Waltrip says he nearly withdrew from embarrassment

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Michael Waltrip almost didn't race on Thursday.

Embarrassed over three days of a NASCAR investigation that resulted in the indefinite suspension of his crew chief and competition director, Waltrip was ready to pull out of his 150-mile qualifying race that determines the field for Sunday's Daytona 500.

Were it not for the urging of his wife, manufacturer, sponsor and NASCAR president Mike Helton, he likely would have sat out the race and spent the day as the owner of his other two Toyota teams.

"I just felt like ... there would be a cloud over whatever I accomplished because of what happened," the two-time Daytona 500 winner said in an emotional press conference prior to the race.

"We're here to do all we can to hopefully race our way into the race, but mostly to start to rebuild people's faith and trust."

After his car failed inspection Sunday, Waltrip said he was devastated when his 9-year-old daughter wondered why her father had cheated.

Waltrip said his organization has launched an internal investigation to find out who was responsible for putting an unspecified substance into his fuel system before qualifying.

Crew chief David Hyder and competition director Bobby Kennedy were escorted out of Daytona International Speedway on Wednesday and suspended indefinitely. Hyder also was fined $100,000.

While a source close to the situation said Hyder would be fired, Waltrip, who was penalized 100 championship points, said he has not fired anybody and did not plan to until the investigation is complete. Scott Eggleston, Waltrip's crew chief when he won the 2001 Daytona 500, has assumed Hyder's role.

General manager Ty Norris said he and Waltrip have a feeling of betrayal. He said the organization has begun searching credit card records as part of the investigation, but said the process is difficult because NASCAR hasn't identified the substance to the team.

NASCAR has said only that the substance was odorless and Vaseline-like and didn't belong in the engine.

Asked if anybody had been removed from the organization, Norris said, "I'd rather not talk about that."

"We're going to find out who did it and why they did it," he continued. "There will be vindication for Michael, myself and the entire organization."