Wow, part 2
1. The AP news alert:
DAYTONA BEACH (AP) — Michael Waltrip was penalized 100 points, while his crew chief and competition director were ejected from the Daytona 500 and suspended indefinitely.
2. That AP would even send out a news alert about a third-tier driver.
But 100 points? More like whoa than wow. I think this'll get a lot of people's attention. The question: Will NASCAR have the guts to do more next time?
Update 1: Dustin checks in - Buffy Waltrip lost 100 owner points, crew chief David Hyder hit with a $100,000 fine and the 55 car has been confiscated. No word yet on whether Waltrip can race Thursday.
Update 2:The mysterious substance? The AP says it might be jet fuel. As one of my co-workers just cracked, they should have let him run with it because on pit stops he'd get a bag of peanuts.
Update 3: Here's Mikey's statement. See if you can find the part where he throws his crew chief and competition director under the bus, then backs over them before driving away:
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 14, 2007) – Michael Waltrip’s statement regarding the NASCAR penalties handed down this evening to the No. 55 Michael Waltrip Racing entry:"In the past 12 months, Michael Waltrip Racing has hired more than 150 people and we currently employ more than 200. Although we have grown at an accelerated pace, it has been our mission to hire people with high moral value and character to properly represent our sponsors and our ownership.
"During preparations for the 2007 season and especially the 2007 Daytona 500, I specifically requested that our competition teams not disrespect NASCAR, our competitors or our sponsors by blatantly circumventing the rules.
"This is not the action of an organization, a manufacturer or a sponsor. This was an independent act done without consent or authorization from me or any of my executive management team. As an owner, I realize I am ultimately held responsible for the actions of my employees. Therefore, I accept the penalties issued tonight by NASCAR.
"I respect NASCAR’s rules, its people and the sport’s integrity, which is why I am so sad and embarrassed. I am dedicated to get to the bottom of this because I will not let the independent act of an individual or individuals tarnish the incredible accomplishment my organization has made to be where we are today.
"I want to apologize to the other owners, who know how hard I’ve worked to get here in such a short period of time, NASCAR, Toyota, NAPA, all my sponsors, the drivers and especially the fans."
Some backstory: Earlier in the day, some reporters, including Dustin, asked the logical question about how today's events might affect the Waltrip-Toyota relationship. The upshot is that Toyota was pretty hacked off. A lot of fans are looking for a reason to hate Toyota, and here's one, delivered to your door in under 30 minutes.
Comments (3)
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Is it a big hit to Toyota Now? Money wise, no...respect wise in the garage...you bet. NASCAR has made a point, in a big way. Would they have done the same to a Ford Team, a Chevy Team, Dodge? Don't know, because those teams were not found guilty...let me repeat that...guilty of something like this. Dodge got hammered pretty good, as did Ford...but those teams did not have anything to prove, and by that I mean those makers are already an ingrained part of the sport. Waltrip claims that he had no knowledge or part in this, that may be true. But the bottom line is he now drives a Toyota, and was a big part in Toyota's entrance into NASCAR, not Bill Davis Racing or Team Red Bull (and to state the obvious, none of those Toyota teams had an issue). So that being said, and with as little over exaggeration as I can muster, Toyota's un-official spokesman has either directly or indirectly cast a shadow on this makers NASCAR program...which could affect the potential fan base and/or existing one that followed Waltrip...which at the end of the day means lost income.
Posted on February 14, 2007 11:28 PM
Chris: "But the bottom line is he now drives a Toyota, and was a big part in Toyota's entrance into NASCAR, not Bill Davis Racing or Team Red Bull (and to state the obvious, none of those Toyota teams had an issue)"
Chris you wrote the "bottomline" (none of those Toyota teams had an issue) Mikey is one driver out of six in the Toyota contingent "fans" that extend anything beyond Mikey and paint the other five are doing it for a single reason, they dislike Toyota "invading" their "space."
NASCAR isn't "pure" any longer in their eyes and it matters little who does what, their blinded by xenophobic goggles and will use MWR for a easy whipping boy.
Luckily, they are a small minority.
Posted on February 15, 2007 1:55 AM
hi,
i've been enjoying your Nascar blog for a little while now,good to catch up for a rookie like me.
I would like to put a link on my blog,hope you can do the same,I'm doing this crazy thing,car-a-day,
where i paint/post a car-a-day,following the 2007 racing season,this week is Nascar week(ofcourse)
enjoy!
www.car-a-day.blogspot.com
Rob
Posted on February 15, 2007 11:13 AM