ahhh why are you such a hater? lol

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Auto racing, bull fighting and mountain climbing are the only real sports... the rest are just games........ Earnest Hemmingway

Well, I would really rather not offend any one but I have never been able to listen to Mikey with out my blood pressure rising. Something about the man has always rubbed me wrong......

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I personaly beleive its only a matter of time before both NAPA and Toyota dump Mikey. NASCAR starts using the top 35 owners points for this year at Martinsville next weekend and Mikey is still in the RED in points so in order to make a race THIS YEAR hes going to have to qualify in on time, doesent look likely. I,d be amazed if Toyota doesent have a performance clause in its contract with MWR most sponsors do.
Yep Mikey has alot of charisma and is fun to listen to but hes PAID to be a RACER and He Just Aint Gettin It Dun!

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The JACK CREW!!!

true ...so very true.... maybe he needs to let DW drive the car!!!!

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Auto racing, bull fighting and mountain climbing are the only real sports... the rest are just games........ Earnest Hemmingway

I just read this article about Mikey and thought maybe y'all would like to read it tool

Michael Waltrip stalls as season starts
By JENNA FRYER
Associated Press

Between the Daytona 500 cheating scandal and atrocious at-track performance, Waltrip's having a horrendous start to the season.

He failed to make the field for the last three Nextel Cup events. And the cars he fields for Dale Jarrett and David Reutimann are nothing more than backmarkers, frustrating for a car owner who can't put a competitive product on the track.

What was supposed to be Waltrip's dream season has become his worst nightmare -- the kind you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy.

Sponsors are getting restless, Toyota officials are scratching their heads and fans are finding it hard to root for someone who's not even in the race.

An embarrassed and humbled Waltrip is desperately trying to keep things together.

"We're not hitting it in many different ways," said the two-time Daytona 500 winner.

So, Waltrip's asking for help.

He's asked Toyota Racing Development to send some engineers to the shop. Even NASCAR is getting into the act. After three weeks of struggling through the inspection line, NASCAR had an official spend a day at Waltrip's shop to try to figure out why the organization isn't building cars that fit the templates.

"We've just got to look at every piece and part of our team to see how to improve," Waltrip said. "We really just have to adjust what we are doing as a team."

But is it too little, too late?

It's only four races into the season, but Waltrip admits NAPA, primary sponsor of his No. 55 Camry, is less than pleased. The sponsor had a happy relationship with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and found the ultimate pitchman when DEI teamed the company with Waltrip.

A goofball who tends to not take himself too seriously, Waltrip clowned his way through commercial after commercial and never missed an opportunity to slip "NAPA" into a sentence.

NAPA had every reason to believe leaving DEI for Waltrip's startup was a wise investment.

Maybe it still is. Waltrip's everywhere on TV, from commercials to stints in the broadcast booth, where he plugs NAPA several times a weekend.

But chances are the auto-parts retailer would rather see its logo racing for the lead than on a hat Waltrip's wearing far from the action.

Keeping the sponsor happy is NASCAR's No. 1 rule. If NAPA reaches its breaking point, Waltrip is in far worse trouble than he ever imagined.

Even without NAPA, he still would have three heavyweight sponsors -- UPS for Jarrett, plus Burger King and Domino's Pizza for Reutimann. But he must find a way to make their cars competitive before company officials start asking for some money back.

Meanwhile, there are plenty of people who are all too happy to sit back and watch Waltrip struggle.

At his emotional news conference in Daytona -- where he said he had no idea how a fuel additive found its way into his gas tank -- detractors were convinced they were witnessing the best performance of Waltrip's life.

And plenty of people still aren't convinced Waltrip wasn't an accomplice to the cheating.

But how low must Waltrip sink before he's paid the price?

He can't seem to catch a break, proven in Saturday's Busch race when he wrecked twice in the first 16 laps and finished last.

Maybe Waltrip was too ambitious this year, his first as a full-time car owner. Perhaps he should have fielded two Cup cars instead of three, and maybe he should be spending more time in the shop and less in front of the TV cameras.

Mistakes have certainly been made, and it's up to Waltrip to correct them. This is his chance to prove he's cut out for the business-side of NASCAR, and he's got 32 races to figure it out.

Here's hoping he does. Love him or hate him, it's uncomfortable watching his career crumble.

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Ryan Newman, Daytona 500 Champion!!
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Waltrip gets help from Toyota: Toyota is taking aggressive measures, similar to the way it moved into the Craftsman Truck Series, to improve its Nextel Cup teams. Lee White, the general manager for Toyota Racing Development, said Saturday that TRD engineers are preparing a car from Michael Waltrip Racing that the struggling Waltrip could use at a future 1.5-mile track. He said TRD also has offered to build a Car of Tomorrow road-course car for Bill Davis Racing and a COT superspeedway car for Team Red Bull to use at the second Talladega race. But White insisted Toyota will not centralize the construction of Cup cars the way it did its trucks. White said four days are scheduled for Waltrip, who has missed the last four races, to test the car that was driven by Dale Jarrett at California. He said if the car ever gets into a Cup event it would be at the May race in Charlotte. White said the car will then go to Bill Davis' shop in the High Point, N.C., area and be put on a chassis machine, measured, checked and rechecked. White said he is encouraged by the progress Toyota has made the past month, particularly getting five of seven cars into Sunday's inaugural COT race at Bristol Motor Speedway after a subpar test last month. He said the company remains patient, understanding it will take time to make a mark in NASCAR's premier series. He hopes sponsors will remain patient as well, particularly NAPA, the primary sponsor of Waltrip's car. White added that Toyota is nearing a deal with a Busch team to run a few COT Cup road courses this year. He said Wyler Racing, which fields the Toyota Tundra driven by Jack Sprague in the Truck Series, might participate in a COT race later this year. He doesn't anticipate major expansion next season.(ESPN.com)
AND Toyota is sending one of Michael Waltrip Racing’s Camrys back to its TRD research center for a complete dismantling to see if they can learn why the car is so slow.(Ford Racing)(3-25-2007)

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Auto racing, bull fighting and mountain climbing are the only real sports... the rest are just games........ Earnest Hemmingway

I don't have any sympathy for him. I used to like the guy, but once I found out Nascar was allowing yota in, and he was going to be an owner/driver for them, I can no longer stand him. He was given enough money to be a traitor, so he will be fine.

I'm sorry but I don't agree with you calling Waltrip a traitor. Looking at it realistically, Toyota was going to be in NASCAR anyway... if not with Waltrip, with someone else. There's no way that the entire NASCAR community would have boycotted Toyota... too much money is on the line.

Mikey saw an opportunity to make the jump to owner/driver and you can't blame him for that.

To Toyota's credit, they chose to start new teams rather than to buy into existing teams.

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That thing's been ridden harder than the coin-op pony in front of K-Mart!

I have to agree 100%. My dad and I laugh every Friday evening when we notice that MW did not qualify. We may get lucky and get to see him less and less because if you are not out on the track, how can you talk about the race when you are on a panel with 2 other car drivers that did run in the race?
I have no problem with Toyota coming to NASCAR, but when all you heard last year is how MWR had a super team with great sponsors but his team is doing the worst. Even Red Bull Racing, though not making every race, runs much better than MWR, at least Vickers. MWR's woes is not Toyota's fault.

I,m no Mikey fan but I have to admit he made a hell of a deal come together in putting together THREE NEW startup teams in a short period of time.
How many startup teams have ever started out with Full Factory support, Outstanding sponsors on All Three cars, A past Cup Champion driver a Daytona 500 winner and a up and coming rookie? None that I know of.

If Mikey gets their chit together on the Track they,ll have it ALL

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The JACK CREW!!!