 | | Dale Jarrett brings his champion's provisional to his new Toyota team in 2007. Credit: Autostock |
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
June 2, 2006
07:14 PM EDT (23:14 GMT)
You think gung-go American NASCAR fans are Toyota's biggest problem? Enormous start-up costs? Lack of available, experienced drivers? Puh-leeze! Toyota's biggest problem is actually a Web page on NASCAR.COM. It's called the 2006 Nextel Cup owner standings. It created quite an uproar last week when Michael Waltrip bought his way into the Coca-Cola 600 field, but I am telling you now, it will get worse. This is not the last time Waltrip will have to do that this season. Is that right or wrong? It doesn't really matter. No one created much of a stink when Cal Wells did it last year. You do remember he did it too, right? Just checking. The top 35 rule is only a year-and-a-half old, but we have already seen that it is very difficult to get back into it once a team has fallen out of it. Teams literally burn the candle at both ends, sacrificing race setup to ensure getting into the race each week. It wears on the teams and makes sponsors antsy. That is why Toyota's road in NASCAR will be 10 times harder than it was for Dodge in 2001. Toyota is creating at least three teams (probably more) from scratch -- with zero owners points to draw from -- and because of that, there will be several times next year when those teams will fail to qualify. Try explaining to the $25,000-a-plate dinner guests that the president won't be showing up. What is worse, Waltrip, who is obviously out of the top 35 in points, is in real trouble. He is already more than 100 points behind Jeremy Mayfield for 35th, and Mayfield has already shown signs that he won't be falling back out the loop. The battle is essentially a race between Waltrip, Scott Wimmer, David Stremme and Travis Kvapil. Four guys vying for -- at best -- one spot. It gets even harder for Waltrip in a few weeks. Two of the teams he must beat to get a chance at the top 35 are hiring road-course ringers for Sonoma. Scott Pruett replaces Stremme, and Ron Fellows is in for Kvapil. Neither man will win, but both are capable of running in the top five and a shoo-in for a top-15. Such a finish would be one more nail in Waltrip's coffin. For obvious reasons, Waltrip is not a fan of the top 35 rule, which was designed to protect the teams that show up every week. I still think it has roots from the fall race at Atlanta in 2004, when two regulars (Scott Wimmer and Scott Riggs) were sent packing. The top 35 rule is fine for now. Only 40 fully sponsored cars currently show up at the track every week, with a half-dozen teams showing up hoping to hit paydirt in qualifying. The problem is that the Nextel Cup Series will not have 40 fully sponsored cars in 2007. That number will be more like 45 after these teams enter the scene: • Unnumbered Toyota team driven by Dale Jarrett
• Possible third team for Michael Waltrip Racing
• Possible fourth team for Richard Childress Racing
• Two Red Bull Racing outfits
• Third DEI team driven by Paul Menard Aside from Jarrett's team and the flagship team from Bill Davis Racing, Toyota has no guaranteed spots to speak of. Because of that, their teams must race their way into the Daytona 500. And they only have about a dozen teams to beat for a few spots. Ask Scott Riggs how much fun it is to keep getting reminded that your brand-new team missed the Daytona 500. Toyota's road to Nextel Cup couldn't be any tougher, and most of the battle was formed the day NASCAR created the top 35 rule. The opinions are expressed solely of the writer. | 
