Michael Waltrip has another take of the missing part that he actually had and I’m sure Jack Roush will not like the explanation very much either.  According to Waltrip somehow the part arrived at his shop and when he seen it did not belong to his shop they put it aside. In January someone came looking for the part so he turned it over.

In Waltrip defense there are so many things laying around in garage areas that it probably got picked up by mistake and they did not realize it until it was to late. I can understand jack Roush being upset, but it water over the dam and he probably has learned to keep a tighter reign on his part now I will imagine.

Jimmie Johnson and Michael Waltrip who are one and two for the Daytona 500 after qualifying this past weekend are sitting pretty right now. They are in the race and they can go out in the two qualifying races and try things on there cars that others will not be able to. These qualifying races for these two will be more of a test session to see what will work and what will not work for them.

Many people think this is a big advantage and I tend to agree with that assessment. The more things that you know the better chance you have for success. It just makes sense. When you can eliminate things that do not work it makes it easier to get your car set up for your best chance of winning. Winning the Daytona 500 is something every driver wants to do.

Michael Waltrip started out last year hoping his new venture would start out smooth. It was anything but a smooth ride as his team got caught breaking the rules. Toyota had a black eye for awhile as Waltrip drove for them. Making races was very tough for Waltrip and Toyota early, but towards the end they became much better.

Fast forward to 2008 and it seems a new year brings renewed hope for both Waltrip and Toyota. First a year under the belt can never hurt and adding Joe Gibbs racing to the Toyota sure can’t help. In fact it should move the Toyota program forward much quicker. It also should help out Michael Waltrip out. No matter what it can’t be as worse as last season was for Waltrip or Toyota racing.