NAPA needs a new driver, Waltrip is not fit!

Something is very, very wrong with Michael Waltrip. The friendly, likable guy that I used to think was a pretty cool dude has left the building. His angry diatribe attacking David Gilliland on his show Monday night was another example of how far off the diving board he has fallen. His rant makes me think he has hit his head one too many times on the bottom of the pool. The anger was made even worse as David was not there to respond, and placed fellow panel member, Greg Biffle, into an uncomfortable position of not being given an opportunity to defend a fellow Ford driver.

I will give Mikey a bit of consideration. He left Watkins Glen with his car wrecked, another car a lap down, and his rookie being called to the NASCAR 'Oval Office' to discuss a horrific accident that took NINE cars out of the race. They have one car barely in the Top 35 and one that is NOT in the top 35. It is entirely possible that the stress of his car ownership has pushed his stress level to the max.

But, I think that he is showing that he is an angry, angry man. He has problems in his personal life. His business is struggling. He has lost one major sponsor, and only has a one year renewal on his long time sponsor, NAPA. It appears he only has enough sponsors for two cars next year.

It looks like he is deflecting his anger away from his own problems and redirecting them at the target known as David Gilliland. He is probably angry and jealous that he is failing in his business model and he is seeing that Doug is having success with the new team and with a lean business model, especially after Mikey was so gleeful after wrestling UPS and Dale Jarrett away from Robert Yates Racing. I think that Mikey's shop and fan experience has turned into a financial drain. I think he is still smarting from the NASCAR sanctions of cheating from early in 2006.

I need to remember to chalk it all up to a buffoon who has made his living on being a class clown. That show of his is the only thing he has left where he has a voice. He uses it to rant and rail against the supposed injustices of the World Against Mikey. However, he should realize that the court of NASCAR Opinion is firmly on David's side, judging from what I am reading all across the internet.

Forgive me if I take a moment to respond with a few rants of my own:

• David Gilliland did not have a scratch on his car until he was shoved out of the way in Turn 11. He did not have any issues with McDowell before the accident happened. It only happened because the 00 needed to catch the 84 car.
  
• David Gilliland is NOT worried about his ride, unlike Mikey worried about his company or the MWR drivers. (How interesting that McDowell is out of his ride for more than one race!)
• David Gilliland, a class act over this whole deal, responded to Mikey's allegations by saying (on Sirius Speedway Tuesday afternoon) " Even when we were in the trailer with NASCAR, and we were watching the replay, (McDowell) said 'Oh , I didn’t even realize he was out there!' I don’t know if Michael Waltrip needed to be in the NASCAR trailer to hear his driver say that."
• McDowell spent the remaining laps fretting over the finish of AJ Allmendingers car, which is ahead of them in owner's points. In hindsight, it certainly appears that he had orders to get through as much traffic as he could, to get as high as he could.
  
• If it weren't for the safety of the COT, there could have been some very hurt drivers! It is time to put to rest the fact that the drivers are not 100% happy with the way the car handles. Because today, we have several drivers who are 100% alive after bad wrecks.

I sincerely hope that Michal Waltrip can find his way back to being an affable fun-loving guy. However I have no hopes for it, as he has already run into a brick wall, one made from several brick built on his own idiocy.

Or, he could just be showing that he is, after all, a huge ass!

out

Mutterings while Meandering through the Marbles!

• Humpy Wheeler has declared Carl Edwards to be his pick for the All-Star. I am fine with that. However, he also declared Tony Stewart to be the Dark Horse pick. What? In what universe would Tony ever be a dark horse? Sheesh!

• The All-star Fan Vote is driving me nuts! We saw, a few years ago, Martin Truex, Jr win the vote, and at the time, he was not a regular cup driver. He made it in purely on the strength of his relationship to his team mate and friend, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. We saw Kyle Petty be voted in, due to a sponsor offering a 'bribe' to the driver's charity. (A worthy charity! Yet, the sponsor received a ton of collateral publicity from this effort, including the several hundred of thousands of dollars worth of extra television impressions from having the car in both of the event's races.) We saw SpeedTV hawking votes for their own 'talking head', Kenny Wallace.
  
  And NOW, we have Dale Earnhardt, JR giving his personal endorsement to Elliott Sadler. Most prefer to think that he is doing this out of pure friendship for that funny talking Virginian. However, one has to wonder if the business association of the VLPClub is more of a factor. I also have to wonder why Tony Stewart has not endorsed Elliott. Surely those fans would vote in Sadler too?
  
  (BUT, what if Sadler does not make it in on the voting? Would that mean that not even the power of JR can get him in the race?)
  
  My main gripe is that drivers who are hovering in the bottom of the points are making it into the All STAR race. And frankly, they do not deserve to be there! While I would love to see my favorites, David Gilliland or Travis Kvapil, make it in, there is another deserving driver...David Ragan, who is certainly one of the most improved drivers of the season. Will any of those three have a chance when the Junior Nation follows the directions of their idol? I keep thinking that the drivers should EARN their way in, by driving their way in. I guess we will see!

• Boos! Kyle Bush has certainly polarized NASCAR fans into a Love-Hate relationship. There are not many who actually seem to reside in the middle. Fans appear to either adore him or despise him! At best, you will hear the statements that start out with "I think he is a great, talented driver, BUT......" followed by all of the reasons to NOT like him. I don't think we have had this kind of response to a driver since Darrell Waltrip first arrived on the NASCAR scene.

• Booze! Richmond and Darlington both resulted in a rain of beer cans being lobbed onto the track. At Darlinton, a whole cooler actually was tossed out. If fans keep this up, then all of the tracks will become the same as Las Vegas Motor Speedway...no coolers, no beer brought in!

• Speaking of David Ragan...How about that kid, eh? The driver formerly known as a 'dart without feathers' is now in the Chase points. Good job David!

• And speaking of surprises to the points....David Gilliland is sitting at 21st, and look at Travis Kvapil in 18th! Those Yates drivers are still showing the world how to get it done without major sponsors. There are quite a few Big Dollar sponsors (Best Buy) who are on cars (McDonald's) that are much further down the points scale ( Stanley). Hmmmm! That is a GEM of a thought! I might have to grab a Bud to think about it some more! Of course, I will only grab that Bud after I get home from visiting my local Napa store after shipping my package via UPS!

• And what in the world is THIS about? Jon Wood is not eligible for the Sprint Showdown, and yet Chat McCumbee is eligible? As badly as NASCAR gets 'dissed' for its lack of consistency, this one is just astonishing!
  

Until the next post...tune in to the Burn-out Challenge on Speed, before the All-star! I predict that Kevin Harvick will win!

NASCAR Sponsor Roulette!

What do all of these NASCAR sponsors have in common?

Caterpillar
Target
Red Bull
Valvoline
United States Air Force
Motorcraft
UPS
Microsoft

And what do the above teams have, when combined with the following NASCAR sponsored teams?

Menards
Napa
State Water Heaters
DLP
Mobil One
Aarons Rentals

Both groups are behind the two UNSPONSORED Yates Racing cars in points. And even worse, the first group of sponsors are on cars that are not locked into the Top 35 in points, and have a chance of not even being seen in a race.



photo credit Snafam



photo credit MMSMama via DavidGilliland.com


What is wrong with that picture? Either picture?

Potential Sponsors..... please go to SponsorYates.com. This is your perfect chance to get in at the entry level.

All of the above listed sponsors need to take a long look at their own programs right now. As witnessed by General Mills moving to Richard Childress Racing, it is not too early to start your plans for next year.

After all, today at Texas Motor Speedway, those Yates cars finished 15th and 18th, and outran over half of the field. They will produce for you, too!