Waltrip teams find strength in start

THATSRACIN.COM OPINION

Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009

LAS VEGAS - Yeah, it's early.

Sunday's Shelby 427 is only the third race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season, so it's probably premature for Michael Waltrip's fans to throw a party because he's seventh in the standings.

But look at it this way. Two years ago, by this point in his first season as a driver/owner in NASCAR's top series it certainly wasn't too early to be worried about how many bad things had already happened. He'd already had key members of his teams suspended and his reputation harmed by rules issues at Daytona, then failed to qualify for subsequent races at California and here.

So it's hard to blame Waltrip's fans for being a little giddy after he finished seventh and 15th to start this season.

Teammate David Reutimann is also 12th in points and Reutimann and Marcos Ambrose, whose Toyotas are prepared in the Michael Waltrip Racing shop, both had top-five qualifying runs Friday before having to change motors before Sunday's race.

Waltrip didn't change engines in his No. 55, so after qualifying 15th he won't have to go to back for the start as Reutimann and Ambrose will. If the engine issues plaguing Toyota in practice and qualifying don't become a problem in the race, Waltrip is hopeful he can continue the promising start to his season.

"I thought I could win the Daytona 500 and we finished seventh," Waltrip said. "At California, I just prayed every day prior to going out there that I wouldn't run last. But I think I passed more cars by Lap 5 at California than I had the past three years there.

"We didn't run well here last year, but I'm a little bit more confident that I can go out and be competitive again and try to keep it going."

Waltrip said that his new crew chief, Bootie Barker, and Steve Hallam, the team's director of competition who came over from Formula One competition last year, have helped pull things together and develop the way MWR builds and develops it race cars.

But Waltrip, the team owner, has also worked hard on Waltrip, the team's driver.

"I have also made sure I didn't leave anything on the table," Waltrip said. "I work out every day and I'm very dedicated. I pushed all in for 2009. I want to run well and I want to race my car. I'm going to put everything I can in from my end.

"When the owner was talking to the driver, the owner said, 'We need to go faster,' and the driver said, 'Well, you all need to give me better cars.' Luckily, I agreed with my driver and we have improved our team.

"Having those conversations with myself is something that is not unusual, by the way, and generally there's more than just two people having them with me."

Waltrip said now that he looks back on it, the hardest thing about starting his own team was just that. He started the team from scratch, and it took a while to get the basic things in place and to develop the actual processes for getting cars built and ready to go racing.

"The hardest thing is having a plan and getting people to follow along with your plan and influence the direction of the team by getting folks that will sign up and follow your road map of success that you feel is necessary," Waltrip said. "We've got a group of people now that are talented and driven and focused who are coming together and allowing us to build better cars.

"Our cars are lighter than they've ever been, we're able to test them...more productively due and the system that is in place at MWR."

Waltrip said that after he became a driver/owner he saw Bill Davis, another team owner in the garage. "I hugged him," Waltrip said. "I said, 'I owe you a hug. This is a lot harder than I thought it was.' "

The challenge now, of course, is to keep the trend heading in the right direction. Reutimann said he thinks part of the deal is trusting that things really are getting better.

"Things are going well and you get that confidence built up," Reutimann said. "But you also want to know in your own heart that it's not a fluke, that we're not just lucking into this deal.

"As you go and you're like, 'My guys are doing a good job, are we just in the right place at the right time?' Which is part of racing anyways.

"The guys that are consistently in the right place at the right time are really good teams. They've put themselves in that position and I think we are on the cusp of being able to be right there."

Waltrip knows the feeling.

"I'm more optimistic this week than I was last week," Waltrip said. "I am not from Missouri, but I am the kind of guy where I like for you to show me. Show me the car is better and we'll talk about it all we want."

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