2008 NASCAR Fantasy Draft Kit: Michael Waltrip Racing

An in-depth look at Michael Waltrip racing and how their drivers might work on your fantasy NASCAR team for 2008.

2007: What Happened

It was not a soft landing for the newly formed Michael Walrip Racing. After using his team essentially for his personal Busch ride over the past seven years, Michael Waltrip partnered with Toyota to form a new Cup team with the new manufacturer. As soon as the cake from their welcome party was gone, Waltrip and Toyota got their real welcome to Nextel Cup. And it was a rough one.

Despite miles of potholes in the road the team did find a way through the season, even if they did hit most of the holes along the way. MWR showed improvement during the season and it’s very likely they will make significant improvement next year.

The opening weekend was a pretty good indicator for the year, and not in a good way. A foreign substance was found in Waltrip’s engine after qualifying at the season opening Daytona 500. In NASCAR there are two sacred cows that you shouldn’t mess with: tires and fuel. Waltrip’s crew attempted to use a fuel additive which resulted in the stiffest penalty in NASCAR history. Waltrip was penalized 100 driver and owner points. And his crew chief David Hyder was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR, a suspension Waltrip matched by firing Hyder and Director of Competition Bobby Kennedy immediately. That set the table for a year of struggles, missed races, blown engines and frustration.

2007: What Went Well

Waltrip was able to secure full-time sponsorship for three brand new cars from large companies like NAPA, UPS, Domino’s and Burger King. In a sport where sponsorship is not always easy to come by (just ask Bobby Ginn), it is a testament to Waltrip’s salesmanship. People often criticize Waltrip for this trait, but to convince major sponsors to invest in a brand new Cup organization-and stay- is very impressive.

It was also impressive how quickly Waltrip was able to pull all the logistics together to field three teams. He began 2006 with only the knowledge that he would drive for Toyota and by January 2007 he had everything in place for three full time teams. Other teams like Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing have spent multiple years planning to expand to fourth teams, Waltrip built three in less than one year. Yes, the results matter too, but before piling on Waltrip’s company, imagine all the pieces that had to fall into place to simply have three cars show up at Daytona.

Not only did all three cars show up, but they all made the biggest race of the year, the Daytona 500. None of the cars ran particularly well, but with a purse worth $15 million. The three MWR cars took home over $750,000 in earnings for the one race.

2007: What Went Wrong

It’s hard to imagine a more difficult scenario for a new team, not to mention a new manufacturer, to enter Nextel Cup than 2007. 49 full time teams began the season with plans to enter all 36 races. With only 43 spots open each week, it made qualifying more competitive than ever.

With the introduction of the Car of Tomorrow, teams would have to build two fleets of cars. Established teams had years of notes on the current model and most had a pretty good idea of how to build that car. That luxury was not available to a fresh team like MWR. The Car of Tomorrow was brand new to everyone, but again established teams could afford to pay greater attention to the new model. Toyota teams had to start at ground zero on both projects. Not only did other teams have established notes for how to build cars, but they also had the best personnel. A team like Hendrick has had years to perfect their roster of personnel. MWR simply had to fill positions with whoever was available.

Probably the biggest reason for MWR’s struggles was Toyota’s sluggish engine package. The engine that the teams were running was below that of the other manufacturers. As a result the Toyotas spent the first half of the year merely turning laps at the back of the pack, hoping to avoid the wrecks.

Driver Reviews

Michael Waltrip -If you exclude the first 12 races, Waltrip’s season was the best of the three cars. Of course you can’t exclude the first part, especially considering how entertaining and bizarre it was.

After the Daytona fiasco Waltrip missed the next 12 races. During an off week in April Waltrip fell asleep at the wheel of his SUV and crashed into a tree. Apparently the jar of hitting a tree woke Waltrip up enough to leave the scene of an accident and walk to his home. Waltrip forgot that crashes that happen on public streets are handled more seriously than simply getting released from the infield care center. He was charged with reckless driving.

Despite all of the distractions, Waltrip still scored his first top ten since 2005 at Michigan and followed it up with another at the fall Charlotte race. Then, in the ultimate irony, Waltrip won the pole at Talladega. In a year where he did not qualify for over half the races, Waltrip jumped over everyone to sit on the pole.

David Reutimann- Reutimann did an admirable job in a tough position. He got the double threat of being an inexperienced rookie at the Cup level plus having to start the year outside the guaranteed top 35. It was also quickly apparent that Toyota’s were not equal to other manufacturers, meaning even when Reutimann was fast on Friday’s, he would not be competitive on Sunday’s. He had a very scary looking crash at California where he suffered a concussion. It was one of the hardest crashes recorded by NASCAR, but he came back and did not miss a start. Reutimann will drive Dale Jarrett’s car in 2008 and should be able to crack the top 35 with Jarrett’s help.

Dale Jarrett-In between the time Jarrett signed with MWR and the start of the 2007 season, NASCAR changed the rules on Champion’s provisionals. Instead of being able to use it up to 36 times each, that number was chopped to six times. As a result Jarrett’s provisional lasted until the 10th race. It was his first missed race in 16 seasons. Jarrett would wind up missing 10 races in all with only one top 20 finish all season. It was definitely not the kind of farewell Jarrett had envisioned when he switched from Robert Yates last year. Late in the season he announced he would drive a partial schedule in 2008, paving the way for Reutimann to take over the #44 car.

2008 Outlook

Toyota promises a much stronger engine package that will benefit all three MWR cars. The team can also focus solely on the CoT, instead of spreading resources between two-model plan of last year. The three-car team began showing improvement by the end of the season and should be able to build on that progress in 2008.

Michael Waltrip is still a very capable driver on restrictor plate tracks. He has 4 career plate wins and won the fall Talladega pole. Waltrip should have more success qualifying for races this year and if he can make four of the first five races, that could be enough to land him inside the top 35. Beyond the two plate tracks, Waltrip also has had success at Michigan (9 career top 10′s) and Charlotte (12 top 10′s). For 2008 Waltrip has to at least double the number of races made (16 for the #55 in 2007), and shoot for 5-6 top ten finishes. Getting the car into the top 30 in points is a reasonable goal.

The #44 car has every reason for optimism entering 2008. Dale Jarrett will drive the first five races in order to utilize his past champion’s provisional. The team is certain to run better than last year’s debacle that saw Jarrett burn through his free pass by race #10. Jarrett might be retiring, but after two frustrating seasons he will be eager to show he can still drive. He is still a good plate racer and might be a decent play at Daytona.

After Martinsville David Reutimann takes over the wheel and should improve on last year. Reutimann won his first Busch race at Memphis in 2007 and finished 2nd in the final points. His strength figures to be short tracks, but another race that might fit Reutimann well is Dover. In the Trucks and Busch series, he has 1 win, 3 top 5′s and 7 top 10′s at another concrete surface, Nashville. Reutimann will look to grab his first Cup top 10. A realistic line is 4 top 10′s and a points position in the upper 20′s.

The third MWR ride, the #00 is the big mystery. Reutimann will drive the first five events in the hope they can land inside the top 35. After that rookie Michael McDowell will take over. McDowell is only 23 and has only 4 NASCAR starts (3 Busch, 1 truck), but is highly regarded. He won 4 ARCA races in 2007, but the Cup series is a far greater challenge. Reutimann is really the key for the team’s success. If he can’t navigate the car into the top 35, it’s asking a lot of a 23 year old rookie to make races on speed.

Overall, 2 of the 3 MWR cars will surely be better than 2007. The third car will take its lumps this year, but could eventually be the long term future of the company.