Feb
14
That’ll Be 100 Points Mr. Waltrip, Thank You Very Much
February 14, 2007 | Posted by VroomDude
Michael Waltrip joined all the bad kids in detention today, with NASCAR suspending his crew chief and team director indefinitely and docking the driver 100 points before the season has even begun.
“We’ve got people’s attention now,'’ NASCAR competition director Robin Pemberton said Wednesday.
Waltrip, a two-time Daytona winner, lost his crew chief and team director right before the biggest race of the year. The two were suspended indefinitely after an illegal substance was found during inspection for the season-opener.
Waltrip, docked 100 points, will be allowed to participate in Thursday’s races that determine the field for the 500.
David Hyder, his crew chief, was thrown out of the garage and fined $100,000. Team director Bobby Kennedy also was kicked out.
Waltrip said he was “so sad and embarrassed'’ but tried to shift blame to an unnamed individual within his team.
“This is not the action of an organization, a manufacturer or a sponsor,'’ Waltrip said in a statement. “This was an independent act done without consent or authorization from me or any of my executive management team.'’
You’re a nice guy, Mikey, if not the greatest driver in the world. You’ve carved out a nice niche for yourself and I think you’re an intelligent, likable person. My wife likes you, I like you, a lot of fans like you.
But that’s a pretty pitiful excuse and “explanation”, and doesn’t help your case any at all. Do you really expect us to not only believe that some renegade member of your team monkeyed with the car in the dead of the night but also that no one else happened to notice it? Despite all of that checking over and tuning up of your car before qualifying, do you really expect us to believe that something like that would somehow go unnoticed by everyone, except for the officials inspecting the car?
Aside from weak excuses and explanations, you’ve also apparently managed to draw the ire of other teams as well for breaking the unspoken rule that cheating and creative engineering is fine as long as you leave the engine, tires, and fuel alone.
Nice work, Mikey. Way to kick off the season on a high note.
Comments
3 Comments so far
Pitiful excuse indeed. A stealth team from MWR dressed in black with Spiderman like powers….but not the motor guys!!!
Oh what a feeling, Toyota!
I’m headed to the Duels this morning, vroom!
As an ardent Dale Jarrett fan, I’m not surprised that someone might try to sabotage the addition of Toyota cars. Guess they’ll have to watch their backs.