Can it get any worse for Michael Waltrip ?

[racing#s]

Wow,the poor guy has not an ounce of luck this year. As per MSN:

Michael Waltrip has been charged with reckless driving and failing to report an accident after hitting a telephone pole and rolling his car about a mile from house. Waltrip, who suffered scratches to his arms, hands and face, and cuts on his finger, said he fell asleep at the wheel right before he wrecked his Toyota Land Cruiser early Saturday morning. He left the scene of the accident and walked the rest of the way home.

Police found him at his house about six hours after finding the car at the accident scene.

"I am really embarrassed about the accident, but I feel fortunate that I wasn't hurt," the two-time Daytona 500 winner said Tuesday.


Whats next ? I think he should be on suicide watch.

[RGeeProductions]

Hey, the guy misses racing so much, he wrecks his Toyota.
He WAS tired of not qualifying.
So he needs suicide watch?

[W. J.]

What, no cell phone call to 'Ole DW for a ride home?

Maybe he was practicing qualifying (God knows he needs to) and had the accident that way, LOL!

Michael is living proof that just becasue one of your relative is a good race car driver, it doesn't necessarily mean you are. (Right Brett B., Todd B., Kenny W. and Mike W.?)

[pitbull113]

Michael is living proof that just becasue one of your relative is a good race car driver, it doesn't necessarily mean you are. (Right Brett B., Todd B., Kenny W. and Mike W.?) Don't forget Junior.

[art11758]

Not for nothin' , Mikey got his and his sponser's name in the paper again. Brilliant? No. But we're talkin' 'bout it aren't we? What was he thinkin'? Not sure if he does. But we're talkin' 'bout it aren't we? Hmmmm.

[W. J.]

Don't forget Junior.
He's a better driver than any of the others I named in the post.

[pitbull113]

He's a better driver than any of the others I named in the post. True but way overrated and wouldn't be where he is if it weren't for his Daddy.

[debbie33]

I love Michael, he is a funny guy but everytime you watch a race and the Sammy Hagar commercial comes on and he says can't you drive any faster, it just kills me. I bet Michael is regretting that commercial big time.

[W. J.]

He doesn't regret that commercial. :lol: The only "salary" he's currently getting is from his commercials, LOL! :lol:

[RACENUT]

Wj - Todd Could Drive Circles Around Mikie

[W. J.]

Wj - Todd Could Drive Circles Around Mikie
Yes he could, there's no doubt about that.

[The Bullfather]

woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo hold on here, let's see 2 Daytona 500 wins doesn't hold much up in racing theses days as a good racer! I'm not a huge Mikey fan but credit where it's due! 4 wins total in the Cup Series. 3 wins at the famous track and one at Talladega. How many racers wish they were able to accomplish that feat? It did take him a long time to gain thoses wins but he does have 38 top 5's to add to his career.11 Busch wins with 59 top 5's and 104 top tens. Also an all-star race win with the Wood Brothers. Not bad in my book, love him or hate him!

Brett Bodine claims 1 Cup victory, 16 top 5's, 61 top tens in 480 races. Busch 5 wins, 31 tops 5's and 52 top tens in 77 races, hmmmm seems pretty nice to me!

Todd Bodine Truck series champ! In cup 7 top 5's and 21 top tens in 228 races. In Busch though he did get 15 wins , 89 top 5's and 156 top tens in 310 races. Trucks 10 wins, 32 top 5's, and 45 top tens in 69 races. Wow he's done a lot!


Kenny Wallace,ummmmmmmmm cup not so good. lol in 329 races 6 top 5's 27 top tens. Busch 383 races 6 wins, 63 top 5's and 159 top tens. Kenny's done well for himself.

Not bad having a older brother in racing but it seems some drivers do prove themselves to be worthy in racing no matter what the level is!!!

And as far as JR. goes, seems to be doing pretty well for himself, done more then half the field.17 wins, 70 top 5's and 111 top tens in 261 races. I'm not a fan of Jr. but come on! Busch 22 wins 45 top 5's and 60 top tens in 94 races and 2 champ titles!!! Bash him all you want, I might also be accused of this, but look at his record!

[RACENUT]

Those Four Races You Just Mentioned Mikey Won Were All Restrictor Plate Racing With A Dei Car. Think There Is Quite A Few Drivers That Could Have Won Those Races With That Car.

[The Bullfather]

Ohh stop, Mikey earned thoses races. Yes, they were restricter plate races, but how easy is it to get caught up in the draft and pushed to the back? How easy is it to get caught up in the big one? How close are you running to the guy next to you driving 180mph plus and driving the whole race being a nerve wreck because you can lose your car in the turn of the hat. Mikey is not Jeff or Tony or Matt but he's done pretty well for himself at the Cup level so far! Who do you rememeber more the winner of Daytona or the winner of Texas? There is a prestige that comes with winning at Daytona and Talladega, they are not easy tracks to race at! No track is for that matter, they all have their quarks and differences! Mikey never bought himself a ride, it tooks years before he finally got where he was winning races and racing up front. Be it a Toyota thing, a DEI thing or hating on the man for who he is (a media and sponsor shill) he earned to right to be there! He working on being an owner for the future. He made tons of money in Nascar and out of it too! Most drivers wish they were in Mikey's shoes because they know he will pull it through and he's won the BIG one twice. It all comes down to is that he's worked hard for what he has for years and finally broke through. I'm not a Michael Waltrip fan, tired of his commercials and shilling NAPA all the time. But he did work for it! Give the man credit when you wash away all your hated towards the man and realize all he's done just alone on his Nascar stats. Away from the track a different story, he does a lot for children like a lot of drivers. It's a good thing!

[Rich Mergl]

I`m with Racenut on this one. I like Mikey a lot and he is good for the sport.
But he was nothing before DEI or since he left. He came on board DEI when they were the best engine builder for horsepower. And they also had the restrictor plate program figured out.

[catfish]

How has their restrictor plate program been since Mikey left ?

[W. J.]

While not wildly successful, it's been a whole lot better than the program of the other teams Mikey has worked for.

[hollywoodmic]

Rich as always I respect your opinion, but if it was so easy because of DEI where are Steve Park's Daytona 500 victories??? Michael Waltrip is Michael Waltrip, that's the best way to say it. In the sponsor game he's made everyone up their game, he knows how to do it. As for those of you that think it's so easy to win the Daytona 500, how come it took Earhardt Sr. so long to win one. Stewart has never, Kenseth no, Mark Martin no sir, Ricky Rudd ( on the pole countless times) never won a 500. You still have to drive the car. I say give Mikey some credit, he is a pain in the a*s, but he is good for the sport. As always just my opinion but for once in my life I'm with the Bullfather on this one, great points Pete.

[KickItUp]

I am always so turned off, for lack of a better phrase, by the making fun of MW all the time.. Well it seems like all the time.. This is how racers treat and talk about other drivers? If there was a driver here locally who tried week in and week out to make the races, and wasn't, would we be laughing at him, too? I could write a book here, but he is at the top level where I bet most local drivers would love to be. He is trying each week, and he is doing a ton for the sport off the track, behind the scenes.. I can't imagine how much he has going on for the racer and for the fans, and he keeps on going.. I wonder how many drivers could do what he does, and then start up new teams and try to make races each week, which this year, is no easy task to start with, and still not give up. I am guessing some of you who make fun at him not being able to make races can go out there and do so yourself.. Why not have at it then.. Let's see how easy it is.. I feel really bad, he is having a tough year, and no matter what happens, I will not make fun of him or laugh at him, as I don't do that to any racer who tries..

[catfish]

Thanks WJ, that was my point. Mikey obviously did something right when he was there and the bashing really is out of line. He is struggling as a team owner and driver, but as Hollywood put it, he is good for the sport.

[W. J.]

Let's also remember that while at DEI, when he won restrictor plate races, he had a teammate helping, which is almost a requirement since the start of plate racing. He and Junior worked well together.

Let's rememeber, I'm not laughing at him or making fun, but it does gratify me to see someone perform like he has when they've given their souls away, to a manufacuturer they've never dealt with before, all for money. It seems like loyalty in NASCAR is dead and gone, just like other pro-sports.

[Rich Mergl]

Any how, He has the first pole as a cup Driver in a Toyota the way I look at it.

[W. J.]

That's utility pole, right, LOL???!

[Rich Mergl]

Well Yea Walter, That doesn`t count???

[Mortgage Guy]

I am never good at posting links, so if someone wants to do it go ahead (RGee) but they have the pictures of his truck on JAYSKI, and let me tell you, he is one lucky man. Look at the pictures and you will know what I mean. I for one am just glad to know he walked away from that wreck ok....

[RGeeProductions]

I hope this is what you meant.
Waltrips accident slideshow (http://www.wcnc.com/news/slideshows/0411-waltrip/manual/01.htm)

[Mortgage Guy]

Yes it was, look at that drivers compartment. He is very lucky.

[pitbull113]

Almost makes me want to buy a Toyota.:D

[allhailunc]

Hopefully, Toyota remembers what they said after the Daytona Fiasco and fires his ***. I'm getting sick of him and his idiot brother and their beyond stupid commercials. I just hope that when he hit the pole, it didn't mees up his hairdo.

[The Bullfather]

Pretty harsh for a man making the most of what he has and what is offered to him. He sells merch and companies love it, all about the ads now a days. What do they have development drivers do, they take acting classes and learn how to sell the product! It's different from it used to be huh? To promote a sponsor all you had to do was win to sell them, now all you have to do is race decent and have a good voice!

[W. J.]

Qualifying rained out; starting positions based on owner points. Mikey loses once more. How do you represent a sponsor once you've become irrelevant? :confused:

[allhailunc]

By "hitting" poles instead of starting on them:lol:

[The Bullfather]

:) we'll see plenty of mikey commercials from mikey to david to Dale. His sponosrs are doing fine!

[W. J.]

Yeah, just imagine the impact of a driver who has -27 points 7 races into the season, LOL!!!

[allhailunc]

Do you think he'll break the "century" mark before Toyota gets tired of him? :rolleyes:

[Mortgage Guy]

He can't be doing that bad, you guys (W & Unc) are still talking about almost a week after his accident, right????

[allhailunc]

Hey Mortgage guy, maybe Waltrip should try having Stevie Wonder try to qualify the car this week. He doesn't seem to be doing any better? Sure he's a great spokeman for whatever the product be, but you can't sell "dick" if you can't back it up. His "attempts" to qualify have been, at best, marginal and seeing as how he was the "golden boy" that Toyota decided to back, his lack of ability to sell Toyota to the ever growing Nascar public by qualifying doesn't look too good for corporate image in the sport. Mebbe he should see if Hyundai wants to get into the sport? :lol:

[RGeeProductions]

OFF TOPIC:
Hey Larry!!!
You ARE showing up this year, right?!?!?!
I DO EXPECT to see you this Saturday!!!

[The Bullfather]

Free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)

[Mortgage Guy]

Unc, here is what you need to understand, Toyota is new in the sport with a very unproven track record, that being said, who did you think they were going to get??? Hendrick, Roush, Evernham. He was the only one with the "balls" to break away and take a chance. Has it worked out so far?? hell no, did he bite off more then he could chew?? Hell yes. Go see if NAPA's sales have dropped because of it (I'm not sure) but I would say this, everyone needs a chance to get their business going. I think he makes the show this week, yes his qualifying stinks, but it's not like he is the slowest car every week. By the way, he has paid back more then 1.8 million in sponsorship money for not making these races, try not making mistakes with that on your mind.

[W. J.]

Well, mired at 57th in the points, with a negative 27 points, Michael finally qualified to start a race, being in the 23rd spot for the Autism Speaks 400 at Dover. Congrats to him and the team for finally breaking their skid into oblivion. Still, it's a long way from there to the top 35 in points, but it's a start.

[LongIslandJam]

Go Mikey! Odds were in your favor to qualify one of these days... LOL

[Jaws]

So by starting the race he will be back in the black??

[W. J.]

Yeah, but making "The Chase" doesn't look good....:lol:

[Jaws]

Yeah, but making "The Chase" doesn't look good....:lol:


Only if about 45 drivers quit, today and even then it still might be tough.

[SuperShafts]

Unc, here is what you need to understand, Toyota is new in the sport with a very unproven track record, that being said, who did you think they were going to get???.


This is funny....

Toyota differs from the other 3 makes how?

A slightly different sticker for headlights and taillights...

Have you seen the supposed big 3 plus Toyota's motors up close...what's the difference there?

I can't for the life of me understand why Dodge is still running Nascar when their entire fall out was because of Nascar wanting equality and making them conform to everyone else.....and well, that ain't no Dodge motor in that car, not 1 hint of Dodge in that motor, even if you start mixing and matching A block heads with LA heads and B heads and Mag heads...if you threw all that into a mixer, you still wouldn't get what is in the Dodge' running in Nascar..
Looks like what everyone else is running, GM, Ford, Toyota...what's the difference....?
So now looking at all that...what's Mikey's excuse for lack of performance in a stickered Nascar Cup car.

[allhailunc]

Holy Bay Guavo-Micheal Waltrip finally gets out of a negative points. Now what is he, 52nd in points?:lol:

[spier racing 93]

Holy Bay Guavo-Micheal Waltrip finally gets out of a negative points.now what is he 52nd in points?:lol:

I think you got one too many twos in there brother haha.