The 2007 Season So Far - Michael Waltrip Racing
Since college was very busy near the end we missed out on a lot of interesting happenings in NASCAR. Now that college is over for the summer we'll have more time, but race reports were tedious to write so we're going to do a different format that's easier to compose and read. For now, we'll write some summaries on how our heros are doing in the 2007 stint of NASCAR racing.
Ten races have passed this year, and there have been some high highs and low lows - plenty of drama to go around. Some of our diverse group of drivers are having great seasons while some are just struggling to make races; one is scrambling just to find a ride. But such is NASCAR, especially these days when the fields are so competitive. To start things off I’ll summarize Michael Waltrip Racing’s topsy-turvy season.
MWR started the season with high hopes (but maybe not high expectations). Unfortunately, Daytona did not go as planned for Michael Waltrip, whose #55 NAPA Camry was found with a suspicious substance in its intake manifold during pre- and post-qualifying inspection. NASCAR confiscated the car and tested it further, and it was concluded that the substance was in the fuel system – and it was not supposed to be. This led to MWR's vice president of competition Bobby Kennedy and Michael's crew chief David Hyder to be removed from the track, banned indefinitely and a fine of $100,00 and 100 driver and owner points. Rumors began to fly regarding what this substance could be, but to this day it has not been released. Furthermore, to this day, no one but the person or persons who put the substance in the car know who is responsible. However, Michael took complete accountability for the situation, as a good team owner does, for it is his name that appears in the organization's title.
To make a long story short, MWR fought back to have all three cars make the Daytona 500. In the first Duel Michael made a fine showing of his new Toyota Camry (specifically David Reutimann's reskinned backup car) and raced his way in after leading some laps (and accidentally wrecking Dale Jr. - don't worry, he was fine and was able to continue!). Because Boris Said, who was guaranteed anyway because of his single-car qual time, raced his way in as well, David Reutimann was locked in before he even got into his car. Dale Jarrett was locked in because of his Champion's Provisional, but hey, MWR was in the Daytona 500!!
To put it frankly, MWR's year has pretty much gone downhill since. Michael has not qualified for a race since Daytona, David has missed three and DJ used up his six Champ's Provisionals after Talladega and promptly DNQed at Richmond.
MWR has lost two crew chiefs: David Hyder and Matt Borland. I could see Hyder being let go since he was of little use to MWR while suspended, but Borland parting ways came as more of a dull shock. DJ had just used his last provisional and obviously the #44 team was not doing well. Apparently MWR wanted to change Borland’s role to a technical director but he declined the offer after accepting it, according to Michael on Inside NEXTEL Cup. The most surprising thing about the whole deal was DJ’s reaction during the Busch Series broadcast he was commentating for on ESPN the night he DNQed at Richmond. He practically begged Borland to come back; that he was very valuable and MWR needed him. To be honest my jaw dropped, and I felt very admiring of him to make such a bold statement, but a little sad, too. I don’t think Borland is coming back.
Michael has also had some personal problems to further add to his frustration. In early April he was charged with reckless driving after crashing his SUV about a mile from his home in the wee hours of the morning after he fell asleep at the wheel. He left the scene of the accident and walked home, and was nowhere to be found until that evening. I still don’t know what to think about the whole deal – I’m just glad he wasn’t injured because the pictures of the wreck are very frightening. But the whole story sounds so suspicious…from walking home in his socks to seemingly hiding out for many hours. I don’t know. Everyone makes mistakes. We’re all human.
Astonishingly enough, MWR’s bright spot is in a little unknown rookie named David Reutimann. This boy (who somehow I consider a “kid”, even at 37 years old) is an amazing driver with a lot of talent and heart – but he’s also a bundle of nerves! I’ve grown quite fond of David the person as well as David the driver, for he impresses me every race he runs, in both Cup and Busch. He has gelled wonderfully with Cup crew chief Frankie Kerr and Busch crew chief Jerry Baxter, and with cousin Shawn as his spotter his teams are very tight. The #00 team has been a pleasure to listen to on Trackpass, and I love them because even when things are rough they never give up on each other.
The most obvious thing I can say about David is his Busch Series effort with the Aaron’s Dream Machine. He sits 4th in points after Richmond with one Top 5 (a 2nd place) and three Top 10s. But he has also been steadily improving in his Cup program, most notably at Talladega, where he drafted up to the front with no teammates to help him and ran 3rd and 4th for the latter part of the race. When a Top 10 seemed right in reach the engine expired, which was a huge disappointment. On the bright side, though, he opened some eyes and showed that MWR has some hope.
I predicted that this would be a rough season. With about fifty cars attempting to qualify for each race, there was no doubt in my mind that I would see Michael, DJ and David miss some races. I’ll admit I thought Michael would have made a few more than he has, but he has been showing some major advances in his qualifying efforts. But unlike many of my fellow MWR fans, I’m not placing blame on any one thing, be it Toyota, the drivers, the teams, the crew chiefs or NASCAR. It is what it is, and everyone knows the rules when they put their names on the entry blanks.
Ty Norris, MWR’s general manager, is one of my favorite people. He recently talked about the organization’s troubles, and I couldn’t agree with him more. “They told that to us on a number of occasions and [Toyota's chairman] explained to us that he has a 100-year plan,” he said. “We said we love his 100-year plan and we'd love to be a part of it – if we can get through our 100-day plan.” There is nothing with more truth to it.
If MWR can just hold on, they will be a force to be reckoned with one day. And despite everything that has happened, I’m proud to be a fan.
