Toyota breathes sigh of relief after cars qualify (cont'd)

So Reutimann got in even before he got behind the wheel for Thursday's second Duel, breathing a huge sigh of relief as he did so.

"I think trying to get into the field is far worse than the pressure of just running the 500," Reutimann said. "Thank the Lord. It's truly a blessing to be in."

White felt the same way about the two Waltrip-owned Toyotas, that had been sitting on the fence, earning their way in.

"We're certainly satisfied. We're happy for Mike and the job his guys did on the cars. I've got to believe that David Reutimann right now is the most relieved man on the planet," White said.

White said he realizes Thursday's showing won't make all the critics of Waltrip's operation go away. But he did say it was a step in the right direction, and that discovering exactly who was responsible for the rules violations on Waltrip's car would represent another.

"Obviously the rest of this week and next week, everybody is going to discuss it a bit further," White said. "And we're going to be like, 'How can we help you?' Not just with Mike's team, but with all the Toyota guys to prevent the possibility of this happening again in the future. And we're going to have some discussions with NASCAR, to see if we can help them with some of these issues -- because people work too hard, they spend too much, they invest too much.

"There's just so much at stake here, to have the reputation of a man, the reputation of his sponsor, and certainly our company, tarnished over the actions of a couple of people. Frankly, it's a tragic situation."