Jarrett and Reutimann in a tough bind over new UPS regulations

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.

Just when you thought things were looking up at Michael Waltrip Racing, one of the biggest blows to their fortune comes via a new regulations at UPS.

As you all are most certainly aware, the prices of fuel have increased dramatically. This trickles down to even the lowest cost denominator. Those tomatoes have to get to your local grocery somehow, right?

While less serious than a case of mesothelioma, or needing a DUI attorney, the car insurance quotes for the #44 UPS Toyota Camry just may be going up.

Think I’m losing it? Been hanging around Marc a bit much? Nope, not a tin foil hat in this post.
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Filed Under: Dale Jarrett, David Reutimann, Michael Waltrip Racing #44, Nascar, Sprint Cup, Teams

Tagged As: Dale Jarrett, David Reutimann, No Left Turns, Toyota Camry, UPS



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By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Sunday January 6, 2008
12:22pm CST
Published on Thunder Lounge.

Dale Jarrett

• 2007 Stats

  • Organization: Michael Waltrip Racing
  • Car Number: 44
  • Crew Chief: Jason Burdett
  • Sponsor: UPS
  • Points: 41st :: 1584 :: -5139
  • Starts: 24
  • Poles: 0
  • Wins: 0
  • Top 5’s: 0
  • Top 10’s: 0
  • Winnings: $2,107,430

• 2008 Preview

  • Organization: Michael Waltrip Racing
  • Car Number: 44
  • Crew Chief: Bill Pappis
  • Sponsor: UPS
  • Note: Only competing in first 5 races, plus the All-Star race.

What can you say about Dale Jarrett and 2007?

Dale Jarrett was the first to announce his departure for Toyota back in May of 2006. He left the struggling Robert Yates Racing to close his career at Michael Waltrip Racing, and to help a friend get his new team off the ground.

Needless to say, while a team player, Dale Jarrett took one for the team in 2007. Making 24 of 36 events, 6 by Past Champions provsional, Dale’s year was ho-hum at best. No glitter, no sparkle, no excitement to speak of. Dale was a few spots out of the Top-35, while his former ride was just a few spots inside the Top-35. While only 10 Owners Points positions separated the two, it’s what fell in between that matters (position 35).

So, after a year that was even harder to live through than originally fathomed, Dale Jarrett will call it a day for full time racing after the fifth race of the season. He will then hand over the keys, and UPS sponsorship, to David Reutimann, who will carry on as the driver of the #44 for Michael Waltrip Racing. D.J. will return to also run the All-Star race in May.

Note: information is accurate as of date published. Check Thunder Lounge for additional updates and information.

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Filed Under: Dale Jarrett, Drivers, Michael Waltrip Racing #44, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Teams





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By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Friday May 4, 2007
10:49am CDT
Published on Thunder Lounge.

Being out of Championship Provisionals, Dale Jarrett is now in the same boat as any other “Go or go home” team. Being 72 points out of 35th, and considering the competition in front of him, the road ahead looks pretty bumpy. Jarrett has been in all 9 races thus far, but only 3 of those have been on his own accord. It won’t surprise me if he misses the show this weekend, to be honest.

Now we have to look at the other side of the fence. Granted competition in the back of the pack is fierce. Only 2 cars have not competed in all 9 races, Nemechek and Sauter both have 8, but are in the safety of the Top 35. All other teams have participated in all 9 events. DJ is only 1 of 2 cars (Riggs being the other) not in the Top 35 and to have been in all 9 events this season. Riggs won’t be there for long, most likely, so what’s DJ to do? He’s had 9 races to get it done, but the mission hasn’t been accomplished.

This isn’t just a Dale Jarrett problem. There isn’t a Toyota in the Top 35 at all, but of all the Toyota’s DJ is the front runner (as of Talladega) by 43 points over Dave Blaney. Had Blaney not missed Talladega, it may be a different story. Had Dale Jarrett not had the provisionals, it would be a different story. But we have what we have, and it’s shaping up to be and interesting qualifying session.

So from here, DJ has to step it up. The question is, can he do it? At this point, it isn’t a question of ability it is a question of equipment. With a new crew chief, Matt Borland is no longer with MWR, I wonder if it will make a difference. It may, it may not. Something happened, but what? Did MWR get scared? Was there internal conflict? We may never know.

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Filed Under: Dale Jarrett, Drivers, Michael Waltrip Racing #44, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Teams, Tracks





Trackback URL for: Can DJ Step It Up?

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Wednesday March 28, 2007
2:07pm CDT
Published on Thunder Lounge.

There’s your match-up. Well, sort of. Anyone care to take a stab at why there have been “racing incidents” between the Roushketeers and folks in the Toyota camp? Not to mention the two Toy’s in question happen to be from Toyota’s “Flagship” team?

Reutimann played his off as a payback, DJ was just plain pissed off.

However, neither “incident” should have happened.

Here’s your conspiracy. It is a well know, and documented fact, that the ol’ Cat In The Hat despises Toyota’s presence in the Cup Series. Could it be a secret team order to cut Toyota’s absolutely no slack on the track, whatever the cost? Could it be a bump out as innocently as possible directive?

There you have it, for you conspiracy freaks out there. The Roushketeers on a mission to take out or hinder the Toyota’s. Biffle meet Reutimann, Kenseth meet Jarrett. Just in case you’ve missed your formal introductions. Oh yes, and here is our good friend Mr. Fence. Please ensure your Toyota has a pleasant conversation with him.

Of course, this is provided you believe there is this great big conspiracy factor in NASCAR.

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Filed Under: Bristol, Dale Jarrett, David Reutimann, Drivers, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Michael Waltrip Racing #00, Michael Waltrip Racing #44, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Roush Racing #16, Roush Racing #17, Teams, Tracks





Trackback URL for: You Want A Conspiracy? Here, Have At It

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Monday March 19, 2007
8:39am CDT
Published on Thunder Lounge.

Wow. Where did this week go? I have no idea. Last I checked it was Tuesday, and now it’s Monday already. This sucks not only for our dear readers, but for myself as well. There was a lot of issues I, of course, had comments for last week. However we’ll move forward and try this again.

So by now you know Jimmie Johnson went back to back, passing Stewart with a couple laps to go yesterday at Atlanta, and sailing off into the sunset. Not a huge surprise, but a feat worthy of respect with the closeness of competition these days.

Johnson also, as the title implies, helped to make first time NASCAR history. It started Friday night with Skinner, Jeff Burton kept it alive Saturday, and Jimmie sealed the deal Sunday. Of course we’re referring to the first time ever that all three of the NASCAR top series had back to back winners. Skinner won the truck race at Fontana, and Burton also won last weekends Busch race at Las Vegas. And you thought Montoya’s top 5 was something.

Speaking of things Ganassi, not a bad effort thus far in 2007. Too bad that heading into the final race of guaranteed starts from the 2006 owners points that Robert Yates can’t yet say the same. We’re not officially calling the struggle yet, but it sure is shaping up to be. But hey, they’ll always have the front row at Daytona. Right?

So while you’re probably more worried about your canned pet food at the moment, and I’m thankful I use the non-tainted stuff, there’s folks out there with much bigger worries on their shoulders. Toyota, for starters, and it’s even poorer than expected start to its Cup debut.

After Atlanta, in the 2007 Owners Points battle, the lone Camry in the top 35 is Dale Jarrett by a scant 18 points. Next comes Blaney at 45 points out of the coveted Top 35. One small positive note in all their struggles is Vickers. He’s the next spot behind Blaney and 75 points out of the running. He’s also missed 2 of the 4 races thus far, only making the show in Fontana and Atlanta. That’s translating to a positive how, you ask? To still be that close in the hunt, and only making half the events to date, it means he’s ran “respectable” in those two events on average. Something Dale Jarrett and Dave Blaney who have had twice the opportunities to score points can’t say.

Anybody seen the recent NAPA commercial with Sammy Hagar in the closet? You know, the one where Mikey and DJ are walking though the hall at “Michael Waltrip Racing” and you hear Sammy jammin out with the “slightly different” version of his classic “I can’t drive 55″. Then Mikey opens the closet door and asks if he could turn it down a little bit, and Sammy snaps right back with “Can you drive a little faster”?

Could this be the sign that NAPA is digging its heels in and trying to make the best of a start-up situation? That’s the way I see it, to use Tim’s line, and although the results are obviously less than they had hoped for they can still make due with some creative advertising. Every little bit helps at this point.

If things keep going the way they have been, Toyota better hope Vickers makes it in this week at Bristol. A decent finish could squeak him into the Top 35 for Martinsville, and he could end up the lone Camry in the show thereafter. We say thereafter since that could be, and most likely will be, the last time DJ is eligible to use the Champions excuse (er, provisional) this season. Having used 4 so far, the trend would be one more at Bristol and Martinsville and then with his trend in Owners Points he’d be on the outside looking in.

The only salvation for struggling teams at this point is that now it’s time to put the COT on the track to race. Some say that the playing field will be leveled with it initially. While this is true to some extent, since nobody has raced it in an actual event yet, you can still expect the cream to rise to the top. Your bigger organizations have been working on it for quite a while now, as they have the resources and capabilities, while smaller operations have had to put more focus on the first for races of the season.

One thing is for certain though as we head to the mountains of Tennessee. All bets are off.

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Filed Under: Atlanta, Brian Vickers, Dale Jarrett, Drivers, Hendrick Motorsports #48, Jimmie Johnson, Michael Waltrip, Michael Waltrip Racing #44, Michael Waltrip Racing #55, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Team RedBull #83, Teams, Tracks





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By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Friday March 9, 2007
11:29am CST
Published on Thunder Lounge.

Las Vegas is a pivot point, and incredibly important this season. More so than any season before it. Granted it’s more pivotal for some teams than others, but regardless of who you run for it still carries more weight than it had.

For starters, we have 18 teams this weekend trying to squeeze into 7 available spots. Yet again, there will be well funded teams that take a long ride back across the country to the shop a few days earlier than they had hoped for. Some of these teams haven’t made a race this season at all (Mayfield and Allmendinger for example), and some have made one of two (Vickers). Note, these are all Toyota teams, but there are other manufacturers in this boat as well. For all of these teams, Vegas is extremely crucial. Right now, the deficit to 35th in owners points is still in sight. After Vegas it will get wider, and wider after Atlanta, and will continue to grow. By the time we get to the end of April, if you have missed more races than not, you can probably kiss the top 35 luxury goodbye and hope for more success in 2008.

Not only for teams that have struggled to make the show, but it’s also crucial for teams which have had lackluster results in the previous two events. Stewart, Dale Jr, Dave Blaney, as well as many others that have had mixed results. Stewie is on the rebound after his DNF in the 500, and his 8th place finish at Fontana bumped him up to 21^st in points. Junior is still stuck back in 41^st (40^th in owners), but only 18 from the top 35.

Dale Jarrett has another problem. Right now he sits inside the top 35, but those don’t take effect until Martinsville. Jarrett has had to use 2 of his available 6 Past Champion Provisionals, and using 5 of them up front will endanger his team later on this spring if he has issues and some poor finishes.

So centering in the middle of the newly anointed Top 35 Fiasco™ is Las Vegas in all of its redesigned glory. If you wish to call it glory, which Tony Stewart doesn’t. Bringing along with it the drama of fighting for a secured starting spot, it’s pivotal.

If you make the show, for starters, you get a leg up on teams that didn’t. Take for example Brian Vickers, he missed the 500 but after making Fontana is 34th in the hunt for starting spots. Note that he gained 19 spots in the hunt. As the races wear on, gains like this aren’t going to be a reality. Right now, at Las Vegas, it’s still possible to get yourself into position. With the next 3 races even, it’s going to become a nightmare.

So here were are, and qualifying is approaching fast. If you’re comfortable right now, you can work a little harder on your race set-up and let the qualifying chips fall where they may. If you’re struggling to make the show, you’ll have to split your practice time to make sure you give yourself the best possibility to make the show. In turn, your race set-up is going to have less time under it, which usually results in less appealing race results. It ends up becoming a vicious cycle. You can’t get your race set-up better, because you miss out on the additional time that teams in the top 35 have the luxury of taking. So if you get into the show, you’re already behind no matter where you start. Cycle repeats. The saving grace is hopefully by the time Martinsville comes due, you’re in the top 35 and can build on it. If you’re close and on the edge, you may find yourself back on the outside of the fence come race day. A painful lesson to swallow, and one that will be leaving a bitter taste in the mouth of sponsors as well.

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Filed Under: Brian Vickers, Dale Earnhardt Inc #8, Dale Earnhardt Junior, Dale Jarrett, Drivers, Joe Gibbs Racing #20, Las Vegas, Michael Waltrip Racing #44, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Team RedBull #83, Teams, Tony Stewart, Tracks





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