Forget any pretense of objectivity when Waltrip opens his mouth during the truck race broadcast. He is a Toyota shill, period.
Forget any pretense of objectivity when Waltrip opens his mouth during the truck race broadcast. He is a Toyota shill, period.
quote:
"It is sad that open-wheel racing has become a buy a ride situation, but it is what it is."
Originally Posted by nm
HA! you didn't, honestly, think they hired him for his driver talent, did you???
Actually, another very useful thing about toyota's choices of legacy drivers with names like Waltrip, Elliott and Jarrett is that these front men might be able to grease the political skids a bit for toyota with nascar and the fans..
Fool the people by talking about your American factories and using old school nascar names to front your outfit..........
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http://indyroadsters.webs.com/
http://macmillersgarage.webs.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/macmiller46241
I love any race car whose last name is "Special"
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I'm amazed Toyota put three of their seven their eggs in that basket, the Busch team has always been lack luster, all Michael has to offer was his quick wit at "Inside Whatever Cup," so yes, he will suck up to Toyota whenever he has a microphone in his face. What surprises me is that how Michael can be so good on a panel show and stink up a broadcast booth so badly. His commentary appears to be scripted and forced and he sounds like someone that thinks he is an actor and can't act. He is pressing in the booth when he should just be himself. It appears that he has a list of points he wants to make, and he makes them all badly.
It's always been about the Indy 500!
I realize I have the right to remain silent, but don't have the ability or enough common sense to do so.:rolleyes:
I think M.W. may end up being a better team owner than he is a driver. Only time will tell, but he sure has lined up the sponsors, so the budget shouldn't be a problem
"There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt." John Adams 1826
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
www.fairtax.org
Mikey and Buffy, are a hell of a lot better at business, than he ever was at driving. Touche`, and good luck to him.
Proud to be a Gomer, since 1963:nod::nod::nod::nod:
Indianapolis Colts, Super Bowl Champions!:cool_shad
If that is the case he won't be the first, Richard Childress comes to mind, but even Cale Yarborough got most of his early Ford rides from Herman "The Turtle" Beam. Any of you that remember Herman as a driver have to be old. Not all drivers made good team owners, Cale may have been the worst, unable or unwilling to race any longer, he tried too hard to use the team as either a profit center or a means to feather his nest. He was probably the best NASCAR example of a 75%'er I can think of. For those of you that don't know what that is, it is an owner that skims off 75% of the sponsor/manufacturer funding and runs the team on the remaining 25%. Other drivers turned owners or owner/drivers put everything they had into their teams, couldn't win, make races or attract enough sponsors to continue and lost a good portion of their personal fortune. Geoff and Brett Bodine come to mind, along with DW and Ricky Rudd.
I do not expect that to happen with Michael, he is running on Toyota's dime, the worst that can happen to him is that they will take their deal and money elsewhere, leaving Michael with Charlotte area real estate and shop equipment with considerable value
Hey Mackie - if you've ever seen Cale's thumbs, there are Lincoln impressions on them from pinching pennies so hard.I think Cale's team ownership philosophy was formed by his own financial background - he grew up poor and managed to lose his shorts once on that "60 Minute Cleaners" business - which lasted around 60 minutes. Cale wasn't about to endanger the bank account.
You're right about Turtle. Here's what surprised me, though. I went to Racing Reference to look up his owner stats, and as it turns out, his best season was '65, with J.T. Putney in the car. 10 top-5's, 20 top-10's. Whoda thunk?
http://www.racing-reference.info/owner?id=beamhe01
"It was actually fun, because you're back fully driving again in these trucks. Ninety percent of the tracks we go to in the IRL, you're flat-out. I was having to lift off the corners some here." - Buddy Rice
I guess I'm gonna have to google "Racing Reference," I do all this stuff from memory, which ain't bad for an old **** that can fully retire in April. But I'm working on a big story that I hope people will find funny, but it needs a lot of research.
There were others in the Beam era that tried the car owner route, like Neil "Soapy" Castles, but he didn't do it as well. Cale sold his name fairly often as well, and he wasn't too choosey with it, as with the NASCAR clone that Bob Riley and Bruton Smith tried to make happen. The other funny thing about Cale was his tough ex-football player image, but when he got in that dust-up with the Allison's, he was doing the ducking and Bobby, who was my size, was doing all the fighting. Cale came out of that one looking like at least like a chicken. I wouldn't want him on my side in a fight.
Interesting article in the latest NSSN regarding just that.
According to TRD, Mikeys' ability to obtain sponsorship dollars to fully fund three cars is precisely the reason he is with Toyota.
How many of those porducts are you buying because of who is endorsing them??? I don't.
Somebody does or the manufacturer wouldn't be laying out the dollars...
Mikey is the definition of a racing wanker. He is only there because of his name and money. He is a two bit hack that took nearly 500 races to win in the best car.
I bet there are a gazillion other drivers that could accomplish what he has with what he was given. He should have raced in Champcar/Indycar at the back or a Minardi as a pay driver.
NASCAR is no different than Champcar, Indycar, or F1 in that they are effectively use pay drivers to fill the field.
His "personality" is what sells the program to Toyota. They better have a decent test driver or Toyota will dump him.
I must have missed it. Did Toyota move their Camry Factory, or is it still in Georgetown, Kentucky.
"I think of Indianapolis every day of the year, every
hour of the day, and when I sleep, too. Everything I
ever wanted in my life, I found inside the walls of
the Indianapolis Motor Speedway."
- Eddie Sachs.
And they most certainly would not have some of the companies claiming 5:1 or better ROI for their sponsorship dollars.
Maybe Mikey could take his 'talent' to Panther racing in the IRL...
Yep, the NASCAR sheeple!!
Too funny. You're about as competent on the racing boards as you are on the political board.Yep, the NASCAR sheeple!!
Cut him a break, he followed the "Dolan Rule" - get in your shot and put a smiley behind it, that makes it OK.Too funny. You're about as competent on the racing boards as you are on the political board.
"Duty is the most sublime word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less" - R.E.Lee
It certainly would have been nice to see a fan-friendly, popular, yet middle of the pack IndyCar driver pull in three major sponsorship packages to fully fund three IndyCar teams - as well as development teams - with Toyota power so we could have this conversation on the IndyCar board.
And, as a lifelong fan of everything that IMS means to the history of motorsports in America - and the world - it pains me that we will probably not have that conversation at any point in the future.
Too funny. You're about as competent on the racing boards as you are on the political board.
I do it with intelligence and eloquence...see, no smiley...
That is true, dolan doesn't do it with emoticons, he does it with...
And with you, badart, theThat is true, dolan doesn't do it with emoticons, he does it with...
Gee, I didn't realize how influential I was on this forum...thank you...
Exclude the Toyota and middle of the pack components and you've got Michael. Andretti. Who is generally tarred and feathered around here for having too many sponsor dollars and too much Honda backing.
Just as Michael has turned out to be a better owner than a driver, so will Mikey.
Very good point, Feuler!
I'm no Andretti fan, but I wouldn't put Mick Waltrip anywhere near Michael Andretti as far as being a better driver vs. owner. Andretti won the CART title, and a lot races. If not for his last name luck, he'd have won Indy a couple times it seems. His F1 experience was hindered by bad timing, and some silly distractions.
Waltrip reminds me of an actor playing a race car driver. Looks good on TV, says everything the sponsor wants him to, but that's about all...
Yep, that's right. Andretti was a racer, no doubt. And a successful one too. MW is an actor.
Everytime I hear about how "insert foreign driver here" is a ridebuyer in open wheel, and I agree we need real, deserving drivers, foreign or not, I think of MW, along with a handful of other NASCAR "stars".
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