MWR's penalty will hurt for many years to come

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- I am going to say this as simply as I can: The fact that NASCAR docked Michael Waltrip 100 points will have repercussions that will reverberate for years.

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By now, you know the story: Waltrip's team was caught using a fuel additive during qualifying, and NASCAR kicked key Michael Waltrip Racing management to the curb.

Forget the banishment of Bobby Kennedy and David Hyder. Forget the $100,000 fine that NASCAR levied. It is much more important to see how seriously NASCAR took this indiscretion by concentrating on the other things they took away.

NASCAR took away Waltrip's primary car, forcing him to run the qualifying race in a backup. That car has absolutely no practice time on it, and Waltrip will have to start the race at the rear of the field.

In short, making the Daytona 500 will now be impossible.

In his primary car, Waltrip had a fighting chance to make the Daytona 500 field. Now, he is in the position of going to Fontana without any owner points.

There are a lot of teams that were in Waltrip's position before the Daytona 500. A good example is Johnny Sauter, a young driver with a new team, one that is forced to try to qualify for the first five races.

Sauter ripped off a fast lap in Daytona 500 qualifying to earn a spot in the field, and as a result, he now has a significant cushion with which to play. Scott Riggs missed the Daytona 500 last year, but because he ran decently in the next few weeks, he was in the top 35 in owner points by the time the weather turned warm.

Because NASCAR has more than 50 full-time teams, a top-15 finish means you're better than more than two-thirds of the garage.

If Sauter can merely get out of Daytona with a top-20 finish, he can afford to miss a race in the next five weeks. If Sauter can simply put together two or three lead-lap runs, his chances of scoring a spot in the top 35 in owner points are high. Riggs proved that last year.

Waltrip won't have that luxury. Because NASCAR already docked him 100 owner points, it will be impossible for Waltrip to get into the top 35 in owner points before the year is over. That means Waltrip will also have to qualify on time for the first five races in 2008.

In short, the team's decision to circumvent the rules will have major negative long-term effects.

The team should have studied Robby Gordon's situation from last season. Gordon, like Waltrip, was in the difficult quandary of trying to make it as a driver/owner. Gordon didn't have a guaranteed spot in the Daytona 500 last year, but he cleanly raced his way in, eventually earning a spot in the top 35 in owner points.

Because Gordon made the Daytona 500 last year, his team was solidified for years.

Waltrip will have no such comfort. He will face the task of trying to qualify week after week, in an environment that will be much tougher than the one Gordon faced.

Gordon only had to beat a few cars during qualifying early last season. Waltrip will have to face around a dozen.

It was almost surreal to wake up on Thursday with the Waltrip story splashed across the top page of CNN.com, and the story will only continue to grow over the weekend, even with Waltrip likely out of the race.

He will likely be out of a race many times this season, and Waltrip will look back and wish he had those 100 owner points back.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.