MWR moves on, puts all three cars into 500 (cont'd)

Waltrip woke up Thursday wondering if he should even race. His wife, NASCAR president Mike Helton and Toyota senior VP Dave Illingworth convinced him otherwise. In a backup car, with no practice laps, and starting at the rear of the field, Waltrip needed to finish in the top two among non-qualified drivers to make the race he's won two times.

And he did just that, staying out during a pit stop to gain track position, falling to the back after spinning former teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., and rallying from the back to secure a qualifying spot.

"I don't know how to put it into words," said Eggleston, also Waltrip's crew chief when the driver first won the Daytona 500 with Dale Earnhardt Inc. in 2001. "I don't cry hardly at all, and I almost cried today."

Even after making the race, Waltrip remained as contrite as he appeared in a Thursday morning press conference, where he took the blame for the infraction that cast a pall over his first Daytona 500 as a team owner.

"It was just a terrible mistake," he said. "I didn't need to cheat to win this race. I've done it before. I'm just embarrassed for my organization."

Michael Waltrip Racing drivers claimed three of the eight Daytona 500 starting spots available to those who finished outside of the top 35 in owner points last season. Said, Sterling Marlin and Johnny Sauter secured spots through their front-row qualifying speeds Sunday, while Mike Wallace and Joe Nemechek raced their way in through Thursday's second 150-miler.

"This is the most stressful Daytona 500 I've ever been in," said Nemechek, who used a two-tire pit stop to improve his track position and secure his 13th consecutive berth in the Daytona 500.

But, as has been the case throughout these Speedweeks, everything comes back to the beleaguered Waltrip. The Toyota driver said that once he slipped into his car Thursday afternoon, his focus was on the race and not the controversy surrounding him. Tony Stewart, for one, believed him.

"When it came time and he made the decision and got in the car today, he showed like he always does. You make it sound like he's one step away fro the psycho ward. That's not what we're dealing with here. We're dealing with a guy who was extremely embarrassed," said Stewart, who won the first 150-miler.

"I'll bet he feels like he's been here a month, whereas I feel like I've been here three days. I'm sure it's been a real long week for him. I'm sure even when Sunday's over, it's not totally going to be over for him. He's a great person, he's great for NASCAR, and nobody wants him to go away by any means. He'll rebound from all this."

Then there's the other camp which believes Waltrip got off easy, and maybe shouldn't be in Daytona at all. "As big as this race is, and as many guys as we have trying to make this race, with the new brands coming in ... if someone gets caught that blatant, no, they probably shouldn't be in the Daytona 500," Nemechek said. "That's a blatant deal."

Jeff Gordon points out that the 100-point deduction will continue to cost Waltrip long after Speedweeks is over. And even he admits to being hooked on the saga. "Between that and Anna Nicole Smith," he said, "I haven't been able to tear myself away from the TV."