Aside from the notorious cheating scandal with Michael Waltrip Racing at Daytona, some of their top teams have disappointingly missed the first two races of the 2007 Nextel Cup season. Besides Dale Jarrett, their premier drivers have missed at least one of the first two races. And Jarrett has only qualified in the first two races by virtue of the past champions provisional.
Toyota’s featured young gun, Brian Vickers, failed to race his way in to the Daytona 500, as did his Red Bull Racing teammate A.J. Allmendinger. Even though a cut tire and an unforeseen racing incident are partially to blame, the fact that both Toyota-backed teams were sent packing while independent teams such as Phoenix Racing (Mike Wallace) and No Fear Racing (Boris Said) made the show left a stinging sensation.
In addition, former championship contender Jeremy Mayfield marginally missed the Daytona 500 when Sterling Marlin was ironically passed by his Ginn Racing teammate Joe Nemechek in the Gatorade Duel 150 race. Mayfield signed with Bill Davis Racing after an acrimonious separation from Evernham Motorsports, hoping for a fresh start, but his fresh start has yet to begin. Mayfield failed to qualify for the Auto Club 500 at California last weekend. However, John Andretti qualified for the race driving for the under-funded R & J Racing.
Missing the Daytona 500 was so agonizing for Mayfield that he chose not to watch the race. “I have better things to do than watch that. And that is pretty much what I did. I couldn't handle it, you know, the fact that we are better than that,” said the five-time Nextel Cup race winner.
Mayfield was not alone on the California sidelines. Michael Waltrip, Toyota’s most recognizable driver, was knocked out of the starting grid by his very own rookie driver David Reutimann. Waltrip’s failure to make the Auto Club 500 was very untimely as it came a week after the infamous cheating scandal. Yeah, Toyota has taken some hits.
While the Daytona 500 was an utter disappointment for Toyota, as Jarrett’s 24th place finish was best among Toyota drivers, the race at California appeared to be an improvement and possibly an indication that the growing pains will ease up. Brian Vickers posted the manufacturers first top ten finish, and Dave Blaney ran among the top ten for the first 100 laps before his engine broke.
It is vital that Blaney and Vickers back up their solid performances at Las Vegas and beyond, especially since Jarrett and Reutimman have struggled with their performance, and Mayfield, Waltrip, and Allmendinger will likely spend the remainder of the season as a ‘go or go homer’.
Lack of star power?
Some analysts have pointed out that Toyota lacks the star power that the other three manufacturers have. Chevrolet has Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, and Jimmie Johnson. Ford has Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, and Ricky Rudd. And Dodge has Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, and Juan Pablo Montoya.
Other than Dale Jarrett and Michael Waltrip, no Toyota driver is necessarily considered a household name. But Toyota will give Mayfield, Blaney, Vickers, Reutimann, and Allmendinger the opportunity to change that.
