Testing and More Testing

The last week of NEXTEL Cup Daytona testing has come to a close, with interesting and slightly confusing results for Michael, wonderful outcomes for both David and Kurt and worrying implications for Brandon (though better news is on horizon for him, I hope).

Just by looking at the numbers of Michael’s test results (see them all at Jayski), fans may feel their heart sink. Cumulatively, he only had the 59th fastest speed – ouch! But when you dig down further, it makes more sense.

Michael never drafted. For all three days he only did single-car runs, which at first had me wondering why. Then I realized that single-car runs are much more important to a car out of the top 35 than what you can do in the draft. To qualify for the Daytona 500, one must first set your spot in your Duel race. For the go-or-go-home cars this is incredibly important, because let’s say Michael qualifies 5th for his Duel, above all the other go-or-go-homers. Even if he finished last, he would make the 500 because of his qualifying speed. This is what happened to Hermie Sadler last year. He qualified 19th for the Duels, the second fastest single-car qualifying of the go-or-go-homers. Even though he finished last in the Duel race, he made it in the 500 because of his single-car run.

Confusing, huh? But after I read up on this I feel a little better about the Daytona 500. If Michael can qualify well for the Duel, then his chances of making the Daytona 500 are much better.

His best speed of the session came during qualifying runs, when he was 8th fastest. Cross your fingers that he can qualify 8th for the Duels!

David’s speeds of course look a lot better cumulatively because he took part in drafting. Both his single-car and drafting speeds look promising. I think he will have a good chance of qualifying well for the Duels and if he doesn’t and can keep his nose clean he could race his way in.

Kurt had an exciting moment when he took a COT on the track on Wednesday and made an impressive speed of over 191MPH in a single-car run. So much for NASCAR’s hopes of getting rid of the restrictor plate! He remarked later on SPEED that he could really feel the power and speed, and that the drivers who went at paces in the 230MPH range had more cahoonas than he does!

Lastly, I’m very worried about Brandon’s test. He was near the bottom of the speed charts for every session except one, where I assume he was drafting and made it up to 29th. Apparently he was being observed by NASCAR because of his lack of experience (as was A.J. Allmendinger). I’m wondering what exactly that means – did he have to run a certain speed? Is it just to make sure he isn’t reckless? But anyway I think his chances of making the Daytona 500 are very slim, simply because his team is underfunded. However, he was at Homestead CTS testing with the #46 Morgan-Dollar team and was 9th in the evening session, 2nd the next morning and 4th that afternoon. I’m very excited over this and hope that he can be in that truck full-time this season, since things may not turn out very well in Cup for the 72 car.

Death and Dreams

On Tuesday the NASCAR world said goodbye to yet another champion of the series and also of life.

I’d been expecting it, I suppose, though there was a little bit of hope left in me that Benny would make it through his lung cancer complications. When Michael put a “We Love You BP!” decal on his car during testing Monday, I knew it was either a very good or very bad sign. A day later, Benny passed.

Benny was very dear to me in many ways. He helped me learn much of what I know about NASCAR during broadcasts and kept me on my toes throughout the entirety of races with his trouble alarms – yes, sometimes false alarms, but I loved them anyway. He was also very different from every other commentator because I can’t remember one time he actually said something bad about someone. I never did meet him personally, but at Pocono in July of 2005 he exited the broadcast booth and walked down through the middle of the grandstands, among a chorus of “Benny!” and “BP!”. The smile never left his face.

Only a few nights before his death I dreamed about him. It was one of those strange dreams that in one way make a lot of sense but in another don’t at all, but it was very vivid. He was at my house recovering and my mom (an RN, by the way) was taking care of him. It was the Benny we know and love except that he had a bit of a beard for some reason. Danni and I were sitting on the couch, on either side of him, and he was telling us racing stories from back in the day. I felt a lot of hope that he would get better. But later on in the dream I came down the stairs and looked into the living room, where he was lying on the couch. A sudden fear overtook me that he had died, but he sat up, looked at me and called me over. He put an arm around me and told me not to worry, that he would be all right. Even in my dream I wondered if he meant he would survive or that he would die peacefully. Yet it gave me comfort that no matter what the outcome was, he would always be around.

I had another dream that felt the same way once. In my freshman year of high school I met Brett Pelesz, a young, kind, handsome and talented man who was our chorus teacher. After a wonderful year working with him – in which we absolutely fell in love with him - he left our school to continue going to college and be a substitute teacher at Hudson. On April 26th, 2004, he died of bacterial meningococcal meningitis. He was only 21. I was devastated, for Brett was one of the most genuinely good-hearted people I’ve ever known.

Soon after, I dreamed about him. It was one of the strangest dreams I’ve ever had and I’ll never forget it. I was sitting alone in my math classroom when Brett walked in. I knew he had died, but wasn’t surprised to see him. He came up to me, put his hand on my shoulder and smiled. “Everything’s going to be okay,” was all he said, and then he turned and walked back out the door, leaving me with an amazingly peaceful feeling.

Maybe they were dreams of mere coincidence, but I’d like to think otherwise. I’m not a religious person, but I do believe in spirits and souls. There is a chance that Benny and Brett were trying to tell me something, or maybe my subconscious spoke for them. Either way, although I miss them both terribly, I’m comforted knowing that parts of them will live on through the people who loved them.

Brett, I will never use a diphthong, and I’ll always sing from my diaphragm.

Benny, “oh-ho!” and cue the duck, you King of Cool.

The End and Another Beginning

Testing week #1 is done and over with, with results that are looking good for MWR. DJ had the 3rd fastest time overall from the six sessions – I’d say that’s pretty acceptable! It’s far and wide beyond my hopes.

We learned this Friday that A.J. Allmendinger will be piloting the #00 Tundra (formerly known as the #17 David ran last year) in the Truck Series for 12 races this season. Apparently he’s going to be sharing this ride with MWR development drivers Josh Wise and Ken Butler III, but no word yet on how many races these drivers will get or if there are more to hop in the seat as well. Rumor has it that Michael and DJ will be doing some truck races but it isn’t known whether it will be the 00 or another entry.

This alliance between MWR and Red Bull Racing is interesting. Toyota is already known for strong communication between different organizations and logically it would be a good plan for their Cup teams too. However, I’ve heard there was some info-sharing between MWR and RBR during testing…and yet Bill Davis Racing has stayed off the radar so far. I can imagine that Michael’s relationship with Davis is not especially rosy after the season Michael had using his equipment in 2006, not to mention what Davis said about Michael to the media, basically blaming Michael for BDR’s problems. At the moment it appears that MWR and RBR may become “cousin” teams while BDR stands alone. Though from the new employees BDR recently hired, including Gene DeHart (a body/chassis expert), Gene Nead (formerly a crew chief for Kevin Harvick Inc.) and Dr. Andrew Randolph (formerly of Hendrick Motorsports!) it may not be very difficult to be successful. Fans, Michael fans in particular, have relished in the fact that BDR is building its own engines instead of having them shipped from TRD in California, predicting BDR’s demise. I was very interested to learn of BDR’s new staff additions, especially in the case of Dr. Randolph because he was HMS’s Director of Engine Development. We know those Hendrick engines pack a ton of horsepower.

Other than that, something else that also perked my thoughts was that DEI has just hired Kerry Earnhardt to take over Tony Eury Sr.’s job last season of overseeing operations of the team’s Cup and Busch teams. For some reason this move leaves me feeling anxious. It seems to come at a very tense time for DEI as a result of Dale Jr.’s contract decision being up in the air. In a way I wonder if Teresa is planning on holding onto Kerry in case Junior decides to leave…and put Kerry in the 8 car in hopes of wooing Budweiser to stay put (ha ha) and keeping DEI alive.

Tomorrow the test week starts with another group of drivers I’ll be keeping an eye on: Michael, David, Kurt and Brandon Whitt (who I’ll talk about in the future). Michael and David need to be fast in qualifying and racing setups (the former to hopefully qualify on the front row and guarantee themselves a spot in the Daytona 500 and the latter to race their way in during the Duels if they can’t qualify well enough). To say the least, I’m nervous! Kurt I’m not worrying about, since he had a great car here last season and is an excellent and underrated drafter. As for Brandon, who is running for ROTY, he may have the most difficult job. NASCAR is going to be observing him, apparently to make sure he’s skilled enough to run with the Cup boys. I assume he may have to run a certain speed to qualify to attempt to qualify, and since the #72 is not exactly a top-notch team that may be harder to achieve than one may think. But let’s hope he and the rest of my boys have a great test and pass with flying colors!

Testing and Toyota

Testing so far has gone pleasingly well for our drivers. Jayski has all the speeds here, with one more AM session to go tomorrow because of the rainout Monday.

I’ve been very satisfied with Dale Jarrett’s times. Although he had one car in each session much slower than the other (on SPEED Michael said that 44A was faster in the wind tunnel, but it ended up much slower than 44B until it drafted, and then 44B was the slower of the two). Interestingly enough Bob Dilner reported on SPEED last night that DJ would be testing a third car today – a Car of Tomorrow. I was a bit confused about that because that "COT" ended up 2nd fastest! However, it turns out that Dilner was wrong in his report because tonight SPEED said 44C was a regular Cup car…a Cup car that was a copy of a DEI car. No wonder it was fast!

Both Dale Jr. and Casey Mears have had very good speeds – Junior even led yesterday’s drafting practice (big surprise? ). Today he got bored and let his big brother Kerry hop into the seat. Unfortunately Kerry on SPEED wondered (half jokingly…or not) if they had given him a used engine because it wasn’t very quick.

Martin Truex Jr.’s 1A improved greatly today, which relieves me. He is a great drafter but needs the car under him to do it.

DJ blasted the Toyota naysayers in a Q&A session today. The most amusing thing he said was, "Check and see if that TV you're watching was made in the United States that you're watching our great races on." Very funny, but also very true. If you are un-American because you drive a Toyota, then you must be un-American if you own anything foreign. Actually, dang, my computer monitor is made by Sony…I must be un-American!

Yeah, right.

Fans, plain and simple, have to get over it. America isn’t a nation by itself and we need world trade to survive. Toyotas are built in America and every single Toyota that will hit the track will be made in America. In my eyes, that makes them American.

We've Lost Bobby Hamilton

There are times when no news is good news. Bobby Hamilton was doing better in his fight against head and neck cancer. That was what we last heard.

It’s been somewhat of a slow off-season in NASCAR. Although testing was approaching, even that can be rather boring. So when I launched my browser last night and NASCAR.com came up as my home page, I barely looked, predetermined to type in a search. Just as I was sent to my result page, I saw it. The red alert bar. Hamilton. Dies.

I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to go back and look again. I hoped I was just seeing things, or it was false information. But when I returned, it was still there, and it remained there as I broke down in anguished sobs. The article was posted at 7:15PM. When I first thought to look at the current time, it was 7:19.

Bobby lost his battle with cancer. He was only 49.

His death seemed to take everyone off guard. It was so sudden and took a complete opposite turn from what we all believed. A shock, a loss that sent me reeling and wondering why horrible things happen to good people.

I became a NASCAR fan in 2003 and I am ashamed to admit I was disgustingly narrow-minded and hateful towards many drivers. Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Rusty Wallace…so many I would insult as they were interviewed, or won races. Bobby Hamilton Jr. won my detest in the Busch Series. When my cable provider introduced SPEED to the basic channels, I watched the Craftsman Truck Series for the first time. Bobby Jr.’s father raced there and naturally, I hated him too.

Hating takes a lot of energy. It drains you. And eventually, I grew up. Suddenly, I began to develop a fondness for Jeff, and Jimmie, and everyone else. The Hamiltons were no exception. I held a respect for them, even if I didn’t always hang off their next words during interviews.

In 2004, Bobby Hamilton led the points in the Truck Series. Darlington in the fall found himself and his son racing for the win behind Kasey Kahne. The unthinkable happened during the restart for the green-white-checkered – Bobby Jr. messed up. As the field leaped forward, Bobby Jr. did not. His father plowed into the back of him, sending him spinning into a horrific crash that brought out the red flag. The younger Hamilton was okay and the race completed, but Bobby Sr. did not care. In a post-race interview, he let the pain and devastation show through tears and a shaky voice. He just crashed his son. How could he be happy with a second place finish?

And it was then that I became a fan of the Hamiltons. This was even more enforced when for the first time I learned how Bobby Hamilton got where he was – all the hell he went through, all the danger he faced, all the obstacles and nay-sayers. He surpassed everything and everyone. When he won the championship, I was glad and proud.

Then the worst happened. In the beginning of 2006, Bobby Hamilton announced that he had head and neck cancer. His son would take his seat as driver for the #18 Fastenal Dodge. However, Bobby was determined to beat the cancer and drive again in the season closing race at Homestead. Homestead came, but not his return. Then came the news that Ken Schrader would drive the truck in 2007. I guess there were warning signs, but I never expected this.

Bobby knew that beating the cancer would be the fight of his life. And, as sometimes is inevitable, it claimed his life.

Now we sit and wonder what will happen next. We contemplate the uncertainties of the future and grow apprehensive of the realization that things happen so quickly. There are things so much bigger than who-wrecked-who, or why my driver finished so poorly, or who is gay, or who should’ve hung up his career ten years ago. The truth is that we take these peoples’ lives for granted. Who we insult or laugh or scoff at today may very well be gone forever tomorrow.

Think about it.

Please give your thoughts, prayers, strength…anything…to Bobby Hamilton’s family and friends. And while you’re on that mindset, send them to Benny Parsons as well, for things have not gone as planned. His cancer is in remission, but there are still battles to fight. Unfortunately, the horizon looks dark.

Just remember…think about it. Life is so precious.

Bobby Hamilton, Sr.
May 29th, 1957 – January 7th, 2007

Maturing and New Experiences

Dale Earnhardt Incorporated seemed to start over from scratch in 2006. Dale Jr. looked for a new run with new crew chief (though old partner) Tony Eury Jr. Fresh off of back-to-back Busch Series championships, Martin Truex Jr. strove for Rookie of the Year in arguably one of the most competitive rookie battles NASCAR's highest league has ever seen. Both drivers faced their dark clouds, but at the end of the year DEI did not look back in horror as in 2005.

Dale Jr. went through one of his most important growing periods since the loss of his father in 2001. He learned that not everything is the crew's fault and sometimes to succeed, one must adjust his driving style and adapt to changing conditions. His win at Richmond in the spring and his achievement in the Chase were not the year's highlights for me. I was the proudest when he ran well at the intermediate tracks which were an embarrassment for the #8 team in 2005. I was proudest when I saw him run the high groove (coincidentally similar to Michael Waltrip's driving style). I was proudest when at the end of the day, even if it was a bad day, the crew still were on speaking terms.

However, like any season, Junior did not face complete bliss. His new Busch team struggled, and with ten races to go he replaced Mark McFarland with Truex (1 race), Robby Gordon (2 races) and his Hooter's Pro Cup driver, Shane Huffman (7 races). The JR Motorsports team was very inconsistent in its finishes. This year, with Huffman at the helm, hopes for better results.

A fight for his name rights also disrupted Junior's year and caused an eye-opening stir for the fans. When Junior first entered NASCAR, his father took care of his trademark rights (which was probably a good thing). However, when he died, the rights were handed over to his estate and then to Teresa. As Junior grew and matured, I suppose the realization that the rights to his name were not even his was bothersome. Teresa and Dale Jr. have never been known to perfectly get along both personally and in the business world, so this struggle was a debate that got rather heated among the fans. Eventually (and thankfully), after some negotiating, Teresa Earnhardt allowed Dale Jr. to own his name. The concept of someone not even owning the rights to his own name is ridiculous and infuriating to me.

To continue the Teresa vs. Junior saga, Junior's contract is up after this year. Fans have been speculating him going to Richard Childress Racing for years and apparently Teresa feels threatened by this. What a better way to soften this possibly stressful process than to question your resigning driver's career focus. I have no idea what in the world she was thinking when she said this. If Junior ever left DEI, that team is not strong enough to hold up long without him. That's pretty sad, but when you think about it, Teresa has made it that way. DEI is structurally weak and lacking their self-made #1 driver it would definitely crumble. Sponsors would leave, Truex would probably leave, fans would leave. What a mess. Dale Jr. does not want to forsake the organization - his father built it, after all - but with this crap floating around it seems like a countdown to the inevitable.

Martin Truex's year was much calmer in the sense of publicity, but his on-track results were little to be desired for. The learning curve for Kevin "Bono" Manion and the move-up crew from the Busch Series was a tall one and it showed. After a frustrating and embarrassing few laps at Bristol in the spring, Martin needed to learn a thing or two about patience and respect. Luck did not follow him on this path. With only 2 top-5s and 5 top-10s and a points finish of 19th, his year was mediocre on the charts. However, his performance improved greatly and he ended the year nearly winning Homestead. Two Busch championships are nothing to roll the eyes at and Martin has the talent and the mind to become a great driver in the future.

Testing begins in only days! Both Dale Jr. and Martin take part in the first session so hope for some good speeds!

Of Beer and Homeland Security

In addition to MWR drivers, I will also often write about two of my other favorites: Kurt Busch and Casey Mears (yes, I do have quite the variety of drivers ). They had reasonably similar seasons of equal success and struggles, and shared the tendency to perform better than the results showed. Casey finished the 2006 season 14th in points while Kurt ended up 16th, only 14 points behind the Texaco-Havoline Dodge.

Kurt's season at times appeared more horrible than it actually was. The lack of consistency was what hurt him, since as often as he was running up front he would be near the back. He seemed to be battling with the Charger most of the time and as soon as he got a hold on it it would slip from his grasp again. Roy McCauley had his entire trust and confidence and driver, crew chief and team all appeared to be tight and happy despite their struggles. Bristol was a thrilling victory with a typical Bristol finale (except for maybe those snow angels!). Kurt's expeditions into the Busch Series were amazingly fruitful, with 6 top 10s and a pole out of 7 races, not to mention one of the greatest battles of the year at Watkin's Glen with Robby Gordon.

Off the track I saw a Kurt I had never seen before. In the four years of being his fan he smiled more in 2006 than 2003, 2004 and 2005 combined. Near the finish of 2005 I began to realize that Roush Racing was not the wonderful atmosphere it was supposed to be, but only after Kurt was a Penske driver did I fully understand what an emotional strain Kurt was under at Roush. Roger Penske allowed Kurt to be himself and gave him the guidance he needed to calm down. Overall Kurt is the same person I know and love, but he is now contented (and married!).

I expect 2007 to be a better year and hope the Miller Lite Dodge has what it takes to make the Chase and carry Kurt to a second championship. Rumors have floated around of Penske's interest in Toyota, so we'll see what happens with the Dodges in the near future...

Casey Mears should have gotten the Most Loyal Driver Award for two years in a row. Before Jamie McMurray was given permission from Ganassi to leave the organization a year before his contract ended, Casey was to be kicked out of the #41 for Reed Sorenson and put into a fourth team without experience or owners points. In English, he was about to be screwed over, but he was about to take the offer as a result of Ganassi sticking with him through a dismal rookie year. Fortunately for Casey (and possibly Ganassi, for Casey's fans were on the rampage), McMurray was released and Casey was suddenly and ironically sitting in the cockpit of Ganassi's flagship car, the #42 Texaco-Havoline Dodge.

He nearly won the Daytona 500 in 2006 and in a flash was one of the most talked about drivers in the Cup Series. Eyes of many other organizations were opened and his phone began to ring. Things began to fall into place when Brian Vickers announced he was leaving Hendrick Motorsports and Casey informed Ganassi of his intent to find a new 2007 ride a day later. On June 14th he was hired by HMS to drive for the superteam in 2007. Despite this, Casey never gave up on his #42 team (unlike McMurray seemed to) and they continued to have good days on the track and keep their spirits up. At the Chicago Busch race, Casey secured his first NASCAR victory which was a more emotional moment than normal, for it was a bittersweet reminder of how hard both Casey and his crew was working regardless of their 2007 status.

My hopes for Casey's 2007 season are extremely high. He is with a great team and a talented crew chief with good friends all around him. The National Guard is a sponsor any driver should be proud to represent as well.

All in all, things are looking good for both Kurt and Casey to make a run for the Cup in 2007.

David Reutimann Has His Crew Chief!

It seems like as soon as I wrote my worries about David and his lack of a crew chief down, the announcement was made. NASCAR.com reports in a team press release that Frank Kerr, who has been in charge of MWR's testing, will now take the reins forsaken by Larry Carter. What is even more interesting is that Kerr used to be a Sprint car driver and a favorite of David's when he was a boy.

David is lucky because they have been working together during testing and they already have a line of communication going. That in itself is a relief to me since these days that is a key part of a successful driver-crew chief pairing.

Some fans are raising eyebrows at Michael's choices of obscure crew chiefs, but what people don't think about is the fact that all well-known crew chiefs were unknown at one time. Both David Hyder and Frank Kerr are being given chances to grow and become the next Chad Knaus or Greg Zipadelli. It's an opportunity I'm certain both are thankful for, and they will for sure give it their all.

What Will 2007 Bring for Michael Waltrip Racing?

Pre-season testing begins on Monday and the Daytona 500 is only a little over a month away. In some cases I'm thrilled for the season to start again because although the off-season is the shortest of all professional sports, it seems like NASCAR is the most painful sport to be without. Nine months of non-stop thunder suddenly stops for two months of relative silence. News for the off-season can be agonizingly slow - a few here-and-there driver and sponsor changes, driver sites update with new teams and/or sponsors, people getting married or having children. But other than that, only silence and speculation, daydreams and nightmares about what the next season may hold.

When I became a Michael Waltrip fan back in 2003, I thought he would stay with DEI forever, until his retirement. Fast forward three years and I was looking at a man with more guts than I ever thought he had. Michael will be attempting the unthinkable this year - being a driver for a new team with fledgling manufacturer Toyota as well as a team owner to himself, 1999 Winston Cup Champion Dale Jarrett, promising rookie David Reutimann and scores of shop workers and sponsor representatives. Michael Waltrip Racing has been born at full speed.

But will they be successful? MWR certainly has the people to give it that chance - notably Ty Norris, long-time Executive Vice President of DEI, now MWR's General Manager. Even if I had had no knowledge of Ty's history, just by watching ESPN's series Michael Waltrip Racing: A New Era gives me a lot of comfort and confidence regarding the business side of the organization. Ty is an incredibly intelligent person and he balances Michael's spontaneity perfectly. During sponsor interviews, even with nervous rookie David Reutimann, Ty keeps a cool head and a straight face no matter what he is feeling inside. He is a vitally important keystone of MWR and if nothing else, I doubt he will let the organization fall to total ruin.

Bobby Kennedy is also an encouraging asset to the racing side of things. He has many years of experience as a crew chief for Michael in the Busch Series before heading to Darrell Waltrip's Craftsman Truck Series team in 2004, so it was no surprise when he was hired back to be MWR's Team Director.

To add to the list of familiar names is Matt Borland coming from Penske Racing. The chemistry between Borland and Ryan Newman had been seemingly decreasing in the past few years, and although I was a little sad to see him leave I was thrilled he landed at MWR. However, this appeared to have led to what has been one of MWR's first blows (though Ty would not call it that) - Larry Carter's departure from MWR to Roush Racing. It was fairly well-known that while they worked together at Penske, the relationship between Borland and Carter went sour, apparently as a result of Borland sharing little to no information with Carter. According to this ESPN article, Carter did not seem especially pleased MWR hired Borland because he announced his leaving soon after. While Ty does not think it will hurt the team, it leaves MWR with a predicament that they have not yet solved - who will they hire as crew chief for David? Daytona approaches rapidly...

At the moment, Dale Jarrett is settled with Borland, the engineering-based crew chief he had lamented the lack of at Robert Yates Racing. Michael paired himself with David Hyder, relatively unknown and unproven, having worked for both Petty Racing and BAM Racing with Ken Schrader (with little success at both organizations). However, Michael feels confident about working with him so we'll see if Michael can find himself "another Tony Jr." in Hyder. David, as far as fans know, is crew chiefless. Some candidates speculated by fans have been Jason Overstreet, his CTS crew chief, Jerry Baxter, the #99 Busch Series crew chief (but I assume he will remain at that position to be David's full-time crew chief next year) and even Bobby Kennedy, but with all the work that man is already doing I doubt he will be a crew chief unless MWR has no other option.

Some more heartening developments occurred during the Homestead test near the end of the 2006 season. On the second day of the test, as shown on MWR: A New Era, Michael hopped into the new 2007 Toyota Camry. The laps were not good and Michael did not like the car at all. David arrived later that session and ended up 59th out of 75 cars (5 of which were Cars of Tomorrow). The second session was much more successful as David bettered the Camry and shot up the charts to 7th of 59 cars (two of which were COTs). Day three, session one - 7th out of 23 cars, and session two showed him 8th out of 16 cars. Rookie driver, rookie team and a rookie car, but those don't look like rookie speeds. That test session, what David has done in CTS and with Michael's struggling Busch team are hinting to me that David was an excellent choice for an MWR driver and will likely be the best driver of the three as the years go on.

But there will be many challenges for the organization to overcome this season. The most important and possibly the most damaging problem is the lack of a guaranteed spot in the first five races. Michael finished 2006 38th in owners points while the #00 (technically the #100) ended up 54th, a position that is basically worthless. Both drivers will be forced to race their way in at Daytona, California, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Bristol. Dale will be lucky enough to have a Champion's Provisional, so he will at least be guaranteed into the Daytona 500 (as for the other five, no word yet on whether NASCAR is implementing a limit on the usage of these provisionals as they did in the Busch Series). According to Jayski (unofficial, mind you), there will be 52 full-time teams this year, not to mention the many part-time teams - funded by big-name organizations and not - showing up and trying to qualify. As far as Daytona is looking, there could be 60 cars, give or take a few!

The qualifying format for the 500 could make it more or less difficult for Michael and David to make the race, depending on how you look at it. Michael is arguably one of the best drafters driving today, so if his Camry is good he could easily make it to the front. David looks to be a fairly good drafter, with two Top 10s in three CTS races at Daytona as well as a Top 10 at the first CTS race at Talladega. If he can get into a Duel with a teammate and get hooked up with him, he could be safe. But because of the actual race format of qualifying, a lot can go wrong. A tire could go down, an engine could explode, you can get caught up in a wreck. It's frightening to think that Michael or David could miss the Daytona 500 because of a wreck started ten cars ahead of them. The only way they will be safe is if they qualify on the front row, and while I believe the Toyotas will be pretty decent, the likelihood of that is slim.

All this has made me both extremely excited and very worried about this year. But all I can hope for is success, and keep on supporting my driver and now my team through any ups and downs they may experience.