CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The witness who discovered Michael Waltrip's overturned car initially thought no one survived the accident until the NASCAR driver wiggled out the back window. The witness, an 18-year-old college student at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, requested anonymity during a phone interview Wednesday with The Associated Press for fear of reprisal from Waltrip's fan base. But she said she lives near the two-time Daytona 500 winner in Sherrill's Ford, and stumbled upon the accident when she was returning home around 2 a.m. Saturday. She saw an overturned Toyota Land Cruiser in a ditch and rushed over to check on the occupants. She didn't see anyone in the car and no one answered her shouts, so she called 911 for help.
"After I got off the phone I was walking around the car again and somebody stuck their foot out the back driver side of the window," she said. "That's when Michael Waltrip got out. He wiggled out the back window. I knew immediately it was him. He just got out the back driver side window and stood up."
The witness said she asked Waltrip how long he'd been in the car and he told her about 10 minutes. "He was bleeding from his forehead and had some cuts on his fingers and arms," she said. "I told him `You are really lucky you are alive. I didn't think anybody was alive in there.' We sort of talked for a minute or two, and I told him 911 was on the way, and he just turned around and started walking home.
"I didn't know what to say or what to do. He had a T-shirt and sweat pants and socks on, he might have taken his shoes off in the car, but I wasn't sure. And he just turned around and started walking home in his socks."
The outhouse is too small to hold all the men that are in the do do now so I am taking them out to the old family farm to clean up the stables in the horse barn. It has plenty of stables. So it aught to hold all the drivers that may eventually wind up in the do do.
Well the four may have qualified for a race, but I told this now part time Nextel team to go Busch a long time ago. Ward. Getouttahheah!
Mikey. Here is the first stable for you. Just shovel the #### and throw it out the window there.
Kevin. Here. This stable right next to Mikey will work for you.
A.J.? Here ya go. Work on this stable right here next to Kevin. Yeah, I see you made the race. But even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every now and then.
Now who else do we have here?
Well, Kenny Wallace. I really hate to do this to you old friend. I mean last year you were my favorite Busch driver. I know Auto Zone #### you over. They said they weren't going to sponsor anyone and pulled sponsorship from your team leaving you stranded and killing that team. Now they are on Harvick's car in Busch. Liars!
But why are you embarassing yourself running with these Furniture guys? Is the money worth it? Is it just your passion for racing? Learn to let go of the Cup dream man. Find another Busch team. Or run some truck races. But as long as you stick with the Row, well, you'll probably be shoveling #### here. Go on, get in there, and get busy.
O.K.,. Mike, Kevin, back in the hole. Now, let me see who I can find to help you today.
A.J.? I hate to do this to you. But what made you think you could go from CART to Nextel Cup? Have you ever heard of the IRL? Craftsman Trucks? The Busch Series?
Son, I know, it's a hard lesson, but just because someone has faith in you, doesn't mean they are right. You have to know what you can and can't do son. You have to know your own limitations. I say, i say son, you have definitely Peter Principaled this one.
Well, like I say, I hate doin' this to ya son. But you just get on down there and help Mikey and Kevin out. Maybe if you can get Mike to shut up on TV and radio and get him back in the shop with you Toyota guys maybe, just maybe, you guys can work something out. But until then, well until then, you just help him shovel that #### right there.
We have all heard about Michael Waltrip and how he is negative in the point standings and how he currently sits in 46th place. Yes, Mike is in deep doo doo. But all that talk got me to thinking. Who else is in line for a turn to clean the outhouse?
The most surprising name is Paul Menard. Menard is currently 43rd in the points. Who would have thought this rookie in a Dale Earnhardt Incorporated (DEI) car would be on this path? I mean, I thought anyone in a DEI car should be pretty much a shoo in to make the top 35 after 5 races. Right?
Apparently not.
Paul failed to qualify for the Daytona 500 putting himself in a deep hole. After the No. 15 Peak/Menards Chevrolet took the Green Flag for the second Duel race in 15th position, his dreams of racing in this year’s Daytona 500 ended when he finished fourth among 13 teams vying for two transfer positions. “It’s really frustrating,” Menard said. “There weren’t a whole lot of friends (out there), but we were in a good enough place to do it. We stayed out and we probably shouldn’t have but I got just really tight and didn’t really do anything.”
In Fontana, Menard finished a lap down, in 20th place, but at least his motor didn't blow up before the end of the race. That is another cause for concern. DEI team mates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. weren't as fortunate.
Speculation is that the engines blew as teams struggled with tuning them for the first use of unleaded fuel in Nextel Cup competition. Spark plugs are a concern. Teams may have ran their fuel too rich. Whatever, the problem DEI needs to correct it for all three of their drivers sakes.
But it will be especially critical for Menard who is a go or go home car for three more races. If he misses another race, he most assuredly will not be in the top 35 in owner points after the first five races. That could result in him struggling as a go or go home car all year. And Menard does not want to have to put up with that. Neither does DEI or PEAK or Q.
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