And the hits just keep on coming for Michael Waltrip Racing.
Wednesday NASCAR suspended indefinitely Doug Mercier, who drives the hauler for David Reutimann’s team, which is owned by MWR.
Mercier, who was also fined $5,000, was penalized for his “unauthorized duplication of a NASCAR annual credential.”
In a related story, somewhere in Japan Toyota executives are patiently waiting for the first positive story to come out of their decision to align themselves with Michael Waltrip Racing.
Shawn Courchesne, 3:54 p.m.
"In a related story, somewhere in Japan Toyota executives are patiently waiting for the first positive story to come out of their decision to align themselves with Michael Waltrip Racing."
Hmmmm, could the first positive story to come out of Toyota's decision to align with MWR be something like this?
Toyota Racing Development has just announced it is severing all ties with Michael Waltrip Racing, & is establishing it's own Nascar team with drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr.& David Reutimann, to be called JR/TR. They have also bought the race shops of MWR & will run all aspects of the operation. Budweiser, NAPA, & all the MWR sponsors have agreed to join forces & work with the new organization.
An unnamed spokesman for TRD had this to say: "It turns out that the person from our company that believed that line of bull that Mr. Waltrip fed him in regards to our setting up an alliance with him had been out drinking for three days with Mr. Waltrip. He also seems to have bought the Brooklyn Bridge & some oceanfront property in Arizona at the same time. Needless to say he has been replaced."
Michael Waltrip announced his immediate retirement from racing following this news, & was last seen begging the networks for a broadcasting job, only to be told that Dale Jarrett had beaten him to it.
Sounds plausible to me!
Posted by: Mark | May 23, 2007 at 09:53 PM
I was pleased to read the stories on MWR troubles/lies. I was starting to think I was the only one seeing this as BS.
You have to wonder what the evil Toyota is thinking.
I am tired of hearing "poor Michael" from him and his big mouth brother.
Before all of this started I was a big fan of them both, but no more.
Michael has turned into the "teflon man" of Nascar. Nothing bad sticks.
I am rapidly getting to the point where I give up on Nascar and do something else with my time. I have been a huge fan for years but this has turned into a cover up and I am very tired of Nascar and MWR expecting me to believe their story line.
Posted by: Tom Crowley | May 23, 2007 at 10:15 PM
If you want to watch close competition, just tune in to ESPN on Friday for the Freedom 100. Then tune to ABC on Sunday for the Indy 500. Now that's racing without all the BS.
Posted by: Mike | May 23, 2007 at 10:54 PM
Michael Waltrip isn't convincing me of anything. Now, will someone in the press with the credentials and the guts do two things for me ?
First= Interview David Hyder and tell him we want to know what really happened in Daytona!
Second= Will someone tell Nascar when they come down from there COT announcement to look for some "new" fans.
With the car of tomorrow, I will be a fan of yesterday.
IRL, NASCAR ,F1 whats the difference ?
Ill be a fan of local late models from now on ( untill Nascar puts a wing on them too )
Posted by: T.W. | May 23, 2007 at 11:54 PM
Close competition? No BS at the Indy 500? What planet are you from Tom Crowley? The IRL can barely muster 20 cars for any race other than the Indy 500. In order not to be shamed by having less than the traditional 33 cars, the IRL pulls drivers out of retirement and imports publicity stunts from overseas just to fill a meager 33 car lineup. But for one extra car, there would have been no bump on Bump Day this year. Sure, NASCAR has it's share of problems, but it blows away the lame show that IRL and CART are putting on these days. And the Freedom 100?... oh, it has a RECORD number of cars entered this year in the minor leagues of IRL... 25. Why, on a 2.5 mile track that ensures one car every tenth of a mile... there's some exciting racing for you. I hope you enjoy your races this weekend Tom (although you'll be disappointed to know that ESPN is not carrying the Freedom 100,) but don't mistake them for being BS free. The open wheel racing sport in America, and its fans by default, have been walking in knee-high BS for the past decade.
Posted by: Will Reynolds | May 24, 2007 at 07:13 PM
Mike... David Hyder has, and continues to this day, to maintain that he has absolutely no idea what the substance was or how it got into the #55 engine. He has maintained that line to the point that Michael Waltrip Racing ultimately let him go because he was one of a select few who could have done it, and all those folks are now gone as well because no one would admit to doing it. Bobby Kennedy remains at MWR but did not work on the engine... which was pretty much verified when NASCAR recently lifted his indefinite suspension. I have NASCAR media credentials, and I'd love to know what that substance was, which NASCAR refuses to announce, but I doubt you'll ever hear anything from David Hyder other than that he has no clue as to how that substance got there... and I'm inclined to believe him, however....
As to your comment about the COT and new fans, I've got a question for you. What's the freaking difference? As long as all 43 drivers are competing by the same set of rules, why does it matter whether it's the COT, or the car of yesterday, or a Busch car, or a Craftsman truck, a restrictor plate car, or a road course car, or a golf cart, or a riding lawn mower... if you're a real race fan why does it matter? Competition is competition. The point of racing is to prove that you're better than the next guy... better than the next team... regardless of the circumstances. How does the COT change that? Why would that be the one reason to give up on NASCAR racing? Could you really see that one second difference between last year's Darlington qualifying lap speed and this year's speed using the COT?... I sure couldn't... but I did see an exciting finish, like the ones at Bristol and Martinsville. NASCAR does a lot of things which drive me nuts, but coming out with a much safer, less expensive (ultimately) car isn't one of them.
Posted by: Will Reynolds | May 24, 2007 at 07:47 PM
My bad. It looks like ESPN put the Freedom 100 as part of "Indy 500 Pit Stop Competition" and didn't list the race independently in the program guide. It is just now starting on ESPN2.
Posted by: Will Reynolds | May 25, 2007 at 05:28 PM
Not sure exactly who you think you are, Mr. Courchesne, but maybe you (as well as your other 'cohorts') need to go take a stand in Michael's shoes!!! Toyota is finally allowed to make an appearance in Nascar Cup & Busch series', then Rousch threatens to QUIT Nascar (because "...they have more money than...") thus with one of the biggest, longest standing names threatening to leave, Nascar officiating had to turn Toyota upside down! (And who better to pin this on than the biggest name RUNNING the Toyota cars? - Not to mention the most outspoken member of the 'panel'!) Funny how Nascar 'confiscated' Mike's car last February, stating they found an 'illegal' substance added to his fuel...but yet they would not EVER return the car to the team - thus the team (who had ZERO idea what the officials were talking about) couldn't even run their OWN testing on this 'substance' supposedly found in the fuel tank - HA! What a set-up THAT was! Then you have the wife who causes more dis-settlement than ANY of his kids do... let's see...where would YOUR head/mind be??? Then this disgusting FABRICATION of a story you posted above - you seriously need to get a LIFE - quit making up stories that you KNOW people come in and 'browse' through, totally missing the point that 'could...be something like this?..'! NONE of that story posted above is true, so thinking you REALLY DO need to get a life! Lose some weight, get some hair implants and get a girlfriend/boyfriend...whatever you prefer, but NO MORE LIES!!!!
Posted by: nikkilea1 | August 23, 2007 at 08:15 PM
Well, i thought we had beat this horse to death a long time ago, but nikkilea, facts are facts. Mikey got caught cheating and he has been an embarrasment to toyota and everyone else envolved with his team ever since. Nascar is not out to screw Mikey over....he is taking care of that on his own. You ever thought of starting a songwriting career, nikki? Songs can be as stupidly ill-conceived and as far right as you want them to be. It could also provide you with an avenue to vent your pent up bitterness instead of making personal attacks on the author of a racing column and blog.
Unless.......you are Mikey using an alias here. That could explain the bitterness. heh heh. And If thats the case.....DUDE, thanks for being the comic relief of the season. Also, let Reutimann sign with someone else next year. His talent far exeeds the equipment you provide. Go after "awesome Bill". I hear he takes money to "help" teams get better and if he cant, BONUS...he has those wonderful free passes.
Posted by: Tony | August 23, 2007 at 11:38 PM
Give me a break. You must have forgotten to take you medicine today, huh? You seriously have some anger issues. To slam Shawn...not very classy, nikkileau1. Get a life.
Posted by: JL | August 24, 2007 at 08:45 AM