joey Miller in a Busch car, but I like that Michael is willing to consider both veterans and young drivers. I'm guessing age isn't as much of a factor for him or his sponsors, as much as the ability to get strong results on the track and how they might represent those sponsors is.

In other news, there has been much talk about whether UPS is going to follow DJ to MWR which would result in a third team. Marty Smith, also of Nascar.com, went directly to MWR, where spokeswoman Brooke Hondros said, (he did not directly quote what she said),

...the team does not presently plan to field three Nextel Cup Series teams in 2007. Hondros said MWR is preparing two Nextel Cup teams and two Busch Series teams, all of which will run Toyota Camrys.

But Michael has been saying something slightly different. At Darlington he said,

"We'd like to have three teams. We think that'll give us the best chance to compete against the guys who are winning races now. There's a timetable that will come into play. ... We could start a third team if we could get another sponsor."

The key in what Brooke said of course, is that the team does not presently plan to field three Cup teams. I'd say that would change in a hurry if UPS comes on-board, especially since having three teams is something that Michael would apparently like to do. Some feel that might spread their resources too thin, especially since two out of the three teams will be brand-new, but as Michael says, it does appear that the teams with the most success are those with more than two teams.

As I always say, it will be very interesting to see how this all plays out!

Posted by silverdsl at 03:12 PM | Comments (0)

May 15, 2006

More on Dale Jarrett to Michael Waltrip Racing

Second try on this entry... hopefully I'll have better luck this morning!

Once it was pretty obvious that Dale Jarrett was going to accept Michael Waltrip's offer to drive for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2007, one thing that everyone was anxious to know was what the car number would be, as well as who the primary sponsor would be. That's because there's been much speculation that UPS was going to also leave Robert Yates Racing and follow Jarrett to his new ride. No announcement was made this weekend about a car number or sponsor for Jarrett and that apparently leaves open the possiblity that UPS will follow him. I had wondered how that was going to be possible since Michael had already said that he had full sponsorship for a second car, but Michael said, "We currently have a sponsorship for a second car, but that’s as far as it goes. I just didn’t want to say we have Dale's car sponsored because that might not be factual. We have two teams sponsored, we have two drivers we might have another, we might not, I don’t know."

What that means is that if UPS comes on board they would sponsor a third car and Michael would search for another driver for the second car. Now how incredible would that be for MWR to have not just two full time Cup teams, but three?! The question is how likely is it that UPS will go with Jarrett? I think unless RYR comes up with a very prominent driver to replace Jarrett, the chances are very good that they will also leave RYR. Just as NAPA is associated with Michael in most fan's eyes, when fans think of Jarrett they think of UPS and vice versa, thanks to all the TV commercials and other marketing that UPS has done. It makes a lot of sense for them to continue that partnership because I think it has benefited both of them tremendously. In the end, as much as it's about racing and what happens on the track, it's also about the sponsors and how much exposure they get. Jarrett has represented them extremely well, and if I were part of their organization I would question how easily he could be replaced, when he was still an active driver.

Some have assumed that the only reason why Michael wanted Jarrett to race for him was because there is the Champion's provisional that Jarrett can take advantage of if need be. However, Michael said,

"Dale will grow this team at a faster rate than we could have done any other way. I knew he was a champion and I knew he had all those credentials, but what I put the most value in -- I didn't pay him because he had that provisional, I had paid him because of how smart he is and how much he knows about racecars. That is why I wanted him on my team."

I can't even begin to emphasis how many positives Jarrett brings to MWR! He is classy, well-respected by most, a excellent race car driver and is extremely knowledgable about racing, among other things. Some fans, who are likely threatened by Toyota's entry into the Cup series, are saying that Jarrett is washed up. I don't agree. Jarrett won at Talladega just last season and has 32 wins over the course of his career. That he is such a recent winner indicates to me that he is still very capable of racing well and winning if he has the car to do it. But besides being a winner and a former Champion, I think as Michael says, Jarrett's veteran presence will be a huge benefit to MWR and the team. I think that when it comes to starting a new team, a veteran's years of experience, and their knowledge of what it takes for success, gives them an advanatage over a younger driver who only has a few years of racing in Cup under his belt. Jarrett may also have more patience and a better ability to deal with the growing pains that most new teams go through, than a young driver.

However, I do think that Jarrett is eligible to use the Champion's provisional is important too, as much as Michael might be trying to downplay it. Jarrett's car won't have any owner points from this season to use to guarantee them a spot in the first five races of 2007, but with the Champion's provisional, unless a more recent Champion needs to make use of it, Jarrett won't have to worry about missing any of those first five races... or any race after that should he find himself outside of the top 35 in owner points after the first five races. But my guess is that Jarrett will likely be in the top 35 in owner points as 2007 goes along, as I think will most, if not all, of the other Toyota entries. I don't think they will dominate the Cup series at first as many seem to think they will, but I do think that Toyota is going to want to have a strong start so they will help their teams field competitive cars.

As for why Jarrett joined MWR, the majority of people have assumed that so much money was thrown at Jarrett that he was unable to refuse their offer. I'm sure that Jarrett will make out very well financially, but RYR was willing to match the offer that he got from MWR and he still left. Jarrett said, "

The reason I am doing this is not about money. This is to help Michael. I told my wife that this was going to be one of the biggest things to happen in NASCAR, for a driver with a new manufacturer to start his own organization."

When the initial official announcement was made on Nascar Live on Saturday, Jarrett talked about the appeal of the challenge of joining a brand-new team and helping make it into a success. I have to admire his courage for taking a risk. Many drivers in his shoes, towards the end of their careers, might play things safe, either by staying with their current teams or by going to another established team. Not Jarrett. He is looking forward to that challenge and I'm guessing that it will totally revitalize him as a driver and as a person. Nothing stale or boring about helping a new team and a new manufacturer win races and be successful in the Cup series!

Jarrett also feels that he will have opportunities to stay involved with racing after he's retired as a full-time driver by racing for MWR.

"This isn't going to be a one- or two-year process developing this into a championship race team. It's going to take time beyond that. Once I quit driving, I can give a lot more time to that. I like the ideas Michael has come to me with about staying involved in his race team and what he could do there, and plus if I'm on the management side I can spend his money and not mine."

I think that Michael offered him the opportunity to be involved on the management side after he retires is probably also a big reason why Jarrett accepted the offer. I don't think every driver is so forward-thinking and willing to acknowledge that one day their Cup career will come to an end as head-on as Jarrett, and Michael, seem to be able to do. Michael has put himself in a position to be involved in racing as a successful Cup and Busch owner for the rest of his life and it sounds like Jarrett will also be a part of that.

Naturally both Ford and Robert Yates said all the right things publically about Jarrett and his tenure with them, and how there were no hard feelings about him leaving. But behind-the-scenes, word is that they are less than happy. But if Ford and RYR wanted to keep Jarrett, maybe they should have thought about talking to him about a contract extension before now, especially knowing that there were going to be at least four open rides with Toyota teams in 2007.

Both Yates and Ford have talked about Toyota throwing money around. As if Robert Yates didn't offer Jarrett and Elliott Sadler a lot of money, probably more than others offered, to get them to sign with him? As David Poole from the Charlotte Observer says, this is the way that every team operates - they make drivers and crew members, especially experienced ones, generous financial offers. He said

Saturday night, Jack Roush was talking about how Toyota's expenditures might upset NASCAR's parity and about how it's teams will "raid" the garage to hire people away from current teams. How else, pray tell, could it be done any other way? If you're starting up a new program, wouldn't you have to get at least some of your employees from existing competitors so you'd have at least a little experience on your side? And how else would you get them away from their current jobs than by offering them more money?

This is the way the world works. MWR wasn't going to get Jarrett to race for them by offering him less money than he would get elsewhere.

The one question that I have is how things are going to go for Jarrett for the rest of the season at RYR. Lucky for him, he's currently 12th in the points, several positions ahead of his teammate, Elliott Sadler. So I don't think that RYR can opt to write him off right now, especially if they are trying to keep UPS and find another driver for the ride. In fact, Yates said,

First of all, I want to make sure that everybody knows that we are fully committed to Dale Jarrett and UPS and Ford in carrying this thing out to the end of the year. I think what will happen is now that Dale has made his announcement, people are going to realize that the 88 is a good seat with a good car number, good sponsor and good history.

But what happens once Yates finds out whether UPS is staying on board, finds a new driver for the #88 or Jarrett slips in the points? I think it's possible that Jarrett would find himself with less support and less resources than what Sadler and the #38 team get. There's also the possiblity that Jarrett won't finish out the year in the #88, particularly if Yates opts to promote one of his developmental drivers in the Busch series into the #88, instead of signing another established driver who already has a ride that they will have committments to for the rest of the season. I definitely hope that doesn't happen for Jarrett's sake, but if it does, perhaps MWR would field a car for him for the remainder of the season.

All in all, I'm unbelievably excited for Michael, Dale Jarrett and Michael Waltrip Racing! I can't wait for 2007 and things could get even better if there's another driver added to the MWR roster. Michael has struggled at many points in his career with a lack of quality equipment, including this season, and I am really looking forward to the possiblity that he will be able to enjoy a tremendous amount of success next season and beyond, not only behind the wheel, but as an owner.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)

May 11, 2006

Michael Waltrip To Make Announcement About MWR on Saturday

Michael Waltrip is going to make an announcement about the future of Michael Waltrip Racing on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on Speed. David Newton for Nascar.com is reporting that a source has told them that Michael plans on announcing that he has signed a current Cup driver, and Newton of course connects the dots and comes up with Dale Jarrett. I will be very happy if Michael announces who will be driving his second Cup car for 2007, and thrilled beyond belief if that driver is Jarrett. But given Michael's comment in the pre-race report about making an announcement soon about a new crew chief for the #55, it could also be that announcement. As I mentioned in the last entry he said,

“We are really close to naming a new crew chief for the 55 car and hope to have something set this weekend. I’d like to get all the players lined up quickly so stay tuned for more information.”

Both of these announcements could come at the same time, but it's also possible that some people are jumping to conclusions and the driver announcement is still a ways off. I really hope it comes this weekend but I'm also prepared that it might not. In some regards it does make some sense to make the announcement in this way instead of by having a huge press conference since Jarrett, or whoever Michael is signing, is currently with another organization. So out of respect to that organization, it might make sense to be a little more low key about things.

Even if the announcement doesn't come this weekend, it does sound like Jarrett is leaving Robert Yates Racing and will be headed elsewhere, hopefully to MWR. This week's Nascar Scene has some quotes from officials at RYR where they talk about making plans for what they would do if Jarrett were to leave and Eddie D'Hondt, the general manager at RYR, confirmed today that Jarrett has talked with RYR about leaving for another team. D'Hondt said,

"We're as far as we can be with things. There have been talks about a whole bunch of things.

That sounds to me as if they have talked as much as they are going to talk with Jarrett and are likely aware of what his decision is, which gives some credence to the report that Jarrett had informed RYR on April 26th that he was leaving to sign with MWR. D'Hondt went on to say that he is confident that UPS will remain at RYR. That also fits with Jarrett leaving to go to MWR since Michael already has a sponsor for his second car so Jarrett wouldn't need to bring UPS with him.

Only time will tell how it will all play out but it certainly might be an excited day for fans of Michael, and Jarrett, on Saturday.

Posted by silverdsl at 07:39 PM | Comments (0)

May 04, 2006

More on Dale Jarrett to Michael Waltrip Racing

There is an update to the possibility that Dale Jarrett will race for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2007. From PRN/Jayski's:

Waltrip discusses Jarrett: Michael Waltrip says he and several other teams have talked with Dale Jarrett about his future plans; however Waltrip downplays a report Jarrett was offered a two year, $10-million contract [see below] to join his Toyota team. “I haven’t made him any offer monetarily and I think I’m pretty sure I can tell you no one has offered him that (10-million) but it makes for pretty good print.” Waltrip said he’s more interested in Jarrett’s services than sponsor UPS. “We have our second car pretty much agreed upon with the sponsor and we’ve got a list of drivers that would be approved by the sponsor and he’s on that list. Anybody would hire Dale Jarrett, former cup champion and his sponsor UPS. We just want to hire Dale because we think he can win races and because that being our focus and the reason our drive for hiring him then I think he appreciates that."(PRN's Garage Pass Radio Show)(5-4-2006)

I immediately thought sure, he hasn't made an offer monetarily because he's not the one who personally handles those details, the job of negotiating a contract falls to Ty Norris or others at MWR. But what it sounds like is that while there are some discussions that have taken place, contrary to the report yesterday, Jarrett going to MWR isn't a done deal yet, if it ever will be. Of course there's also the chance that Michael is downplaying things. But regardless of whether Jarrett will ever sign with MWR or not, Michael has done a masterful job of getting himself, MWR, Jarrett and everyone else associated with this, quite a bit of media attention. Michael did just complain about how he was flying under the radar this season but at least for now that's certainly not a problem as far as the media is concerned.

Tomorrow morning, Jarrett is scheduled to be the guest for the "Nextel Wake Up Call" Session with the media at Richmond. Gee, I wonder what the first question he's going to be asked is going to be? I also have to wonder how long he's been scheduled to be the guest and how long in advance it was known that Michael would be last week's guest and Jarrett would be this week's guest. My suspicious mind can't help but wonder if some of this is a set-up of sorts. More than likely though, Jarrett was asked to be a guest recently when his name started circulating as part of silly season rumors.

Let me see if I can predict what he will say tomorrow... Of course there will surely be a bunch of denials - "I have not made any decisions on my future," I have not signed with Michael Waltrip Racing for 2007." That will likely happen regardless of the truth of the situation because I highly doubt that anyone - Jarrett, MWR, or Robert Yates Racing - is ready to announce anything officially. Virtually everything that happens in Nascar is denied first, sometimes hotly. (Scott Wimmer has not been released, we are not talking to Michael Waltrip about a ride for 2006! The #77 car has not folded!). Then Jarrett will say how much he wants to stay at RYR and how he hopes that he can work out a deal with them. Every driver always says all the right things about how their first choice is to stay with the team they are with so that they don't burn any bridges, especially in case they actually do end up staying, and also so they don't upset sponsors and fans. Jarrett will then say how flattered he is about all the offers he's been receiving and how he hopes to make a decision soon. He will also surely lecture the media at least once about how they've gotten the story wrong. (I personally think that drivers will do this even when the media actually has the story right just to place the blame somewhere else if something they've said or done makes themselves or their team look bad or the cat has been let out of the bag about something prematurely.) But he likely won't give too much concrete information about any of what he plans on doing or who he will end up signing with. Maybe I'll be surprised and he'll announce a new deal with RYR or that he is going to sign with MWR or another team but I kind of doubt it.

Unless someone dangles a very attractive deal in front of Jarrett that he can't say no to, I would guess that his name will continue to pop up in various rumors for a while longer. I hope in the end he does end up signing with MWR.

Posted by silverdsl at 05:01 PM | Comments (0)

May 03, 2006

Dale Jarrett to Michael Waltrip Racing?

I'm not sure how legitimate this rumor is but Nascar Scene is reporting that Dale Jarrett informed Robert Yates Racing last week that he intends on signing with Michael Waltrip Racing next season. Last week, Michael Waltrip confirmed that he had offered Jarrett a ride but said that he hadn't heard back from Jarrett about whether he would accept or not. It stuck me as odd at the time that Michael was so willing to openly speak about courting Jarrett since teams normally do not say who they are trying to sign. And Michael and MWR are notoriously closed-mouthed about much of what they do before it becomes official. But perhaps Michael discussed Jarrett because he knew that even though it wasn't a done deal and nothing was signed, that there was a very good chance that it was going to happen or he was trying to accelerate the process.

Of course, there may not be much to this rumor, as the Scene's sources may simply be trying to manipulate the situation for their own reasons. But I think it would be a very good thing for MWR to sign Jarrett. I have to admit that while I like Jarrett, I've never been a huge fan of his. However, there is no question that he would be an outstanding addition to MWR. He's a veteran driver who can still win races if he has a strong car. In addition, he's well-respected, well-liked, he's a former Champion, who could take advantage of a Champion's provisional next season in the first five races assuming that a more recent Champion didn't need to use it, he has a big fan-base, and he would draw plenty of media attention. I also think he would work well with Michael, as his teammate. Another plus is that Jarrett would likely only sign for a couple of years which would allow him to help Michael build MWR into a strong organization, then he could hand his car over to a young driver in 2009.

The only thing that I'm a little confused on is in relation to UPS. The article states that UPS might follow Jarrett to MWR if Yates doesn't convince them to stay by finding a talented young driver to take Jarrett's place in the #88. However, unless Michael has already signed UPS or MWR is considering fielding a third Cup car, it wouldn't seem like there is room for UPS as a primary sponsor since last week Michael said he had sponsorship for the second Cup car all set. What happens with UPS definitely bears watching, not just in terms of Jarrett, but because they are a major sponsor who not only invests a lot in the team that they sponsor but also does quite a bit of commercials and other advertisting with Jarrett. So if UPS parts ways with RYR and Jarrett, I think a lot of teams will line up to try to convince them to sponsor their own cars. I suppose even if UPS doesn't go with Jarrett to MWR that they could end up on one of the other Toyota teams - I've heard nothing about sponsors for the second Bill Davis Racing car or for either Red Bull Racing car.

I also find it interesting that so far we've heard far more about what MWR is going to be doing for 2007 and beyond than any of the other teams who will be affiliated with Toyota. As noted previously, traditionally MWR isn't very open about all of what they're doing so that is a slightly different approach. But I think that one reason that Toyota wanted to join with MWR is because Michael is an outstanding spokesperson for whomever he is affiliated with. So with that in mind perhaps it's not so surprising that he's taking the lead in terms of being the most vocal about his preparations for 2007. Regardless, even though 2006 has been a disappiontment for Michael, 2007 is looking like it could be very exciting for Michael and MWR!

Posted by silverdsl at 03:23 PM | Comments (0)

April 30, 2006

In the News: Michael Waltrip (4/30)

Happy birthday Michael Waltrip! It's Michael's 43rd birthday today (along with Elliott Sadler) but unfortunately he won't be racing today. Nor will anyone else. That's because rain has forced Nascar to postpone the Aaron's 499 until tomorrow at noon, which stinks for me and anyone else who has to work. I can't take the day off of work but luckily I will be able to listen via XM and to Michael's radio communication via Trackpass. I will miss seeing the action unfold on TV but at least I'll still be able to follow along. I'll have to record the race and then watch the highlights when I get home.

Last weekend Michael was complaining about flying under the radar as far as media attention this season but he more than made up for that this week. Unfortunately until the past couple of days that wasn't for great reasons since most of the stories were about how much trouble the #55 team was in since they dropped out of the top 35 in owner points. But on Friday Michael met with the media to discuss a variety of topics, including his search for a driver for his second Cup car and his relationship with Toyota which produced quite a few stories that were a little more positive. I was thrilled that Claire B. Lang played quite a bit of what Michael had to say on "Dialed In" on XM so I got to hear most of it. He definitely had a lot of interesting things to say.

Of course the topic of how he felt about potentially not qualifying for the race came up. As we now know Michael qualified with no problem for this race, but on Friday he was asked whether missing the race would be devestating for him. Perhaps the reporter who asked meant in terms of devestating to his team, their chances for turning their season around and sticking in the top 35 in owner's points, but Michael answered from a personal standpoint. He said that it would be very disappointing but not devestating. Why? Because over the years his definition of devestating has changed and he's come to learn that there are more important things in life.

Some fans were upset when they heard that he said this because they seemed to feel that it indicates that his priorities aren't with his team, but that is a very common sentiment it seems from older, veteran drivers. When a driver first starts racing Cup it probably seems like there is nothing more important than being in the car on race day. But as a driver gets older, has a family and their career starts to wind down, many probably start to realize that there is more to life. I believe that Michael's perspective has likely also been changed by the loss of his father, the dead of his close friend, Dale Earnhardt, who was probably on his mind since Dale's birthday would have been yesterday, and by being the father of two daughters, among other things. Family, friends, being in good health, experiencing life outside of the race car, I believe those things take on added significance and importance as the years go on and drivers realize, as many others often do, not to take anything in life for granted. So yes, I think Michael would have been extremely upset had he not qualified the #55 for the race but I don't think he would be as upset as if there had been a death in his family. I have absolutely no problem with Michael valuing other things more than his race car. That said, I have no doubt that driving a race car is still extremely important to Michael and he is, and will, do everything he can to be as successful as he can, both as a driver and as an owner.

The majority of the rest of what Michael said seemed to focus on the future and Toyota. Michael went on a huge rant about Toyota and how he felt that the media had gotten it entirely wrong in relation to how the Toyota teams are going about finding drivers and personnel. He could not have been more clear in stating that Toyota are not the ones who are signing the drivers or hiring the crew members, that he has complete freedom to make all the decisions in those areas. He said,

"Every time I read something, it says, 'Toyota is after Ricky Rudd, Toyota is after crewmembers. They're not. They're committed to me to help build cars and engines. It's not anything unlike Richard Childress gets help from General Motors or Robert Yates gets help from Ford. It's going to cost me $20 million to run a competitive team and most of that comes from NAPA. It's not Toyota."

It's not just the media of course who have assumed that Toyota is calling all the shots when it comes to the drivers who will be in Toyota Cup cars. Most fans, including myself at times, have talked about why Toyota would want this driver or that driver. But Michael said that it's his sponsors who have the most input into who he puts into his cars, not Toyota. In fact Michael said that he had a list of drivers who his sponsors would be "cool" with. He intends on trying to get the best driver he possibly can get, who might or might not be a top driver. It will all depend on who Michael feels can best get the job done for him, who his sponsors want and of course who they can come to a deal with.

To that end Michael has already started reaching out to some drivers to gauge their interest level in racing for him. It sounds like he's pretty much all set for his Busch cars as David Reutimann is lined up to drive one car and if Joey Miller does well for DW in the truck series this season he will likely drive the second car, thus ending the hopes of some Steve Park fans that Michael was going to put him in a Busch car in the future (I'm kind of thinking it's likely we won't be seeing him in Cup for MWR either). But the second Cup car, which Michael already has a full-time primary sponsor for, is still available. Michael said that he has only talked to people who aren't signed for 2007 and one of the people who he talked to about driving for him next season is Dale Jarrett, which must be where the rumors of Jarrett racing for Toyota came from. Michael said, "I haven't really talked about that a whole lot," Waltrip said,

"Obviously, it's been in the media that his deal is up this year, and so you ought to be able to figure out that I probably have. How could you not? He's a champion and he's a friend. I did ask him but I don't have anything to report on the answer."

At first I was thinking that it was unlikely that Jarrett would sign with Michael Waltrip Racing since it's been said that UPS intends on following Jarrett to his new team if he were to leave Robert Yates Racing, which wouldn't work at MWR since Michael already has a sponsor for the second car. But Jarrett has since said that what he does is separate from what UPS does.

"They came here because of what we accomplished here at Robert Yates Racing and that hasn't been a factor in determining in what I'm going to do. The offers that I have had from everybody else aren't contingent on bringing a sponsor."

So that does open up the door to him potentially racing for Michael. I'm not sure how realistic that would be, and if Jarrett would even leave Yates, but it is an intriguing scenario. I find it interesting that Michael is even admitting publically that he talked to Jarrett about a ride since usually owners don't tip their hand to what drivers they might be speaking with. Since Dale and Michael are friends the thought crossed my mind if Dale gave Michael the green light to discuss it knowing that it might jumpstart negotiations with Yates and other teams out of fear that if they don't move soon they might lose him to a Toyota team. It could also raise Jarrett's price tag if there is the belief that he is going to be in demand by a bunch of different teams.

The other thing that Michael talked about is the Burger King car that Bill Elliott will be racing later this season. Apparently Michael also approached Ricky Rudd about racing those races for him but Ricky wasn't interested so I guess he really was serious about taking this season off. There has been some talk about Ricky coming back in 2007 for one of the Toyota teams and I assume Michael talking to him about the #00 car is where that came from. But apparently Burger King coming on board to race the five races is what has really helped MWR to get a headstart on next season. Because if they weren't racing that car with a sponsor there would be no money coming in and they couldn't afford to hire the personnel that they have. I'm sure a few people are thinking that with all the money that Michael has made over the years that he should be able to afford to hire anyone he wants. But it's incredibly expensive to field a competitive race team, and especially in Cup. Michael said that they estimate that it will cost at least $20 million to have a competitive Cup car, most of which will be paid by NAPA in the case of the #55 car, but that probably doesn't account for all the expenses that go into running a successful race operation, just what it takes to put the actual team together.

I really enjoyed listening to what Michael had to say and it was interesting to hear him talk mostly from the perspective of an owner since we are used to hearing him speak as a driver so often. I know that some fans feel that he should focus on his responsibilities as a driver first and foremost, and that worrying about being an owner and what's going on with MWR is a distraction to what he is doing in the car. I think there is some truth to that, but I also think that it goes back to what I was talking about earlier in terms of Michael's priorities possibly shifting as he has gotten older. He's been racing for more than 20 years in Cup and as sad as it is to think about it, Michael's career is winding down. While he may continue racing full-time for another 2-3 years, I think he wants to be prepared for what he's going to do when he's no longer a full-time driver. That's really important because one thing about Michael is that he's been extremely active, involved and busy with appearances, on TV, doing things for his sponsors, etc... I'm not sure he would be happy if he didn't have a lot that he was involved with after he turned his car over to someone else. So owning several teams in Busch and Cup, having Waltrip Racing World, and everything else he is making preparations for now is probably a very good idea. It also ensures that his family will be well-taken care of financially since the money will continue to come in. Not every driver looks to the future and prepares as well as Michael has. But even more important is that everything that Michael is doing with MWR is some of his dreams coming true - the dream that one day he would own his own full-time Cup teams. I am really impressed with the way he made that happen and in a big way.

In other news, unfortunately a deal couldn't be worked out so that Michael could keep racing for Brewco Motorsports so Scott Wimmer will take his place in the races that he was supposed to race for Brewco. I don't know what that means for the Yardman sponsorship or whether Michael will race those races in the #99 instead but I'm really disappointed. Michael did so well in the Brewco car in Nashville and I was really looking forward to seeing what he might do in that car in future races.

I hope that Michael has fun celebrating his birthday tonight and has a great race tomorrow!

ETA: A link to a complete transcript of the remarks that Michael made to the media on Friday was posted on another site. It's well worth reading through in it's entirety. It's interesting how Michael mentioned more than once how the media should seek him out if they have any questions about Toyota and how they will be operating in Cup.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:11 PM | Comments (0)

April 24, 2006

UPS Will Leave Yates if Jarrett Does?

According to CircleTrackPlus.com, UPS hasn't re-newed their sponsorship contract with Robert Yates Racing and won't until Yates re-signs Dale Jarrett. Not only that but if Yates fails to re-sign Jarrett, UPS intends on going with him to his new team, much like NAPA did with Michael Waltrip. Which makes sense because most Nascar fans likely think of UPS when they think of Dale Jarrett and vice-versa, a lot of which is because of how heavily UPS has used Jarrett in their commercials. I think Jarrett has definitely helped raise their brand recognition, at least among race fans, so I can see why they would want to continue what has been a successful relationship.

So if it's true that UPS will go with Jarrett where ever he ends up that will make him a very hot commodity. The UPS sponsorship is likely in the neighborhood of $12-15 million a year and there are probably plenty of teams who would like to get their hands on that kind of sponsorship money, not to mention have a former Champion who is still a good driver race for them. In a lot of ways it makes sense for Jarrett to end up with one of the Toyota teams since Jarrett's veteran presence would make him an asset as Toyota enters Cup racing for the first time. It's hard enough for a young driver to adjust to a new team but even harder to have to deal with adjusting to a new manufacturer and the potential for having to qualify for races on time if they join with one of the brand-new teams. I also think Jarrett could benefit from a change in scenery. He's won a couple of races the past few years but he hasn't has as much success as he did from 1996-2002 when he won multiple races in each of those years.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:42 PM | Comments (0)

March 07, 2006

Harvick to the #88?

Looks like the driver who is going to show up in the silly season rumor mill most this season is going to be Kevin Harvick. Of course there's been speculation about him joining with Red Bull Racing or one of the other Toyota teams for quite some time. Now comes this rumor from Jayski's:

AND The Ltn Hour ( Let's Talk Nascar ) Radio Show reported on this weeks show that Robert Yates Racing is also looking at Kevin Harvick to take over the #88 UPS Ford in 2007 as current driver Dale Jarrett's contract ends at the end of 2006. Jarrett has said he would like to driver at least thru 2007. UPS is signed thru 2007.(LTN Radio Show)(3-7-2006)

I have no clue how reliable a source Let's Talk Nascar is but I'm guessing that until something is officially announced about what team Kevin is going to be racing with in 2007, Kevin's name is going to be mentioned as going to just about every organization in Nascar. I'm not sure about Kevin going over to Robert Yates Racing - while Elliott Sadler and Dale Jarrett have had some success recently, it seems that they have some trouble sealing the deal. Sadler's team has certainly fell off after early success the past couple of years. But I'd hate to see Jarrett not be re-signed at the end of this season. He's still a very capable driver who can win races if he's given the equipment to race up front with. It's just like countless other drivers - there are some drivers who are better than others but I think that drivers who are racing at this level are incredibly talented. Jarrett may be older than Kevin but I doubt that his ability to drive a race car has dropped off by much, if at all.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:32 PM | Comments (0)

November 29, 2005

Slugger Labbe, Tommy Baldwin To Be Crew Chiefs of #88, #38 for Robert Yates Racing

I wonder if this was a package deal? Last season Tommy Baldwin was the crew chief for Kasey Kahne and Slugger Labbe was the crew chief for Jeremy Mayfield, both at Evernham Motorsports. In 2006 both are moving to Robert Yates Racing where they will also be crew chiefs, Labbe for the #88 of Dale Jarrett and Baldwin for the #38 of Elliott Sadler. I'd like to say that I think that both of these pairings will be fairly good ones but I have no idea what to think about how Labbe is going to do anywhere anymore. Granted he's been at Yates previously so they are familiar with him and he is familiar with them but it's been two seasons in a row that he's given up on the team he's been with and wanted out.

When he was released by Evernham Labbe said,

"We got in the Chase, and we've just been mediocre. I want to win and be in the top five every week."

Dale Jarrett is an excellent driver who is a two-time former Champion. However, the fates haven't been as kind to him in recent years. After being a multiple race winner from 1996-2002 Jarrett has only won two races over the past three years. In addition, he hasn't been a part of the Chase for the Championship either this season or last. So I have to wonder if Labbe is going to a team that will realistically be in the top five every week either on the track or in the points. He may very well make the #88 a stronger team but with how competitive things are in this sport I'm not sure they will be a Championship contending team which the #19 was. So will this end up being a third team in three years that Labbe leaves at the end of the season?

As for Tommy Baldwin I'm a little surprised that he's going to be Sadler's crew chief. When he left Evernham it was said that Baldwin was leaving to pursue his dream of having his own team, which he was going to do in partnership with Yates, possibly as soon as 2007. In fact, a press conference was scheduled, then cancelled to discuss those plans. Given the demands of having one's own team I would think that would make it difficult for Baldwin to also be a full-time crew chief so I figured that while they were getting the new team going he would function in some sort of consultant position at Yates. But he will in fact be on the #38 pit box each week so I'm not sure where that leaves his plans for a team. Which is probably a big disappointment to some Steve Park fans who were dreaming of a reunion for Steve with his childhood friend from Long Island.

I'd like to see Sadler have a little more success on the track. When he made the Chase in 2004 I was sure it meant that he was finally living up to expectations and I thought that he would build on that and be even better in 2005. That was not to be. After winning two races, getting eight top five's and fourteen top ten's, Sadler didn't win any races and had only one top five. He did have twelve top ten's and won four poles so it appears that the foundation is still there for the #38 to be a strong team. They just need to get back to the team they were in 2004 and hopefully Baldwin can help them do that.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:12 PM | Comments (0)

April 09, 2005

Shane Hmiel: Winning Friends and Influencing People Yet Again

Musgrave, Spencer Have Words for Hmiel

I never got around to blogging about it but Shane Hmiel was fined, docked points and placed on probation for "actions detrimental" after last Monday's incident with Dale Jarrett. Hmiel was penalized for giving Jarrett the finger on live TV and that didn't go over well with his fellow drivers who aren't too pleased that their favorite way of letting other drivers know that they are displeased with them during a race may now be a no-no. On top of that Hmiel's lack of respect for a veteran driver and his rough driving during that race didn't go unnoticed either. So with that in mind one would think that Hmiel would go to great lengths to make sure that he tones things down a little and flys under everyone's radar. But that's exactly the opposite of what he did today.

Hmiel didn't do anything that will get him further penalties from Nascar but he did continue to drive very aggressively. In fact so aggressively that Nascar warned him to lay off. And after the race Jimmy Spencer and Ted Musgrave, both of whom are veteran drivers, expressed their displeasure with how Hmiel raced them during the race. Well, making more enemies is exactly what Hmiel doesn't need right now. Not that he shouldn't be racing hard but it would be in his best interest to make sure that he doesn't piss any more drivers off. Instead he's got two more drivers taking issue with the way he's racing them.

Just yesterday Hmiel released a very apologetic statement regarding the incident with Jarrett. And it rang very hollow, as did his his remarks on Nascar Nation. Right now they're doing damage control for Hmiel but it's going to take a lot more than his public relations people writing some statements for him. It especially looks bad when he says those things and then goes right back to driving like he doesn't give a hoot about Nascar, who just put him on probation, or his fellow drivers. Surely, he must be capable of driving one race very carefully and keeping a low profile. Or maybe not based on today's race.

If Hmiel is unwilling to change his approach and unwilling to listen to some of the good advice that is coming his way, both directly and indirectly via all the numerous comments that have been made by Cup drivers about him he's going to have some serious problems in the future. Does he not realize that being the talk of the garage area like this, for negative reasons isn't a good thing? Particularly for a driver who will forever be linked with drug use. There are some things that even his father won't be able to help him with if he angers enough people. Hmiel really makes me nervous that if he doesn't change his attitude and approach there may be even more serious incidents on the horizon for him. Kind of like Milton Bradley in baseball.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:07 PM | Comments (0)

April 04, 2005

Shane Hmiel Needs An Attitude Adjustment

Uncalled For

Late in today's Busch race, which Kevin Harvick won (yay!), there was an incident between Shane Hmiel and Dale Jarrett. I didn't get to watch the race as of yet so I'm loath to place blame but some have said that Shane was driving on the rough side. In any event Jarrett ended up in the wall and during the ensuing red flag, he went over to have a chat with young Mr. Hmiel. Jarrett ended up pointing his finger in Hmiel's face and Hmiel responded by giving him the finger. Ok, what's the big deal, just one of those racing deals where tempers fly right?

Well, Hmiel then proceeded to say in an unapologetic post-race interview "(Jarrett)threatened he would get me and all that stuff. He better hurry up because he ain't got much longer." He apparently made a similar comment over his scanner as well. I understand that drivers are going to say things in the heat of the moment, particularly when they are upset about an incident on the track, but I think the drivers need to show each other respect. Particularly the younger drivers for the veterans. Talking about Jarrett as if he's a has-been who has one foot out of his ride, shows a complete lack of respect. Hmiel is talking about a two-time Daytona 500 winner who is also a former Cup Champion. And Jarrett isn't going anywhere yet. Hmiel is an up and coming driver no doubt but Jarrett has accomplished way more than Hmiel has and as such there should be some level of respect there.

Many already think that Hmiel has an attitude problem and comments like that aren't going to win him any more friends in the garage area. Which he probably thinks he doesn't need since his father, Steve Hmiel, is a big-wig at DEI and he's friends with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. But Hmiel should have a chat with Johnny Sauter about what happens when one has attitude problems and rubs their fellow drivers the wrong way, both on and off the track.

One would think that after being suspended by Nascar because for the use of drugs, Hmiel would want to make sure he stays on his best behavior. Apparently he doesn't see any reason to do that. I guess he thinks his father can always protect him and maybe that's true. It's just incredible to me that he seems to have no sense of appropriate behavior. It will be interesting to see if he eventually apologizes to Jarrett, either on his own or by being forced to do so by others.

Apparently Shane Hmiel is the leading candidate to take over for Michael Waltrip in the #15 next season. I can't imagine that NAPA or DEI for that matter would be thrilled with having a driver that doesn't show any respect to his fellow drivers. Though Michael has been known to speak out of anger himself, you'd never catch him making a remark like that. But perhaps NAPA and DEI are willing to overlook Hmiel's attitude problems because he is a young gun. Well, all the youth and talent in the world isn't going to help him succeed if he tears up equipment due to overaggressive driving and his attitude makes him persona non-grata in the garage area.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:46 PM | Comments (0)