Mike Mulhern

Toyota’s Daytona Fortunes Are Tempered Now with Tony Stewart on NASCAR “Probation”

Daytona looks like a playground for Chevy and Toyota

(Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

By Mike Mulhern

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
While Ford teams struggle, and Dodge teams scramble, and Richard Childress’ Chevy teams remain under a cloud, the Toyota camp is filled with more than smiles, cheers really, considering how far these teams have come since last year’s Cup tour debut.
Clearly Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin could give Toyota its first tour win in Sunday’s 500, if they can manage to handle Rick Hendrick’s Chevrolets.
Stewart, though, remains an enigma in some respects. Not only was his post-crash run-in with Kurt Busch Friday night ill-advised, from the political standpoint (a call from sponsor Home Depot perhaps, after apparently punching Busch in the NASCAR hauler), but his contract status is still up in the air.
Tuesday NASCAR officials put Stewart and Busch both on probation for that Friday “altercation,” but they declined to say much more, either about the incident or what “probation” might really mean—what might happen to them if they do something else bad.
NASCAR said it was penalizing the two, with probation for the season’s first six events, for “actions detrimental to stock car racing...altercation with another competitor,” referring directly to their “on-track” actions and not what might have happened inside the NASCAR trailer afterwards.
NASCAR officials have refused to confirm or deny that Steward punched Busch in the trailer Friday night after Busch threw some harsh words at Stewart. And Busch and Stewart likewise have refused to confirm or deny details of the incident.
What happened on the track: Stewart, in the final minutes of Shootout practice Friday night, tagged the back of Busch’s car and put him into the third turn wall, while Busch was apparently trying to block Stewart’s pass. The two men have had several run-ins before, most notoriously crashing each other out in last year’s Daytona 500 while dueling for the lead.

NASCAR’s Robin Pemberton, the sport’s competition boss, called the on-track incident “a racing incident.”
The penalties, he said, were for “how they conducted themselves after the accident, coming on to pit road and through the rest of the evening.
“We’re trying to give drivers more latitude this season. We’re trying to let drivers vent in proper ways.
“If we were to get repeat offenders, we will escalate the penalties. If it looks like a trend, we will address that.
“They know they need to give each other some room, but that doesn’t mean they can’t race with each other. They need to be able to race each other, and race each other tight, door-to-door….but they need to give each other their space.”
Pemberton declined again to discuss what went on inside the NASCAR hauler between Stewart and Busch Friday night: “We had a closed door meeting, and we will not discuss what we discuss in the hauler.
“Both drivers were given the same penalty; they both have the same responsibilities, on the track and off the track. And I’ll just leave it at that.”
NASCAR’s Jim Hunter, head of corporate communications, says emotion “is part of the fabric of this sport. It’s a fine line between drivers showing emotion and being themselves, and NASCAR policing the sport.
“In this incident there is no doubt they both showed their emotions, on the track and off the track. It was a highly charged emotional situation.
“People are always asking what probation means. We’re going to redefine what probation means. 
“The key word is ‘redefining.’
“And these two drivers clearly understand what might happen….without getting into nailing down for you guys what we might do.
“We would like for them to understand what is professional and what is unprofessional. But part of this sport is emotion. In the cars and outside the cars. And part of NASCAR’s responsibility is to deal with it and do the best we can in each situation.
“In this sport, when you try to black-and-white something, there is always the possibility you’ll overlook something. So NASCAR will always have to have some latitude in making subjective decisions. Some will agree with us, some won’t.”

This is how Stewart described the on-track incident, which occurred at the end of the backstretch: “I made a move to the left.  Kurt moved over to block, and we went to the right. 
“My intention all along was to go to the right, so I faked left. But when I went back to the outside, he started coming back to the outside, and we ran out of room.
“I didn’t have a big enough run to go by.
“So it wasn’t his fault.  It wasn’t my fault.  That’s what practice is about. That’s why Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer had their deal too. You have to try things, and you have to learn with this new package. 
“The second part of it, coming down into the pits, was pretty eventful. I look in my mirror and see him barreling down in there, and I thought ‘Oh, boy, this is not going to be good.’”

Roger Penske, Busch’s team owner, issued a brief statement through Jonathan Gibson, his vice president for marketing: “We acknowledge NASCAR’s decision with regard to the incident that occurred on the track during practice on Friday evening.
“Kurt and the team are now squarely focused on the Duels (Thursday’s 150-milers) and with winning the Daytona 500.”

Kurt Busch on Probation for six races
(Photo credit: Getty Images for NASCAR)

Stewart’s contract with car owner Joe Gibbs runs this season and next, but General Motors executives have been pushing Stewart hard not to sign any contract renewal until they can come up with a Chevy option for him. That dilemma may prey on Stewart’s mind for some time.
The latest behind-the-scenes report, unconfirmed of course, is that Hendrick may be ready to pitch one of his rides to Stewart.
And what kind of blockbuster lineup would that make: Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Tony Stewart.
But no one anticipates any resolution of that issue for some time.

More headaches for Tony Stewart’s car owner Joe Gibbs
(Photo credit: Toyota Motorsports)

At the moment the biggest Toyota surprise has to be Michael Waltrip, considering his 2007 problems.
“I’m the happiest guy in Daytona,” Waltrip, on the outside of the front row for the 500, says. “I’ve been following my brother since I’ve been on the face of this earth, and Daytona has been a huge part of who we are and what we do.  I’ve experienced some of the best times of my life here…and some of the worst.  Anything that has that big of an emotional swing—when you’re as passionate about racing as I am—that endears it to you.
“There were questions over the summer whether we would even make it to the end of last year. And we not only start 2008 with a solid team, we’re a lot better team. We expect to perform.
“Testing has shown we’re fast.  It’s nice for the whole world to see it now.”
Equally surprising, on the other side – Kyle Busch, only 31st fastest. “It didn’t go the way we expected,” Busch says ruefully, looking at much faster teammates Stewart and Denny Hamlin. “We have pretty much the same stuff.”
Still, Waltrip is on pins and needles watching teammate Dale Jarrett, whose speed, 21st quickest Sunday, isn’t expected to be good enough to get him in the 500 field. Jarrett could make it with a past champion’s provisional, but only if Kurt Busch, the most recent champion whose team isn’t in the guaranteed top-35, doesn’t need it.
“Kurt Busch is a guy I’ll be pulling for (to run good in the 150),” Waltrip says. “And I’ll be pulling for Dale Jarrett to race up through the middle of it and have a good race.”
Still, Jarrett only ran 13th in the Shootout, not very impressive. “But he learned that even though his car wasn’t right, it was fast enough to keep up and be in the middle of things,” Waltrip says. “Dale’s a racer, and I feel real confident about what he’ll accomplish Thursday.”

Tony Stewart is back in NASCAR’s doghouse
(Photo credit: Toyota Motorsports)

One of Toyota’s best here, in speed, is Dave Blaney, who nearly won Talladega last fall: “We had a chance at the pole. A great car and a really good engine. We’re having fun, no matter what. It’s a lot nicer to have something that’s a little speedy, a lot more peace-of-mind.”
Hamlin isn’t looking back at his Chevy years. His new Toyota, Hamlin says, gives him enough to run with the leaders: “I feel we are in a better position now than we would have been if we came back here with Chevrolets.”
One Toyota man on the hot seat, though, is newcomer Jacques Villeneuve, who will likely have to race his way into the 500, because his qualifying run wasn’t as fast as he’d hoped. “We thought we would be quicker,” the Formula One star says. “When you have to qualify on time, it makes it difficult, because even if you’re quick but not quick enough, you might have a bad qualifying race and not make the show.”
Villeneuve’s future in NASCAR is still a bit unclear. Without a sponsor, he has to make things happen quickly. And he’s not one of the top-35 men with a guaranteed starting spot for the first five events, so if he misses this 500, he’ll be in a deep hole. “A lot depends on this race,” Villeneuve says.
Tires are an issue for several teams, J. J. Yeley says: “We’re going into the 150s making sure the car drives well. That’s the most important thing.  There are still some big concerns about the tires. Having a car that is stable, that can make long runs and not hurt the tires, is going to be key.”