Motorsports FanHouse

Sprint Cup N's & Q's: AAA 400 @ Dover

Geoffrey Miller — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Michael Waltrip, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup, Joey Logano

Please follow Joey Logano's actions and keep your hands and feet inside this ride we call Sprint Cup Notes & Quotes at all times.

Michael Waltrip's crash on lap 86 didn't look too vicious compared to Joey Logano's tumbling crash on lap 31, but when you take into account the angle of impact and sudden stop Waltrip's No. 55 experienced, it would easily be the most dangerous of the two.

His Toyota suffered a blown right front tire that uncontrollably rocketed Waltrip into the outside wall. After getting out of his damaged machine, Waltrip was feeling awful thankful for the safety improvements NASCAR has implemented in the past few years.

"I've been racing for a long time and I don't ever take the softer walls for granted," said Waltrip after the hit that left him with a 36th-place finish. "But, at Dover, when you blow a right front -- that's career-ending. We've seen people just not be able to race again because of it. And here I stand talking to you. Dr. Melvin, Dean Sicking, NASCAR, Tony George -- from the bottom of my heart, a guy who has hit real walls before -- I thank you."

Those guys he mentioned were instrumental in getting the SAFER barrier system invented and implemented initially at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and later at every track the Sprint Cup Series races at.

Waltrip's a guy that has turned a lap or two in his career -- over 750 starts, actually -- and for him to acknowledge how much of a difference a safety device made has some significant credence.

For Denny Hamlin and Greg Biffle, the Goodyear tires each raced on didn't suffer any problems like Waltrip -- but the two drivers weren't happy with the results.

NASCAR allowed eight drivers to test at Dover in August with the tire supplier because Goodyear was hoping to find a better compound for last Sunday's race. Goodyear had learned several new technologies in its extensive testing at other tracks this season and felt that they could bring a better tire to produce racing.

Denny Hamlin wasn't happy with the tires before the race and the mood didn't change afterwards, either.

"We definitely came out here thinking we could win the race just like any other weekend, but as soon as the green flag fell, I knew we were in trouble," said Hamlin. "It was just a bad day. The tire that we had was so loose that you had to overcompensate so much with the chassis that it just didn't make for good racing, at least from my standpoint."

Hamlin finished 22nd after never contending all day and is 108 points out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup lead.

Greg Biffle had troubles getting a handle on the new tire as well, but was more concerned with an advantage he felt was given to Jimmie Johnson and Juan Pablo Montoya. They were two of the test drivers from August.

"It was a frustrating day," said Biffle. "What's probably most frustrating about the whole thing, and I hate to beat a dead horse, is that the 42 and the 48 and I don't know who else came up here and tire tested, and when we came back, look at the guys that didn't tire test, we ran terrible. It was a completely different tire, it had us off our game right when we unloaded off the truck, we couldn't even make a lap on the track. We got going there toward the end, but not like the guys that tested. That's the whole deal. We had a decent car, but we're not going to beat guys that came here and tested."

Biffle finished 13th.

Another Chase competitor -- Jeff Gordon -- left Sunday's race quite disappointed as well, but it had nothing to do with the tires.

Gordon was upset with finishing sixth, a position much lower than he ran for parts of the race.

"I'm really disappointed," said Gordon. "I feel like we had a second-place car and when you have a second-place car you've got to finish second or contend for the win. We had a problem with a gun on pit road and I don't know what you do about that but we'll try to fix it for the next time. It's just nice to run good. The No. 48 was in a league of their own but I felt like we were second best."

Gordon's title hopes for 2009 are still intact, though the deficit of 122 points he faces is tough road climb in 8 races when the Chase leaders are looking nearly bulletproof. He'll need to make up ground and not lose it this weekend at Kansas.

Did you catch the in-car camera of Kyle Busch when he hit the wall on lap 207? Something wasn't quite right with the whole ordeal.

Busch first hit the turn one wall with his No. 18 before also impacting the turn two wall. Nothing strange there, right?

Busch then accelerated down the back straightaway with obvious tire and suspension damage and made more contact with the turn three wall before turning on to pit road. Generally, a slow and cautious approach is used to get a car back on pit road in such an instance.

For a guy that is known to have some tremendous car control, it was interesting to see Busch stuff it in the fence three times in one lap. Was he doing it intentionally to finish off a car that had already been wrecked?

I suppose that's something only he knows.

Sprint Cup N's & Q's: AAA 400 @ Dover originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint Cup N's & Q's: LifeLock 400

Geoffrey Miller — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:02:00 EST

Filed under: Michael Waltrip, Sprint Cup, Richard Childress Racing

Somewhat coherent Notes & Quotes to wrap up NASCAR's first trip to Michigan in 2009:

What will NASCAR learn from Pardo's brutal crash and tragic death?

The death of NASCAR Mexico driver and champion Carlos Pardo in a horrific crash during the final laps of a race on Sunday is certainly tragic. However, the fact that his car was able to make such violent contact with the end of a temporary wall is just as shocking.

Let's hope NASCAR makes sure such an angle of impact can never happen again.

Mark Martin needs to be ... fired?

Sunday's race winner at Michigan International Speedway didn't have the greatest of qualifying efforts on Friday with a 32nd-place effort. So despite the fact that he had already won two races so far in 2009 during his first foray with Hendrick Motorsports, Martin was sure he was going to be getting a dreaded phone call from Rick Hendrick in the near future.

"I didn't think I was going to get fired right now, but if I keep qualifying 32nd every week, he needs to fire me," said Martin after the race. "Everybody can act like that's stupid, but it isn't really stupid. I'm serious. If I can't do better than that in the stuff that they're giving me, they're going to need to get somebody else."

Considering that he's now tied for the most wins in 2009, I have a feeling his job is a little bit secure.

Waltrip could have set lapped car precedent

At big tracks like Michigan where cars generally just fall one lap behind if they make an unscheduled stop during green flag, Michael Waltrip may have just set a big precedent for gambling to get a lap back.

During a caution Sunday, Waltrip was a lap down and stayed out throughout the period, meaning when the signal was given for one lap to go, he was in between the pace car and the leader. Under the new restart rules, Waltrip was given a "wave around" to get a lap back and join the back of the field.

He was hoping that a caution would fall in 10 to 15 laps before his fuel window was exceeded, giving him a chance to pit under yellow on the lead lap and make up some ground. It was a gamble, but not a huge gamble, because when the caution didn't wave again, Waltrip came to pit road during the green flag and fell back one lap down -- right where he was to begin with.

It was a gamble with little risk, and it might be how we see a lot of lapped cars try to get a lap back at big tracks in the future.

Richard Childress Racing Struggles Continue

It's been a pretty ugly season so far in 2009 for the RCR bunch, and it's not getting a whole lot better.

None of the three RCR cars ever made a substantial run to the front, and Clint Bowyer in 10th was the only driver to etch out of a top-10 run. Teammates Kevin Harvick, Casey Mears and Jeff Burton came home 18th, 24th and 26th, respectively -- though they may have had fuel issues at the end.

Regardless, the team isn't competeing for wins and its tough to say what the issue is. In reality, they may be the poster child of a team that truly misses being able to test in 2009.

400 miles at Michigan is a quick affair

The first NASCAR race at Michigan International Speedway in 1969 was the one and only 500-mile event at the track, and since then, they've been scheduled to run 400 miles. The races at MIS are nearly always the quickest events on the circuit, and Sunday's race was no exception.

It ran, with just three caution periods (pretty normal for the track), at an elapsed time of 2 hours and 34 minutes to be the shortest race in terms of time in 2009.

There's been an effort for a few years now to consider shortening some races because people find them simply too long, but I'd argue that another 100 miles at MIS to make it an even 500 wouldn't be all that bad. It would put most races there just over the 3-hour mark -- similar to most MLB and NFL games.

Sprint Cup N's & Q's: LifeLock 400 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:02:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gordon Readies for Waltrip's Retirement

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 22:37:00 EST

Filed under: Michael Waltrip, Robby Gordon, NASCAR Crashes, Sprint Cup

The NASCAR on FOX television crew tried to play it off as an accident, but Sprint Cup driver Robby Gordon was having none of it.

"I'm really looking forward to having a new driver in the [No.] 55 next year," said Gordon during his post-wreck interview, mad after Michael Waltrip bumped him into the Phoenix International Raceway turn three wall Saturday night in the Subway Fresh Fit 500.

No, Gordon doesn't have insider infomation about Waltrip's 2010 plans, but rather he was just citing comments that the driver/owner made at the beginning of the season.

During a preseason press conference, Waltrip noted that his personal performance in the No. 55 Toyota of his Michael Waltrip Racing entity had to improve significantly over what had been two straight seasons of mediocrity -- if that.

"My goal is to go win some races this year, run up front so that I don't have to say this is my last year. But if I don't do those things, if I can't compete at the level that Reutimann does or NAPA expects, then I probably won't get to do this again in 2010," said Waltrip

Apparently Robby doesn't think such circumstances will occur Waltrip in 2009, though his comments came at a time when the driver of the No. 7 was a little biased.

The incident happened on lap 167 when Gordon headed into turn 3 with Waltrip inside and the other Gordon -- Jeff, the version with four more Sprint Cup titles than Robby -- trailing close behind. Waltrip lost grip heading into the corner, slid up the track and knocked Robby's ride into a spin. The No. 7 rear-ended the wall with Waltrip getting a piece of the action on his right-rear quarter panel.

Robby headed for the garage for repair [and returned to the race many laps down] while Waltrip hit pit road.

While in the garage, FOX Sports' Steve Byrnes grabbed an interview, leading off by referring to the crash as a 'victim of circumstance'.

"Yeah it's a bummer," Robby said. "I don't know, we probably should have come for tires there. We were running 18th. I don't know what Michael was doing there but he just ran us over."

"Can you get back in the race?" Byrnes asked.

"Yeah, but getting back in the race is one thing, but to lose this many points for the second weekend in a row -- its just devastation," said Gordon. "Our speedway car is really not that fast so i'm really concerned about that. But I'm really looking forward to have a new driver in the 55 next year."

And with that, the interview was complete, Michael Waltrip dissed and Robby Gordon's dismal streak of finishes continued.

Gordon Readies for Waltrip's Retirement originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 18 Apr 2009 22:37:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Busch Bond Can Lead to Broken Records

Holly Cain — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:40:00 EST

Filed under: Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Michael Waltrip, Penske Racing, Sprint Cup, Joe Gibbs Racing

Gaye Busch has a very reasonable explanation for the simultaneous success of both her sons -- NASCAR's reigning super siblings Kurt and Kyle.

"We did everything as a family when they were growing up," Gaye Busch. "We just did things together."

And they still are. Only now the Busch family gatherings are happening every week in victory lane.

With his dominating performance Sunday at Bristol, Tenn., Kyle Busch (pictured above left) has now visited victory lane every week of the season with wins in each of NASCAR's three premier series.

He and older brother Kurt (above right) have won the last three Sprint Cup races. And NASCAR old-schoolers, you better sit down for this: If this pace keeps up, the Busch brothers could challenge the Allisons (94 wins) and the Waltrips (88) to become the winningest sibling combination in NASCAR history.

It's not as far-fetched as it may seem. They're already two-thirds of the way there in only five years of trying together.

Unlike the top of the win list with brothers Bobby (84 wins) and Donnie Allison (11 wins) or Darrell (88 wins) and Michael Waltrip (four wins), the Busch brothers results are more evenly distributed. Kurt, the 2004 Cup champion, has 19, while Kyle added his 14th Sunday at Bristol.

Kurt, who drives the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, joked after winning at Atlanta earlier this month that he was finally "holding up his end" of the brotherly bargain. He may need to crank it up another notch to match his brother's winning tear. But if they can both maintain multiple win seasons, they have a great shot at re-writing the record book.

This is the fifth year both Buschs have been competing in the Sprint Cup Series, and they've won 21 races in that time (Kurt had 12 victories before Kyle's rookie year). Even using conservative projections, if they combined for an average of five wins a year for the next 15 years they'd be within one victory of the Allisons' mark.

They've both won races every year they've been competing together.

Factor in Kyle's current winning pace in the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota and it becomes a realistic expectation.

And remember, Kurt is only 30 years old. Kyle is 23.

"I'm just pinching myself," Gaye Busch said by telephone from her home outside Charlotte, N.C. "I told Kyle last year, let's just not wake up. It is so special and I hope they con continue what they're doing. I don't know how any parent could be prouder."

These family ties are strong, competition-tested as kids playing Candyland, baseball and then as precocious teenagers behind the wheel of race cars. When one does well, the other answers and it's always been like that.

They were both standout baseball players growing up in Las Vegas and played the same position: catcher, both highly-regarded for a rocket arm to second base. In high school they both got their best grades in science, and both considered physics their favorite subject.

When it came to careers, they have enjoyed similarly successful paths, winning early and often.

Latest NASCAR Images

** FILE ** In this Sept. 19, 2008, file photo, Denny Hamlin, left, and teammate Kyle Busch talk in the garage during practice for a NASCAR auto race at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del. Busch had to settle for second place, behind Busch, on Sunday, March 22, at Bristol. (AP Photo/Russ Hamilton Jr., File)

BRISTOL, TN - MARCH 22: Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 DuPont Chevrolet, leads Martin Truex Jr., driver of the Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet and Scott Speed, driver of the #82 Red Bull Toyota, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 22, 2009 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jeff Gordon;Martin Truex Jr.;Scott Speed

Getty Images for NASCAR

Kyle Busch (18) leads Kevin Harvick (29) during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Food City 500 auto race in Bristol, Tenn., Sunday, March 22, 2009. Busch won the race. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

Kyle Busch leads the field just after taking the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Food City 500 auto race in Bristol, Tenn., Sunday, March 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

BRISTOL, TN - MARCH 22: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Snickers Toyota, celebrates winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 22, 2009 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kyle Busch

Getty Images for NASCAR

BRISTOL, TN - MARCH 22: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Snickers Toyota, does a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 22, 2009 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kyle Busch

Getty Images for NASCAR

BRISTOL, TN - MARCH 22: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Snickers Toyota, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 22, 2009 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kyle Busch

Getty Images for NASCAR

BRISTOL, TN - MARCH 22: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Snickers Toyota, races Joey Logano, driver of the #20 Home Depot Toyota, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 22, 2009 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kyle Busch;Joey Logano

Getty Images for NASCAR

BRISTOL, TN - MARCH 22: Kyle Busch (2L), driver of the #18 Snickers Toyota, poses with his girlfriend Samantha Sarcinella (3L) and crew in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 22, 2009 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kyle Busch;Samantha Sarcinella

Getty Images for NASCAR

BRISTOL, TN - MARCH 22: Kyle Busch (L), driver of the #18 Snickers Toyota, celebrates with his crew in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 22, 2009 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kyle Busch

Getty Images for NASCAR

This month at Las Vegas, they became the first brother combination to sweep the front row in qualifying since 2000. Twice they've won back-to-back races.

They're on a string of three consecutive wins right now, in alternating order, which means Kurt's due next -- and he is a former winner at Sunday's stop, Martinsville, Va.

Only one set of brothers, Terry (1984, 1996) and Bobby (2000) Labonte, have won Cup championships.

Kyle was well on his way to making the tandem a two-title clan when he was derailed during the Chase last year -- his eight wins still a series best. Conversely, 2008 was Kurt's worst championship showing (18th) since his rookie year and he still won a race.

Both are early championship contenders this year -- accounting for more than half the wins through five races. Kurt is second to Jeff Gordon in the championship standings, 76 points back. Kyle is fourth, 85 points out.
And with the exception of a dust-up in the All-Star race at Chalotte two years ago, the Buschs have been good sports on-track and genuinely pleased for one another's success.

Kyle was the first to his big brother's car with congratulations when Kurt clinched the 2004 championship. Kurt's been especially busy stopping by victory lane to pat Kyle's back.

And for now, at least, they are both each other's greatest cheerleader. And keenest competition.

Busch Bond Can Lead to Broken Records originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Perilous Positions for Mark Martin, Others

Holly Cain — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Mark Martin, Michael Waltrip, Sprint Cup

Veteran racer Mark Martin is the "cautious" in the expression, "cautiously optimistic." That's why his unabashed excitement coming into the season was a story in and of itself.

His fans and competitors alike hoped a prime job in the No. 5 Chevrolet for mighty Hendrick Motorsports would land this popular four-time championship runner-up a last really good -- perhaps long -- shot at a Sprint Cup title. Instead, a string of uncanny bad racing luck -- uncharacteristic Hendrick engine problems and a flat tire -- have left Martin ranked 34th in the standings entering Sunday's race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

He's got only a nine-point cushion on 35th place, and a fall outside the top-35 will cost him a guaranteed starting spot on the grid beginning next week, when the guaranteed starts are allotted based on the current top-35 standings.

Just as surprising as seeing Martin in this perilous predicament is the high-quality company he's keeping there.

Last year's Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman (32nd), this year's rookie almighty Joey Logano (33rd), Martin and 35th place Earnhardt-Ganassi driver Aric Almirola are separated by 47 points. There is only a 72-point gap between 37th-placed rookie Scott Speed and Newman, who moved from Penske Racing to the Stewart-Haas team.

These are the big guns, not the start-up teams.

It was supposed to be a year of resurgence and breakthrough and redemption. But the early going has felt more like shock and awe.

"We don't have the time to sit back and feel sorry for ourselves." Martin's crew chief Alan Gustafson said this week. "Things have definitely not gone the way we envisioned this year, but we can't afford to lose any of our intensity or our drive."

And it's not as if Martin really has to worry about qualifying on speed. He's won a pole and an outside pole position in four races. Starting hasn't been the problem.

"The first goal is to finish a race -- the complete distance on the lead lap,'' said Martin, who hasn't competed at Bristol since a 2007 reconfiguration.

"Instead of trying to shoot the lights out, we really just need to complete the distance and continue to build our communications with Alan (Gustafson)."

Martin has won more pole positions (seven) at Bristol than any other driver entered this weekend and he has a pair of wins too -- the last, however, coming in 1998.

And in Martin's case, the season's results have honestly not matched his performance. He ranks among the top-15 drivers in most key statistics. His average running position is 17.2 and he's run more than 60 percent of all his laps in 15th place or better. Only six drivers have turned in more "fast laps" than Martin.

And his No. 5 Kellogg's Chevy is a winner at Bristol -- taking the first Car of Tomorrow (COT) victory right after the track's reconfiguration two years ago with driver Kyle Busch.

The Bristol beat-and-bang races are always exciting enough without anything extra on the line.

If anything, the worst part of Martin's current circumstance -- and Newman's and Logano's and the rest delicately balancing on the top-35 bubble -- may simply be having to talk about it every week.

A few years back there were 50 or so cars that would show up as legitimate shots at qualifying for the 43-car fields. Before this season started, there were questions if any cars would have to even be sent home from some races.

These high profile teams teetering on the top-35 won't get much sympathy from owner-driver Michael Waltrip, who is ranked 16th in points, but who spent the first two years as a team owner struggling to stay among the top-35.

"I sort of think, 'welcome to my world,' a little bit," said Waltrip, who's enjoying the best early season run since starting his own team in 2007.

"I think it's healthy for people to experience and understand that it's not always a given in this sport. There will be bumps in the road and sometimes you'll have to work your way out of the hole."

"But then again, this hole ain't nearly as deep as the hole I fell into when I was just starting my teams. When I hear people say how tough it is right now, I just want to say, 'Come here. Do you have a minute?'"

Perilous Positions for Mark Martin, Others originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Waltrip's 'Earl' Cameo Couldn't Be Better

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 20:33:00 EST

Filed under: Michael Waltrip, NASCAR Videos, Sprint Cup

NASCAR drivers aren't exactly strangers to making television cameos, but they've yet to be the perfect match Michael Waltrip landed this week.

Waltrip, ever a character in the NASCAR garage, enjoyed his first off week on the NASCAR schedule by flying out to Hollywood for the taping of an episode of NBC's My Name is Earl. The cameras started rolling this week for the comedy sitcom that's scheduled to air on Thursday, April 30.

And from the looks of things, Waltrip's role won't be too much of a stretch for the Kentucky native.

From the Michael Waltrip Racing site:

"This experience is going to be a lot of fun for me," Waltrip said. "I play myself and I help Earl and his brother Randy get out of a big jam."
[...]
"In my opinion, My Name is Earl is an instant classic. I am proud to be a part of this show as it always tells a great story about Earl's need to do good things for people. How he gets to the resolution is absolutely hilarious."

Waltrip isn't the only one who thinks 'Earl' is a good show, either, as the program has picked up a few Television Choice and Emmy Awards during its run.

Of course, if you've seen most of Waltrip's commercial spots -- the current ones with NAPA teammate and drag racer Ron Capps might be the best he's done in terms of comedy -- they rarely border on bland and dull. Knowing that, I'll certainly look forward to Waltrip's spot in 'Earl'.

Need a reason why? Well, here you go:

"Four! ... Uhhhh!"

Waltrip's 'Earl' Cameo Couldn't Be Better originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 14 Mar 2009 20:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reutimann, MWR Improving Greatly

Geoffrey Miller — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:40:00 EST

Filed under: David Reutimann, Michael Waltrip, Sprint Cup, Michael Waltrip Racing

Prior to the 2009 season, an outlandish guess would have been picking a car from Michael Waltrip Racing to be fifth in points after three races.

No, that's not a slight to the organization. It's just that previous success wouldn't exactly lend to such results.

MWR's David Reutimann, however, isn't afraid to buck that trend -- as was clear after he earned his best career finish last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

That finish -- a fourth-place result -- was just the continuation of a strong start to 2009 and a decent finish to 2008 that certainly has expectations raised for the rest of 2009. Already, Reutimann has finishes of 12th (Daytona) and 14th (Auto Club) to complement his career-best.

Most telling about Reutimann's surprise consistency is that the No. 00 is 5th in points -- just 51 markers from leader Jeff Gordon. (For that matter, Reutimann's teammate and car owner Michael Waltrip sits a surprising 12th in the standings -- a great start for a guy who is pondering retirement if results don't improve in 2009.)

Sunday's result, while a nice success for the driver from Zephyr Hills, Fla., was more relief than anything.

"You are just kind of relieved if anything," said Reutimann. "You run around here for a couple of years and trying to get close to winning one of these things and so we're a little closer than what we were. It feels good to be where we are."

Team owner Michael Waltrip has to be relieved as well after convincing sponsor Aaron's to go from a partial-season sponsor before 2009 began to the full-season outfit based on one thing -- getting Reutimann to victory lane.

"They (Aaron's) stepped up to half season of Cup and I was talking to (Ken) Butler, the CEO, and I said, 'Reutimann's going to win. You watch.' And I said, 'If he wins in somebody else's car, that's going to really get on my nerves, because you guys have put us here. We want him to win in your car," said Waltrip prior to Daytona Speedweeks.

From the looks of things early in 2009, Aaron's might have jumped on board at the right time as Reutimann and Co. appear aimed in a much better direction than 2007 and 2008.

Reutimann, MWR Improving Greatly originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Similar Circles for Super Bowl, NASCAR

Holly Cain — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Michael Waltrip, Daytona Int'l Speedway, Joe Gibbs Racing

During a January preseason test session at Daytona International Speedway 15 years ago, I asked NASCAR Cup driver Mark Martin who he thought would win the Super Bowl, which was only a couple days away.

"Who's in the Super Bowl?'' was his reply.

And to be fair -- in those humble days well before NASCAR's growth spurt -- most NFL players probably couldn't name a race outside of NASCAR's Super Bowl, the Daytona 500 or a stock car driver other than Richard Petty.

But those times are long gone and it speaks as much to how far NASCAR has evolved as to how popular the Super Bowl has become.

NASCAR is no longer the forgotten Southern stepchild of professional sports. The redneck stereotype is outdated and short-sighted and some of stock car's best are sharing the weekend Super Bowl spotlight right alongside the biggest names in sports and entertainment.

Three-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champ Jimmie Johnson co-hosts a celebrity golf tournament with music star Nick Lachey on Saturday in Tampa. Former Cup Rookie of the Year, Kasey Kahne will be at A-list parties courtesy of his race team sponsor, Budweiser.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has appeared in a Super Bowl commercial. A few years ago Jeff Gordon got major television air time as cameras showed him catching the game from a luxury suite.

And then there's the ultimate gridiron transcender Joe Gibbs, who won three NASCAR championships as a team owner and three Super Bowl titles from his days leading the Washington Redskins.

The crossover works both ways.

In fact, NASCAR has amassed an elite and impressive club of former NFL players who have owned race teams including four NFL Hall of Fame quarterbacks -- Dan Marino, Roger Staubach Troy Aikman and Terry Bradshaw.

New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss currently fields a championship-caliber team in the Camping World Truck Series.

This week, some opportunistic NASCAR public relation managers offered up their drivers' Super Bowl picks.

They ranged from Denny Hamlin's predictable "The Steelers have a great D. ... but I would take the Cardinals and the points" to Australian Marcos Ambrose's, "I have to go for the Cardinals because of Ben Graham, their punter. He's Australian."

Two-time Daytona 500 champ Michael Waltrip has an honest take, "All my friends are Pittsburgh Steelers fans, so I hope the Cardinals win. Plus, I love Kurt Warner because he's old like me.''

And there's this pick from Matt Kenseth which seems interestingly self-reflective:

"I'm going with the Cardinals. ... they may not have gotten the respect, but they have the big wins to prove they belong there.''

At least the racers know who's playing.

And vice versa.

Similar Circles for Super Bowl, NASCAR originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Michael Waltrip Ponders 2010 Retirement

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:26:00 EST

Filed under: Michael Waltrip, Sprint Cup, Michael Waltrip Racing

Michael Waltrip was one of the drivers on hand for this weekend's Preseason Thunder preview event at Daytona International Speedway, and judging from the transcripts, he certainly had some of the more interesting quotes.

Those quotes included Waltrip -- the winner of the 2001 and 2003 Daytona 500s while driving the No. 15 for Dale Earnhardt Inc. -- admitting that jumping into team ownership has hurt his driving career and that if his personal results don't improve pretty drastically in 2009, he might be forced to hang up the driving gloves in 2010.

For a preseason preview event, Waltrip's words definitely were somewhat of a surprise.

Waltrip, who currently owns his own Sprint Cup team, has been a NASCAR driver since 1986. When Michael Waltrip Racing began competing in 2007 under the Toyota banner, the then-three car team struggled heavily with Waltrip, David Reutimann and Dale Jarrett during the manufacturer's first season in Sprint Cup season.

The team's 2009 lineup has just Waltrip, Reutimann with less than a full-season's worth of sponsorship and a partnership with JTG-Daughtery Racing to field a Toyota for Marcos Ambrose.

As for Waltrip's future plans, he analyzed his recent performance quite truthfully during the fan event.

"[...] obviously I think as a driver I've hurt myself a lot. When I drove for Tony, Jr. at DEI in '05 we had a chance to win this race, we went to Phoenix and ran second, we sat on the pole at Pocono. I was up front. I was a good driver then. In '06, '07 and '08 we've struggled, so as a driver it's hurt my career a little bit," said Waltrip.

Later, he discussed how 2009 -- thanks to the struggles of the past three years with DEI and his own team -- could be a year of reckoning for the former Daytona champ.

"My goal is to go win some races this year, run up front so that I don't have to say this is my last year. But if I don't do those things, if I can't compete at the level that Reutimann does or NAPA expects, then I probably won't get to do this again in 2010," said Waltrip. "This is a real important year for me because I still love it. I'm still emotional about it. That's a great feeling. I'm glad I have that."

While I'm sure many folks will say "Good riddance" to Waltrip if he does decide to retire from NASCAR in 2010, I'd certainly have a feeling that we missed out on a good amount of potential over the past few years from Waltrip. Sure, he's had some bonehead moments and has crashed quite a few race cars, but one has to remember that starting a new team from the ground up, maintaining it and participating in it is not an easy thing to do.

Waltrip was a modestly competitive driver at the one-dimensial DEI (restrictor plate tracks, anyone?) during his tenure, and to think he couldn't replicate that in a legitimately competitive car is far from wishful thinking.

Michael Waltrip Ponders 2010 Retirement originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:26:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Skinner's Help Won't Be Enough for MWR

Geoffrey Miller — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:29:00 EST

Filed under: Michael Waltrip, Sprint Cup, Michael Waltrip Racing

Current Craftsman Truck Series driver Mike Skinner is back in the Sprint Cup Series.

Michael McDowell, though, hopes it isn't for long.

CORNELIUS, N.C. (AP) -Mike Skinner will take over Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 00 Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series, replacing rookie Michael McDowell for the next three races.

Waltrip said Tuesday he asked the veteran Skinner to help the team evaluate where it can improve its on-track performance, as Skinner did earlier this year when he drove five races for Red Bull Racing, replacing A.J. Allmendinger.

"Michael Waltrip Racing is fully committed to our sponsors, the success of our race teams and ensuring Michael McDowell, Josh Wise, David Reutimann and I have the necessary tools to succeed as drivers," Waltrip said. "We've asked Mike Skinner to evaluate areas where we can improve our on-track performance."

Skinner's efforts were a big hit with Red Bull Racing and A.J. Allmendinger especially because he essentially cemented to the race team that what A.J. was feeling and communicating to the team about the car were accurate.

To me though, the best way to improve on-track performance at Michael Waltrip Racing would have been not jumping to a three-car team for its debut in 2007. And it's second step should have been hiring a veteran for the No. 00 instead of stock car novice Michael McDowell for 2008.

From the way the rest of the team has run in 2008 with Waltrip, McDowell, Dale Jarrett for the first five races, and David Reutimann, I'm willing to bet that putting Skinner in the car isn't going to help the team as substantially as it did for Red Bull.

In Red Bull's case, Brian Vickers was already putting up some decent results -- something MWR has lacked.

Skinner might help a little bit, but don't expect McDowell to get back in the car and pick up some Top-10s by the end of 2008.

Skinner's Help Won't Be Enough for MWR originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:29:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Wild Finish of the Coke Zero 400

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 20:03:00 EST

Filed under: Michael Waltrip, Carl Edwards, Daytona Int'l Speedway, NASCAR Crashes, NASCAR Videos, Kyle Busch, David Ragan

Miss the race? Wanna re-live the green-white-checkered finish? Here's your chance, thanks to Youtube.

Watch below for the Jeff Gordon-spinning, David Ragan-near-wrecking, Michael Waltrip-wall-banging, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch side-by-side finishing awesomeness that was the end of the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona in all of its glory from the live TNT broadcast.

The fun starts below as the field takes the final green flag of the race:

Gordon gets the on-track fireworks show started by getting turned around by Carl Edwards while riding in second place after the leaders exited the tri-oval under the green flag. Gordon took blame for the incident, though it left him with a disappointing 30th-place finish.

Edwards managed to get a run on Busch heading down the backstretch thanks to a push from teammate Matt Kenseth. As the field rounded turn four and headed for the white flag, Edwards and Busch were side-by-side as the field tried to wreck multiple times behind them.

David Ragan in the No. 6 and Clint Bowyer in the No. 07 were both nearly looking out the right side window at points as the field came out of the tri-oval but unbelievably kept from wrecking.

Finally, Michael Waltrip got turned into the turn one wall after Travis Kvapil slid down in to Dave Blaney, igniting a multi-car crash that finally brought out the race-ending caution, and after NASCAR reviewed replays, Kyle Busch was declared the winner.

Whew. What a finish, eh?

Video: Wild Finish of the Coke Zero 400 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 06 Jul 2008 20:03:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Waltrip Goes Bananas on Mears

Geoffrey Miller — Tue, 06 May 2008 23:50:00 EST

Filed under: Casey Mears, Michael Waltrip, Sprint Cup

It all started so innocently for Casey Mears Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. As he came off of turn four, he'd slide up to the wall and cross the start/finish line to complete lap 355.

Trouble was, Michael Waltrip was there, and when Mears came across the nose of the No. 55, Waltrip was none too pleased and displayed it by pushing Mears down the straightaway and into the turn one wall. Follow along below at 0:13:

For the blatant contact following Mears' incidental mistake, Waltrip was parked by NASCAR for the remainder of the race, relegating him to a 37th-place finish.

Mears said this week that he was happy with the punishment handed out, and NASCAR also said that they wouldn't pursue any further sanctions against Waltrip mainly because the penalty cost Waltrip quite a few points.

As I stated in the previous blog post, this effort out of Waltrip seems to be a near-yearly occurence after he gets into a disagreement with a fellow driver. He just simply overreacts, and in this case, used his car ultimately as a weapon.

All of this, of course, goes back to one question.

Do you think Waltrip is upset with the people he meets at autograph signings?

Video: Waltrip Goes Bananas on Mears originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 06 May 2008 23:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Michael Waltrip Racing Cars Will Have Gold Wheels for Start of 50th Daytona 500

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 14:10:00 EST

Filed under: Dale Jarrett, Michael Waltrip, Toyota, Daytona Int'l Speedway, Michael Waltrip Racing, David Reutimann, Sprint Cup

Check out all of the NASCAR Fanhouse Daytona Speedweeks Coverage.
On Sunday, stop by for the live blog of the 50th Daytona 500 at 3:00pm/ET.

Last year, Michael Waltrip and his race team, Michael Waltrip Racing, faced one of most-publicized cheating scandals in NASCAR history. An illegal additive in Waltrip's No. 55 had set his team on its collective ear, and proved to be a barometer of the season MWR would have.

2008, though, is a much different story.

Waltrip put his No. 55 NAPA Toyota on the outside of the front row for Sunday's 50th-running of the Daytona 500 and his teammates, David Reutimann and Dale Jarrett, secured starting positions in the event.

The team has sported silver wheels for the past year and in all on-track activities during the 2008 Daytona Speedweeks. Sunday though, that will change.

Michael Waltrip and his three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will pay tribute to the golden anniversary of the Daytona 500 on Sunday by starting the 50th running of The Great American Race sporting specially-designed gold wheels.

Following the 200-lap event, the wheels will be autographed and sold to raise money for charities supported by the France family.

[...]

The Waltrip teams will run the gold wheels only for the start of the race, moving back to their traditional chrome wheels after the first round of pit stops.

I don't think I can remember too many cars in history that have sported gold wheels, but if anyone in the NASCAR garage would do this, it'd be Waltrip.

With only 12 of these wheels available for auction, I'd imagine the price will be pretty steep, and if one of the MWR cars wins on Sunday -- it wouldn't be as surprising as you'd think -- expect that price to raise ten-fold.

Michael Waltrip Racing Cars Will Have Gold Wheels for Start of 50th Daytona 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 16 Feb 2008 14:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Johnson, Waltrip Take Daytona 500 Front Row

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 19:15:00 EST

Filed under: Jimmie Johnson, Michael Waltrip, Joe Nemechek, Hendrick Motorsports, Daytona Int'l Speedway, Michael Waltrip Racing, Sprint Cup

Check out all of the NASCAR Fanhouse Daytona Speedweeks Coverage.

The start of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season has brought together two names that ultimately ended the 2007 season on the opposite ends of the spectrum.

Michael Waltrip will start alongside pole winner Jimmie Johnson for Sunday's 50th running of the Daytona 500.

Johnson, last year's Sprint Cup champion, drove a lap at 187.075 mph to secure his second-career pole for the season-opener. Waltrip, who finished 44th in last year's season standings, guaranteed his spot in the Daytona 500 with a lap of 186.734 mph.

Both laps were faster than the pole-winning speed in 2007.

While Johnson was excited to be on the pole for the season's biggest event, it was Waltrip that was nearly speechless about his effort. Exactly one year ago, Waltrip was facing the biggest storm of his career after his car was found to have an illegal additive in the engine prior to qualifying for the 2007 edition.

It would lead to a season that saw both he and his Michael Waltrip Racing team miss several races, fall out of the top-35, and lose sponsors for 2008. Somehow, his team trucked on and this time around at Daytona, all three MWR cars face a go-or-go-home situation if they want to make the event.

Waltrip, a two-time 500 winner, joined teammate David Reutimann and Joe Nemechek as the three drivers that guaranteed a spot in next Sunday's race based on time. The third MWR car with Dale Jarrett on-board will have to race his way into the race on Thursday during the qualifying races.

Nemechek's near pole-winning run was doubly impressive considering the team operates out of Denver, Colo. and has only been in business for three years.

Johnson, Waltrip Take Daytona 500 Front Row originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 10 Feb 2008 19:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dale Jr. Leads Tuesday A.M.; Drafting Starts

Geoffrey Miller — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 14:53:00 EST

Filed under: Brian Vickers, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, Toyota, Daytona Int'l Speedway, Sprint Cup, NASCAR Testing

Dale Earnhardt Jr. jumped to the top of the speed chart Tuesday morning at Daytona International Speedway, in a possible effort to gain some credence to his crew chief's predictions for 2008.

Monday afternoon, Tony Eury Jr. predicted his driver would pilot the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 to four race victories in the coming season.

Earnhardt Jr.'s lap of 185.820mph landed him the fastest single-lap speed of any driver through both this and last week's test session at the legendary 2.5-mile track. That figure will stand as the top overall single-lap time as the Sprint Cup Series drivers will now switch to multi-car drafting mode for the afternoon session on Tuesday.

Wednesday, testing will wrap up with two more drafting sessions in the schedule -- pending forecasted afternoon rain stays away. If Wednesday is enough of a washout, Thursday is scheduled as the additional rain-date but the forecast that day looks even worse.

The Toyotas remained a strong presence at the top of the leader board Tuesday morning with Michael Waltrip, Brian Vickers, Dale Jarrett and Tony Stewart rounding out the Top-5 of the final single-lap session.

There were no reported incidents in the morning session, but stay tuned to NASCAR Fanhouse for updates on the Tuesday afternoon session and activities on Wednesday.

Dale Jr. Leads Tuesday A.M.; Drafting Starts originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 15 Jan 2008 14:53:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Teresa Earnhardt Not Dead and Other Ridiculously Stupid NASCAR Commentary

tallglassofmilk — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 22:10:00 EST

Filed under: Michael Waltrip, NASCAR Media Watch

Is it wrong that we keep picking on Rusty Wallace, Brad and Suzie, et. al. on ESPN? Heck no! They're the ones who've got the rights to the NASCAR action at the moment and the ones we have to put up with right now. It just so happens they also suck the most.

What did we learn during ESPN's Atlanta broadcast? Rusty can't say Truex. Not like it's hard ... Sounds like: TRUE-EX. Not like: TUR-EX or TRUR-EX or whatever it was he was saying--I can't even replicate the sound.

Oh, we also learned that Teresa Earnhardt isn't dead. Thanks for the tip. Only three more races to go, race fans. Three more. Maybe by mid-season next year we'll have something good to talk about.

Ok ... so maybe ESPN is the worst ... or maybe they're just the worst right now because that's what we're dealing with. They all have their moments of less-than-stellar commentary--even Speed, as highlighted by Michael Waltrip in the above video.

Teresa Earnhardt Not Dead and Other Ridiculously Stupid NASCAR Commentary originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 31 Oct 2007 22:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota Is Qualified to Run the COT in 'Dega

tallglassofmilk — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 16:58:00 EST

Filed under: Michael Waltrip, Nextel Cup, Talladega Superspeedway

Holy crap! Michael Waltrip, meet Pole.

Waltrip's fourth career pole was his first of the season. It's the second Bud Pole Award of the season for Toyota, which has five of its cars starting in the top 10 in tomorrow's UAW-Ford 500. All five were go or go home cars. All five do not typically run out front of the field. Five more things to weigh on the minds of the Chase drivers, not one of whom qualified in the top 10.

Talladega's top-qualifying rookie, David Reutimann, secured a career best spot in fifth and his Michael Waltrip Racing teammate Dale Jarrett qualified 8th but will start 43rd because of some rule that I forget. This is the third consecutive week all three MWR drivers made the show.

The team's season is finishing much better than it started. Reutimann is close to re-signing and Jarrett says he knows his fate, the rest of us will find out on Thursday. Hmmm ... Broadcasting?

Dave Blaney and Brian Vickers start 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

A.J. Allmendinger qualified his Toyota in the ninth overall position, but the top 10 finish wasn't good enough to make the race. Could he have worse luck?

It's pretty messed up that a full-time team qualified in the top 10 but won't get to race. Especially when a team that hasn't run all year gets to race--and with a first-time driver no less. But Jacques Villeneuve qualified his Toyota 6th! Since NASCAR has allowed him to qualify, it's hard to argue now why he shouldn't he be allowed to race, too.

UAW-Ford 500 Lineup

Does the Top 35 Rule Need Tweaking?
What if all cars have to qualify straight-up on time with no guarantee every week? If applied this week, it would mean that championship contenders Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick would not be in the field. I don't think that's the answer, but I certainly wouldn't argue with a guarantee for the top 10 qualifiers and the top 25 in owner points. In a 43-car field, with sometimes over 50 teams attempting to qualify, 35 is too many guaranteed spots on points alone--many of which are reserved for mediocre teams. Some regard needs to be given to the cars with the fastest speeds.

Toyota Is Qualified to Run the COT in 'Dega originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 06 Oct 2007 16:58:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rubbin' Is Racin': California Hurts!

Geoffrey Miller — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 18:46:00 EST

Filed under: Michael Waltrip, NASCAR Crashes, Ricky Rudd

NASCAR fans now a few more good examples of why NASCAR racing will never get boring after the steaming weekend at California Speedway -- for they know that at any time anything can happen in NASCAR.

Brad Keselowski, Ricky Rudd (as the video shows at 0:16) and Michael Waltrip are feeling why today.

Waltrip was the only driver of the three that had a faint idea that his race was about to end early when the left-front tire finally cut down entering turn three during Sunday night's Sharp Aquos 500, sheering an oil line and igniting the No. 55 Napa Toyota. Luckily, Waltrip was able to get out in time -- but not very quickly.

Rudd's fortunes weren't as obvious.

Rudd might be sidelined now for Saturday night's race at Richmond due to a separated shoulder he suffered in his hit against the frontstretch wall. Rudd said he was knocked out briefly by the flush driver's side impact.

"I didn't see anything," Rudd said. "I didn't see it coming because it was behind me. Next thing I know I'm handing a right down the straightaway and headed straight for the fence. There was no time to even brace for it.

"That lap or two is out of my memory. I was awake when I stopped. But I tried to unbuckle and couldn't because my shoulder just wouldn't work."

As for Keselowski? The 23-year-old Busch Series driver deserves some kind of award for taking such a vicious hit. His night went sour in a similar fashion to Rudd's, except at the end of the straightaway and with more speed.

His No. 88 got clipped in the rear by a spinning A.J. Allmendinger, shooting it straight towards the turn one wall. The impact left Keselowski taking his first ride through the air of the night as his Chevy twirled atop the SAFER Barrier and many in attendance wondering about his health.

He would later find himself in a helicopter heading to a nearby hospital for treatment of a leg injury and other tests. The JR Motorsports driver is expected to see more doctors this week to determine the final extent of his injuries.

All this, of course, when everyone thought the heat was plenty brutal.

Rubbin' Is Racin': California Hurts! originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 03 Sep 2007 18:46:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rudd Sent to Hospital After Incident

Geoffrey Miller — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 05:41:00 EST

Filed under: Michael Waltrip, NASCAR Crashes, Ricky Rudd

Update: Separated Shoulder?

The NASCAR Scene had this to say about Ricky Rudd's Injury:

Rudd, driver of the No. 88 Robert Yates Racing Ford, separated his left shoulder according to FoxSports.com. NASCAR officials would only confirm that Rudd injured that shoulder.

For a guy who's driven a race and won at Martinsville with eyelids taped open, I'll bet he'll be back for Richmond.

Original: Ricky Rudd appeared to come up a little lame, if you will, after a drivers-side hit against the California Speedway frontstretch wall during Sunday night's Sharp Aquos 500.

Rudd, the driver of Robert Yates' No. 88 Ford Fusion, was taken to the hospital via ambulance, and he was later treated and released. Remember, though, that "treated" can mean a number of things. (In other words, Kenny Wallace might be needed for stand-by duties at Richmond.)

The incident that Rudd, who's retiring from full-time competition (again) after 2007, was involved in happened on lap 180 when NASCAR point leader Jeff Gordon slid into the side of Jeremy Mayfield off of turn four. Mayfield clipped David Reutimann who spun towards the infield grass, but not before catching the rear-end of Rudd's Ford. Rudd's car then impacted the frontstretch wall nearly flat on with the driver's door.

What Were They Thinking?
"They" being the California Speedway track safety workers.

Michael Waltrip was involved in the other serious incident of the night at California -- at least the one that will get way overplayed on ESPN -- when Waltrip cut a tire that had been rubbing entering turn three.
The exploding tire caught an oil line in the left front which burst and then caught on fire.

Waltrip came to sliding stop at the base of turn four and safety vehicles were on the scene quickly, but not a single worker made a quick attempt to help Waltrip get out of the car, much less put out the burning car.

It's easy to play a Monday-morning track safety worker, but if those safety workers were on a high school football team, they'd be running wind sprints for a very visual lack of effort. Come on dudes, fire isn't good!

Rudd Sent to Hospital After Incident originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 03 Sep 2007 05:41:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MWR Denies '08 Downsizing, Retirement

Geoffrey Miller — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 08:22:00 EST

Filed under: Dale Jarrett, Michael Waltrip, NASCAR Rumors, Pit Crews, David Reutimann

Michael Waltrip Racing denied today a report from RacingOne that Dale Jarrett would be out of the ride in 2008 and that UPS was already packing up. (Heh, get it?)

The original report about DJ from International Speedway Corporation affiliate RacingOne:

Toyota is expected to pair down Michael Waltrip racing from a three-car effort to a two-car squad, shifting some of that support to JGR's three-car team of Busch, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. Dale Jarrett is said to be seriously considering retirement, trading in his helmet for a microphone as a television analyst, which would leave MWR with Waltrip and David Reutimann.

There must be something to the rampant rumor that Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing are forming a partnership for '08, you'd think.

Anyways, this race fan would be more than happy to have Dale Jarrett replace Rusty Wallace in the ESPN booth. MWR's words with ESPN (via Jayski) didn't sound like that was even feasible:

on Wednesday's NASCAR Now [ESPN2] Angelique Chengelis reported that Michael Waltrip Racing's Ty Norris said there was absolutely no morsel of truth to the rumor about MWR scaling back to two teams or Dale Jarrett leaving, plus Norris was at a UPS Sponsor summit and that UPS says things are going well

Other than the language use of 'morsel', you've gotta wonder what exactly happens at a "sponsor summit".

Could it potentially be the spot where the big brown truck gets to films commercials for so many pictures?

Imagine the possibilities with Dale Jarrett, a big brown truck, and an impressive advertising firm.

"Wait 'til you see his sister!"

MWR Denies '08 Downsizing, Retirement originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 10 Aug 2007 08:22:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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