It’s gotta be a bummer knowing that your racing team was the punch line in the joke that was your manufacturer’s season in 2007. Sad to say, that was the case for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2007.
It all started at Daytona, when the team owned by the legendary Darrell Waltrip’s younger brother was penalized for an illegal fuel additive. It pretty much went downhill from there. Team owner Michael Waltrip’s failure to qualify became so legendary he began to joke about it in his Napa auto parts commercials. The champion’s provisional is meant to be a safety net, but the automatic qualifier became a lifeline for 1999 Cup champion Dale Jarrett. Once he ran out of provisionals, Jarrett had qualifying troubles of his own. About the only bright spot for the fledgling team enjoyed is when Waltrip took the pole for the fall Talladega race, and the performance of NASCAR rookie David Reutimann- who also made the top 5 in the Busch Series.
The good news for Michael Waltrip Racing is things can only get better in 2008. “Mikey” won the outside pole for the Daytona 500 Sunday, and the younger Waltrip ran very well at the Bud Shootout. Reutimann ran 4th best in qualifying last Sunday, and Jarrett also scratched and clawed his way into the field. As 2007 wore on, one certainly got the impression that Toyota got the hang of building a better engine, the question for 2008 is one of whether or not Toyota has engine built to last the long race distances. Before petering out late in races, Waltrip, Reutimann, and Jarrett all had great early race runs in the late schedule.
Despite calls to leaves the cockpit to assume full-time ownership duties, “Mikey” returns to the #55 Camry in 2008. It will be interesting to see how the 43 year old Kentuckian does at Daytona. In fact, all 4 of Waltrip’s victories have come at restrictor plate races- 3 of them at Daytona Super Speedway. Waltrip’s first victory in 2001 was marred by the death of his employer at that time-Dale Earnhardt.
2008 is the season Dale Jarrett rides off into the sunset- actually the broadcast booth- following in his father Ned’s footsteps. After the first handful of races, Jarrett will turn over the wheel of the #44 UPS car to David Reutimann, who will in turn hand over the #00 ride to Michael Mc Dowell. It’s been tough to watch the former champion and owner of 32 victories who rose to greatness at Joe Gibbs struggle the way he has, especially when you suspect that the lousy runs have been the result of crappy equipment and not any diminishing driving skill. Jarrett will replace Rusty Wallace in the broadcast booth at ESPN, something I think we all are look forward to.
Look for good things from David Reutimann. “Ruty” has been a winner wherever he’s gone- including the NASCAR Autozone Elite Division Southeast Series where he never finished lower than 7th from 1997-2002, as well as the Busch Series (where he finished 3rd in the 2007 standings) and the Craftsman Truck Series. The Floridian has it in his blood. His father “Buzzie” ran a Cup race at Golden Gate Speedway in Tampa in 1963, and was also a competitor in DIRT modifieds. He’ll make a slightly unusual switch by changing rides for the same team in the same season.
Jarrett’s retirement has the net effect of opening a door for Michael McDowell. The 23 year old has enjoyed success as a go-kart racer and 4 races and 9 poles in the ARCA series in 2007. Michael made his NASCAR debut in the Craftsman Truck Series with one 2007 start. What’s interesting about Mc Dowell is he will be one of the few rookies of the 2008 class to take the more traditional path to Cup competition.
The beauty of starting from the bottom is you can only go up from here. In spite of the struggles, Waltrip and Jarrett have a faithful legion of fans cheering them on to greater success.
