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

Yes, I am still proud of David Gilliland!

After today's finish at Pocono, where David Gilliland finished approximately 34th (at this writing, as I am not sure how the finish actually shuffled out) one would think that I would be embarrassed about my late night post about the upcoming success for David Gilliland!

Not at all! In fact, I am even more hopeful for the future! Listening in on the scanner conversations for the 38 team, I heard that the car was pretty darned good. I also heard adjustments that were very tiny, with no drastic changes at all. It looked like David had a car for the long runs, as he was shortening the distance to the leaders on several of the first runs.

My stress level went up when crew chief Cully Barraclough called David in to pit early. When the race was red flagged, I was fidgeting and nervous the whole time. And I was thankful that the race started back up again.

As the post-red flag laps continued, it looked as if Cully's strategy was going to turn him into a hero. David was in the top ten, and preparing to come in on the next lap, when he ran out of gas. The slow trip to pit road dropped him a lap down. Those of us in race chat were dumb-founded. David reported to the crew how sick he was, and Cully agreed that the whole team was feeling abit ill too.

The final tire stop for the car had David leaving the pits with his best handling car of the day. What is very noteworthy, is that David never once swore at his team. I am sure that the team feels bad enough. It is a pleasure knowing that David's radio is G-rated!

At any rate, David did everything he could, but a failed pit strategy gamble will show up as a bad day. I know that David did want to have a good finish for the last race with Freecreditreport.com on the car.

I would also like to take the time to thank the sponsor Freecreditreport.com. They have been a stalwart sponsor. Thank you very much for your support!

And now, on to Watkins Glen! We know that David can drive road courses. I am sure our team's success will come soon! And I am sure that David will find his way to Victory Lane, especially if these cars keep getting better.

A Fan Shouts "Way to Go, David Gilliland!"

As a raving NASCAR fan, I have found myself to be on The Ups and The Downs in my obsession! I lucked into NASCAR, when my employer introduced me to a driver. I then formed a fan following for a particular driver who was showing some degree of success, and became a full-bore, all-out fan. After my driver (of the time) exhibited some behavior that I could not, personally or morally tolerate, I felt it was time to move on.

And move on I did! It took a bit, but I found an upcoming driver who did not come with all of the glory and instant success of the Denny Hamlins, Kyle Busches, and Joey Loganos of the world. It is easy to follow a driver that wins right out of the box. And yet, I chose the more challenging path. I became a fan of David Gilliland.

David had a surprise win in a Busch race that brought him to a Cup level ride at Robert Yates Racing. Sadly, RYR was in the process of burying itself into a huge hole, and David struggled in his first year and a half in equipment that appeared to be demon-inspired. Now that Robert's son, Doug, has reformed the company, and is now an affiliate of Roush Racing, there is a marked improvement in both equipment and in solid finishes.

The first year of Yates Racing has presented the world with the perseverance of "The Little Train That Could!" Faced with a patchwork of sponsorship, both Yates teams have continued to show the world that better equipment produces better results. David and his team mate, Travis Kvapil, who was also afflicted with poor running cars early in his Cup career, are showing consistent improvement when in consistently prepared cars.

A little over a month ago, David drove to a steady and solid 2nd place finish at Infineon. Yesterday, he qualified his freecreditreport.com Ford Fusion to a 3rd place start. Each of these milestones have been hard fought, but they are harbingers of the future, in my opinion. These starts and finishes will become more of a norm, and I am boldly predicting both a pole and a win this year!

Following a driver who struggles is character building. It is always a challenge to come to a race, as a fan, and proudly wear the colors of a driver who is not popular. Some of the teasing and comments are good natured, others not so fun to hear. But, when a fan is convinced that a particular driver is worth it, then there is no shaking of that faith.

Viewing message boards of some of those struggling drivers shows true grit and true character on the part of the fans. Most of those drivers' fans are positive, and sure that things will get better. Why? Faith! Faith that our judgment is right. Faith that the others on the forum feel the same. Faith that WE are the ones who will lead the rest of NASCAR fans to finding the truth about our driver.

But we are still generous with our fandom! We welcome others to join us on our band-wagon. There is always room for more!

At this time, I have to say hello to a fellow blogger, Valli, from The Fast and the Fabulous! She gave a special shout-out to Gilly's Gang, a group of those intrepid fanatic followers, who are proud of being affiliated with David Gilliland. She knows us well, and is another of those proud followers of Drivers Not (Yet) Famous!

And David? Go get 'em tomorrow! Gilly's Gang has faith! And as for potential sponsors? WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU WAITING FOR? This WILL be one of the 'feel good stories' of NASCAR, trust me! (photocredit Getty)

With friends like these.....

With friends like these, who need enemies?

Jack Roush and Jamie McMurray

Jack apparently can't count to 5, as he has claimed to only have 4 teams that are important to him.

Roush discussed the value of drivers in the garage and listed four of his drivers -- Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and David Ragan -- when talking about working to keep competitors from being taken by other teams. Asked later if he'd intentionally left McMurray off the list, Roush admitted that the driver has not performed up to the standard of the others.

Fortunately, Jack's other drivers came to his defense.

"Jack's like that -- I'm surprised he remembered four of us," Biffle said. "He introduces us at the Christmas party and forgets Matt [laughing]. I think it's just Jack -- I don't think there was an intention of singling out anybody.

Nicely said by Biffle, but I don't think Jamie feels very comfortable right now!

Rusty Wallace, Ryan Newman and Roger Penske

Rusty Wallace, for some reason, felt that it was important to go out on a limb, and throw Ryan Newman under the proverbial bus. Yes, Rusty and Ryan were never friends while team mates at Penske Racing. Yes, Ryan is leaving Penske. One has to wonder how much talking was actually done between Rusty and Roger. And if Roger did 'fire' Ryan, why does Rusty feel a need to divulge the conversation? Roger went to work quickly to attack the statements with the alacrity of a HazMat Cleanup Crew.

"(Newman) made a decision, we made it together that he'd move on," Penske said. "There was no issue between the two of us. There's some reports that there was and that's not the case."

Ryan however, had the best responses, as widely reported.

"Was he conscious when he said it?" Newman asked. "It doesn't matter to me. I know Rusty and his personalities - plural - and everybody is different."

As I think about this, the motivation for Rusty's commentary may well be hidden within this situation. Stremme going to work for Roger may have ramifications all the way down the line to Rusty's Busch team. One wonders if Rusty was hoping that his son Steven could step into the 12 after Ryan leaves.

The potential damage to both Roger and Ryan's credibility might be the biggest issue here. Sadly, by attacking Ryan, Rusty may well have put a wedge in his friendship with Roger Penske. And he may have harmed Ryan's chances for a new ride, and indeed even Roger's ability to get a new driver!

Elliott Sadler, Doug Yates and Jack Roush.

And this is by far the most bizarre of all the 'what in the heck did he just say?' scenarios involving Elliott Sadler. And this time, his accent has nothing to do with it!

Elliott Sadler said Yates Racing does more with less than any team in Sprint Cup. But Sadler also believes the two Yates Fords don't receive the support they deserve in the partnership with Roush Fenway Racing. "When I was there, they never helped us," said Sadler, who drove for the Yates organization from 2003 until the middle of the 2006 season. "And [RFR] still doesn't help them. I really feel for those guys [at Yates Racing]. "I hate to see what they're going through. I would love to see them get with a manufacturer and team that actually supports them." ... Roush and Yates began building engines together while Sadler was there, but the two teams formed a more direct partnership at the end of last season when Yates Racing was in danger of going out of business. ... RFR president Geoff Smith and the RFR marketing team have been actively involved in helping co-owner Doug Yates find sponsorship for the No. 28 and No. 38 Fords. ... Sadler believes his old teammates at Yates still need more help, but he also is impressed with what the organization has accomplished this season. ..."I think it's phenomenal what they've done this year," Sadler said. "For Travis to come in and do what he's done on his first year with that team has been really impressive. I know how hard all those guys work there and I want to see them do well."

Why in the world would Elliott decide that now is the time for him to comment? He makes a point to claim that Jack is not supporting the Yates team, and indeed insists that Jack essentially 'takes' and never gives back. Long time fans of Sadler claim he bears a grudge with Roush that starts back to the days of driving for the Wood Brothers. One likely explanation is that he is using the media as a forum to slam Jack, after Jack's comments about Jamie McMurray (see above) who also happens to be close friends with Salder, and indeed are next-door neighbors. One other possible explanation is that Sadler is setting the stage for GEM to acquire Yates, but frankly, I don't see Robby Gordon getting great benefits from the affiliation with GEM. And the commentary about Travis Kvapil, with no mention of David Gilliland by Sadler, leaves no doubts as to how Sadler feels about his replacement. Of course, anyone listening to Sadler's scanner would have already realized that there is animosity towards the driver of the 38 car..

At any rate, the timing of Sadler's commentary could prove to be damaging to the efforts of his 'friends' at Yates Racing. If there is any doubt cast on the relationship of Yates and Roush, it could well shred any potential relationship with interested sponsors. Thanks, Elliott, for all of your help!

Again, having friends like the above suggest that it may better to consort with your enemies. But then again, it might be getting difficult to make that distinction in the NASCAR garage.