Toyota breathes sigh of relief after cars qualify

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Finally, after a week in which he and most everyone associated with Toyota's stock-car racing operation could unearth no reason to do so, Lee White found a reason to smile after Thursday's first Gatorade Duel qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway.

It came when Michael Waltrip cracked a joke about the true benefit of having all three of his cars from Michael Waltrip Racing in Sunday's Daytona 500 -- a trifecta of epic proportions that seemed highly unlikely only hours earlier when Waltrip's race team was assessed a record $100,000 fine, among other penalties, by NASCAR for a rules violation.

Penalties levied
against MWR

NASCAR announced Wednesday that it has confiscated the primary car of the No. 55 Toyota team that competes in the Nextel Cup Series with driver Michael Waltrip, as a result of rule violations found during pre- and post-qualifying inspection for the Daytona 500.

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"Well, we've got all three cars in, so that will help pay the fine. So that's a start," Waltrip said.

A start is all Waltrip could hope for after an unidentified gel was discovered in the engine manifold of Waltrip's car prior to qualifying last Sunday. His car was impounded after it qualified, and Wednesday his qualifying time was disallowed, meaning in Thursday's Duel he had to race his way into the Daytona 500 by finishing among the the top two of the non-guaranteed starters in his race.

In addition to the $100,000 fine handed down to his organization by NASCAR a day earlier, Waltrip also was docked 100 driver points and 100 owner points and two of his employees, crew chief David Hyder and vice president of competition Bobby Kennedy, were ejected from the event and suspended indefinitely by NASCAR.

All of which left White, senior vice president and general manager of Toyota Racing Development, in a decidedly downcast mood. While making it clear that Thursday's stunning performance by Waltrip in a backup car did not completely wash the bad taste of the previous four days from his mouth, it did feel like a shot of fresh, minty mouthwash.

"This probably doesn't change some of the concerns over ethical issues and all the other things that have cast a cloud over things," White said. "But it certainly lightens the skies a lot -- for Mike's organization, and for NASCAR, frankly. To get this behind everybody has to be a huge relief. And certainly for our company, for Toyota, we're like, 'OK, exhale; now let's go race.' "

The day began with only one of Waltrip's three cars -- Dale Jarrett's No. 44 Toyota -- assured a spot in Sunday's race, based on a past champion's provisional. Drivers of five other Toyotas were attempting to race their way into the Daytona 500 during Thursday's two races. White watched anxiously, hoping that a strong performance by the brand would help alleviate at least some of the pain the automobile manufacturer endured earlier in the week.

When Waltrip finished eighth in the first Duel, despite having had no practice time in the backup car, he was in Sunday's show. Not only that, but because Boris Said was the second best finisher among the "go or go home" cars and Waltrip was the fastest of that group, that pushed Waltrip's other driver, David Reutimann, into Sunday's event based on his third fastest qualifying speed among the non-guaranteed drivers.

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."