ngdawg

One of the major things going on, of course is the change in staff. Jr. has been complaining a lot about the performance of the car(s) and I would not be surprised if heads roll before the season ends. He admitted in a post-race interview last week that he came down pretty hard on his team, but had to in order to get what he wanted out of the car. This week in qualifying, none of DEI placed well, although that is not always indicative of race outcome.(Jr. was 36th, Mike, 38th).
I am thrilled for Michael Waltrip-he's one of the good guys, extremely smart, easy-going and funny as hell. ("eh, I think it threw a rod or a piston or something that makes it go-I'm just the driver"). His fan base is widening,(good marketing skills doesn't hurt, even the good ones) which can only help him. He is, though a bit of a risk taker, as witnessed in last week's race-trying to catch the lead and scraping the wall twice in the attempt and in the Busch race, forcing the car on with a damaged radiator. I would love to see him finish in the top 10 at least, along with Jr. But I think Jr. needs a couple more years to calm down, keep the inner fires stoked and find his comfort zone. He just better not take too long, though-those young guns not even 20 yet are proving to be formidable contenders.

Edit: Mike inducted his brother, Darryl into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame Thursday night. Congrats, Darryl!
Also want to add to the above, that, while they are all mostly risk-takers, Mike's risks are not vindictive or anger-motivated in what he does, unlike a few others.