Surprise... Surprise

[Chris]

well.. now tell me.. was ANYONE REALLY surprised..??
Waltrip missed the field again... and Jarret took a provisional (again)

[skool]

So tell me Chris....what is about all this causes you to display such animosity?

do you hate MW?  MWR? Dale Jarrett? or Toyota?

[Chris]

Nope... I don't hate any of them...
I was just curious of anyone 'seriously" expected them to make the field on speed.
If pretty clear to see the handwriting is on the wall.
AT best Waltrip is an "also ran"... facts are facts.  It's just that simple at this point.  If he hadn't won those 4 restrictor plate races where about ANYONE can win,.. he'd of never won anything.  He's never really "showed" he's a race driver IMO.
Now that he's out on his own,... IMO it is showing what talent level he is at. 
It's sad really,.. when his brother had SO MUCH success,.. and he is just can't seem to cut it.

Jarrett,.. he's been there; done that.  He really don't have anything to "prove".  I just think it's sad he is following in DW's footsteps and just can't seem to even come CLOSE to making a field on time.  If not for Champions provisional he would have missed every race this season....the top 35 lock in is all that will get him in after they go to the 2007 poiints.  If he has problem a couple weeks in a row, and falls out of the top 35 points later in the season.... he may never make a race the rest of the season.
That team is just a dismal failure to this point in the season,... they have a ways to improve to just be "bad".

I'll admit MWR may improve as the season progresses,... but common sense says ALL the other teams will also.  That being the case,.. MWR could just stay in the same relative spot compared to everyone else..??

Lets put it this way... that team has 108 chances to make a race this season.  I bet they don't make 66 of them.... And thats figureing Jarret will make all 36.  SO basically I'm saying Waltrip and Reutimann won't make 30 races between them total.... and Reutimann will make MORE than Waltrip

[KurtBuschFan]

Well but Chris I think you're unfairly criticizing a brand new team.  I mean Toyota just started...they can't expect success right out the gate.

Michael Waltrip and team definitely dug a deep hole to get out of, and it's virtually impossible for the team to make it on time.  They need to spend alot of energy and time on improving their qualifying runs so they can start making races before they worry about wins and running great on race day.

[Chris]

I know what you are saying...
Blaney don't seem to having a problem making fields (Granted I have no clue what Mayfields problems is)....
Of course I suppose Blaney is kinda Carrying the Toyota Banner,.. he just seems to have problems and not make it to the finish.

I like Toyota,.. I'm glad they are in the series.  I wish Honda, or some OTHER foreign company would come join and make even MORE competition... (me,.. I drive a Ford for the record)
I guess what I an saying is,.. It's not anything against MWR,.. or Waltrip as a person.
As a DRIVER,.. he's never in my eyes shown a lot of driving ability.  Like I said in my previous post.... he's only won at Dega and Daytona where drafting and the CAR and aerodynamics are pretty much all that matters.  Looks at the long list of drivers that have only won ONE race.  It's at Daytona or DEGA.  That shows it takes less talent to win there that at all the other tracks... And the drivers will tell you that.
IF Dale Jr wasn't his teammate,... Jr would have pulled out and passed him in all those races and shuffled him to the back and Waltrip could very well be winless.  I know on a couple occasions Jr got out and said "I just followed Mikey so we could be 1,2" 
Personally I'll have to agree with what someone else posted somewhere else on the board.  Mikey should either be an owner OR a racer... NOT both.  Just to many irons in the fire.  Thats what his problem was last year,... and thats what the problem is THIS year....

[racin_girl72]

I don't think Jarrett's use of the provisional again is really an issue with Jarrett's driving.  More the equipment.  But I guess Reutimann did make his way in, along with Vickers.  Once again Mayfield and Allmendinger are sitting out.

Hopefully MWR can get things turned around.  But I think they'll be qualifying on speed all year and probably into next year too with the big hole they are in now.  I just wonder how long it will be before the sponsors start to raise a fuss.

[Tyyrus]

I think MWR is in the same boat as Red Bull Racing , they have only average talent setting up their equipment , in MWR case they have one legitimate overall Good Driver and that is Jarret . Unfortunately Jarret requires equipment set up the Old School way and apparently he is not getting even close to what he needs. It may be Horsepower defieciency ? I really don't know . As for Mikey , although a Class Person , he leaves a little to be desired as a Driver...lets face it 540 + Races before his 1st Win pretty well sums it up. The Rookie has promise but ..I feel for him because it seems evry time he gets in he is bumping a Team Mate out of the Race.

P.S. Skool , I really don't feel Chris is being overly Critical of MWR , and I no he has no problem with Toyota , since he has gone on Record numerous times to that Effect. As for Mikey I would presume he feels the same as most of us ... he would make a much better Owner than Racer ! Nothing Wrong with being a Dedicated Owner and Waltrip has the makings of a fine Leader , as long as his deciples do what he says and Not as he has Done ! lol    

[falcon325]

Personally I'll have to agree with what someone else posted somewhere else on the board.  Mikey should either be an owner OR a racer... NOT both.  Just to many irons in the fire.  Thats what his problem was last year,... and thats what the problem is THIS year....

Mikey climbed out of the car and went straight to the booth to call the truck race. 

Dolly Wallenback said last year that Mikey had too many irons in the fire.  Pissed Mikey off.  Mikey needs to listen when people give him good advice.

[Tyyrus]

I don't think Jarrett's use of the provisional again is really an issue with Jarrett's driving.  More the equipment.  But I guess Reutimann did make his way in, along with Vickers.  Once again Mayfield and Allmendinger are sitting out.


Quote:

I agree KB , and as for A.J. another Team Mechanical Related Malfunction this time in Qualifing...talk about a disfunctional Support Staff..can't even put in Frost Plugs Properly ! If I were Almendinger , I would step down and find a Quality Busch Series Ride or go back to CTS ..because he is wasting valuable seat time , I guess Practice in Cup does account for something  , but even Bad Practice is only reenforcing Bad Practice and potential Bad Habits !

[skool]

well.. now tell me.. was ANYONE REALLY surprised..??
Waltrip missed the field again... and Jarret took a provisional (again)

Well, I was just going by the tone of the first post.  It definately (to me) has a tone of someone who is really happy that they didn't make it and are rooting that they never will.  Sort of like "ha ha! Told ya so!"

But that is just the impression I got.

As a journalist I am not supposed to have favorite driver or be a fan (or so Thomas Bowles tell us) but until Frontstretch.com starts sending me checks for me sending them hits, I will always be a fan and DJ will always be my favorite.

[falcon325]

Ty:

Did you watch the truck race?  A.J. ran a strong race for a while, then got himself loose and smacked the wall.  Hard!  He's OK and hopefully is a tick further down that ol' learning curve.

[Tyyrus]

Well, I was just going by the tone of the first post.  It definately (to me) has a tone of someone who is really happy that they didn't make it and are rooting that they never will.  Sort of like "ha ha! Told ya so!"

But that is just the impression I got.

As a journalist I am not supposed to have favorite driver or be a fan (or so Thomas Bowles tell us) but until Frontstretch.com starts sending me checks for me sending them hits, I will always be a fan and DJ will always be my favorite.

Skool , I know how you feel , I have almost as much respect for DJ as I do for Mark and that is quite a Bit..Dude !  You probably have not had time to review much of the previous Posts we have had in regards to the MWR Issue  , let me assure you , Chris supports DJ also..Ty ! 

[Tyyrus]

Ty:

Did you watch the truck race?  A.J. ran a strong race for a while, then got himself loose and smacked the wall.  Hard!  He's OK and hopefully is a tick further down that ol' learning curve.

Yeah , He actually was leading the Race just prior to his accident..Rookie mistake .. a little to excited..with a loose handling vehicle with worn out tires compared to the rest of the field. I feel for him ..did you see his reaction ? Also Waltrip must be just about beyond himself since A.J. was in his Truck ..talk about frustration..Eh !

[Copperhead]

Napa and UPS are a couple of heavy hitters as far as advertising during the races, so I am wondering how long it will be before we start hearing DW floating the idea that the top 35 rule is not the way to go (With Nascars blessing of course), then having Nascar look into a rule change so they can get the struggling Toyota teams in the show. Napa can not be pleased at all that Mikey is not making the show.

Copperhead

[flamehothead]

Well Chris, I am the one who said that Mikey should either driver or be an owner and here is why I said that. Mikey is the one who pays ALL of the bills so of course he knows what it costs when a car gets destroyed or an Engine blows up and IMO thats why an Owner should NEVER drive or Vise Versa. When an Owner/Driver is on the track and the car isn't handling just right then they are NOT going to push the issue as much as the guy who just drives. There has been 1 Owner/Driver team that won and we all know that was Alan Kulwicki and he did it right but the racing is WAY to competitive for that to EVER happen again, At least IMO.

Now I didn't do this to make Mikey look bad but I wanted to prove a point. I added up his Cup, Busch, And Truck series start and wins and this is what I got.

Mikey has had a total of 953 starts. He has won 15 times.

I don't think Chris was picking on Mikey but rather he was just simply atating a FACT. This is also why I say that Mikey should be on the Pit Box instead of in the car. I'm guessing someone will ask me, If I had the chance to do what he is doingwouldn't I be doing it the same way? And I would say NO WAY. IMO I would be a little embarassed of those stats and get me a nice comfy chair and sit on the Pit Box. Sure I would run a couple of truck & busch races but I wouldn't need to do anything full time except being an owner.

I Honestly can't believe that NAPA has stayed around for as long as they have because I'm sure they could find a better team to run with. I guess what I am trying to say is that Mikey isn't a Rookie and more than likely he isn't going to get better so I wonder why they are hanging around?

I could see that Jarrett is having a tough year because of the new Toyota and Ruetimann being a Rookie but Mikeys problem isn't the new Toyota, He's just NEVER ran well and PLEASE don't take it like I am picking on him because I'm not, It's FACT. I have seen people blaming his trouble on the new team or Toyota but he didn't start running bad this year.

Again, I am NOT Picking on Micheal Waltrip ot Toyota or any of that. It's in Black & White.