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Regardless of whether or not you're a NASCAR fan, there's no denying that the motorsport is starting off its 2008 season in the best possible way. Early festivities for the season opener Daytona 500 began this past weekend and resulted in Jimmie Johnson, last season's champion, taking the pole position. Next to him on the grid will be a somewhat redeemed Michael Waltrip, who was embroiled in a scandal at last year's Daytona 500 that resulted in the largest ever fine handed down from NASCAR at the time.

That would probably be enough for a great kick off to the season, but the newly minted NASCAR Sprint Cup is swimming in merchandise sales after Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Bud Shootout on Saturday in his first race as a member of Hendrick Motorsports. Driving his new No. 88 Chevy, Earnhardt Jr. came out swinging in this exhibition that nets no points for the winner, but is a good omen for winning the 500 next weekend.

[Source: ESPN, Photo by John Harrelson/Getty]

Embattled NASCAR star Michael Waltrip has some new problems on his plate. According to Yahoo Sports, he has been charged with reckless driving and failing to report an accident. The charges resulted from an incident over the weekend where Waltrip's Toyota Land Cruiser hit a telephone pole and rolled over about a mile from his house. He apparently fell asleep at the wheel, crashed and then walked home early Saturday morning.

Police discovered the wrecked SUV and then tracked down the two-time Daytona 500 winner at his home, where he was quoted as saying he was embarrassed but glad he was unhurt in the incident. Police reported finding blood at the scene, but Waltrip apparently suffered only minor cuts and abrasions. Accordint to the authorities, they saw the SUV on its side, traced the plates and realized it was Waltrip's vehicle.

Waltrip's first season as a car owner running Toyotas in NASCAR has been a difficult one, to say the least. Illegal fuel additives found in his engine during the Daytona 500 led to a record fine of $100,000 and 100 drivers points in the championship standings. He hasn't even managed to qualify for any of the other five races since the 500. Driver Dale Jarrett has only made the field on provisionals for 5 of those 6 races and is currently 37th in the points. Teammate David Reutimann failed to make two races and is 43rd in the standings. And now, Waltrip has this matter to contend with. It simply hasn't been his year so far.

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[Source: Yahoo! Sports]

For those who haven't heard, NASCAR's season-opening Daytona 500 race this weekend has been marred by controversy from the rookie Toyota camp. On Sunday, Michael Waltrip had his No. 55 Toyota confiscated by NASCAR officials after inspectors found an odorless, Vaseline-like substance in the car's engine. Later in the week, NASCAR handed down punishment to Michael Waltrip Racing, which included the ejection of team vice president of competition Bobby Kennedy and Crew Chief David Hyder from the garage at Daytona. Hyder was also fined $100,000, the largest fine ever handed down by NASCAR. Waltrip himself was penalized with a loss of 100 drivers points and his qualifying time from pole day on Feb. 11th was thrown out. Elizabeth Waltrip, Michael's wife and the official owner of his car, was also docked 100 owners points.

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[Source: ESPN.com]

Toyota, currently running roughshod over other automakers in the showrooms, will be hitting NASCAR next year with the goal of doing the same thing to its competition on the track. Word around the pits is that this is causing sleepless nights for other teams, but not for reasons one would think. The concern here isn't the lap times, but simple economics - if Toyota subsidizes its Nextel Cup teams as it does for its teams in the Craftsman Truck series, the support that a big-ticket sponsor has to offer up could be cut in half from the current yearly value of $16M or so. Yanking several million dollars out from under the currently-established teams would be a catastrophic event with the potential of completing shaking up the pecking order. The first bit of evidence in support of this theory is the recent decision by UPS to defect to Michael Waltrip's Toyota team; a decision that certainly could have been fueled by the promise of a greatly-reduced sponsorship bill.

If indeed Toyota offers significant financial support to its teams - which it currently claims is not in the budget - it is unlikely that other manufacturers will step up and start cutting their own checks (as it is, rumors are already flying that one of the Big 3 is already looking to pull out of the Nextel Cup).

[Source: USA Today]