Waltrip team evolves from laughingstock to winner (cont'd)

Inside Michael Waltrip Racing and out, there were plenty of people crossing fingers and hoping it all wouldn't fall apart.

"I remember the first time coming to the shop and seeing like a little front-end loader stuck in the middle of the shop, because the shop floor was dirt, it was raining and mud was all over the place, and people were running around cussing and yelling," Reutimann told a gathering of team employees on Tuesday. "We didn't even have a floor in the place. You were wondering if it was ever going to get off the ground."

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It's incredible to be able to progress from where we were in '07 as a new organization, and then compete all throughout the latter half of '08 and into '09 at a level I've been really proud of. We've seen cars run in the top five. I'm real proud of the progression.

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-- MICHAEL WALTRIP

Team vice president Ty Norris, Waltrip's right-hand man since the beginning, can relate. "He always said it was going to work out," he told the employee gathering, referring to the boss. "I always said, 'Are you sure? Are you sure?'"

It did work out, but it took time for the pieces to come together. Waltrip added needed capital in late 2007 when London-based investment banker Robert Kauffman signed on as an equal partner in the organization. That money allowed the Waltrip team to upgrade its personnel, adding a technical director that restructured its engineering department, a manufacturing and fabrication director who delivered template-ready cars on time, and a head of race operations who demanded accountability. Gradually, results on the race track began to improve. The team was confident enough early this season that officials said they would win -- three times.

Now they have the first one, the culmination of this three-year turnaround, and a massive confidence boost for an organization that's made a long, slow, and sometimes painful climb from the depths of the sport. It's also something of a personal validation for Waltrip, who sunk much of what he had into a race team that was once the butt of jokes. Not any more. Another driver who started his own team, Robby Gordon, understands what Monday's victory means.

"Got to be huge for him. They struggled for a while with the program getting it up and going. Obviously, Toyota has worked very hard with them. They built that team to be a competitive race team. So congratulations to all those guys that did all that hard work," said Gordon, who finished third Monday, and is still searching for his first race win as an owner.

"They've worked hard. As I say, they burned the midnight oil. Been through a lot of stress as well. To be able to pull into Victory Lane, like I said, they've been running in the top 10 all year long, so they've been putting themselves in that position for the door to open up. [Monday], it opened up."

But Waltrip said Reutimann's victory wouldn't impact his decision on whether or not to retire after this year. The team owner said prior to this season that he would consider stepping out of his No. 55 car for good if he didn't think he was competitive. Waltrip placed seventh in the Daytona 500, but hasn't cracked the top 20 since Martinsville and is currently 31st in Sprint Cup points.

"I don't think it's going to affect my decision what I'm going do going forward one way or the other," he said. "It just makes me real proud to be able to say that we had a plan, and we were able to execute it."

So far, that plan has produced a No. 00 car that's not only won a race, but is also six points out of Chase position heading to Dover International Speedway for Sunday's event on the 1-mile track.

"We're now a team that when we show up," Norris told the team's employees, "they pay attention to us on the race track."