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Waltrip Misses Animosity

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By TONY FABRIZIO afabrizio@tampatrib.com

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 14, 2008

CORAL GABLES - Once again, the NASCAR championship has come down to two drivers who get along so well they're practically slobbering over each other with compliments.

Darrell Waltrip finds it a bit nauseating.

"It's OK to respect each other but, man, I don't know about that 'liking each other,'" he said Thursday after a news conference at the Hyatt Regency during which second-place Carl Edwards and leader Jimmie Johnson never nudged the needle on the hate meter.

Waltrip, now a TV analyst, sat up front at the news conference with fellow former champions Richard Petty and Bobby Allison, drivers he often butted heads with while racing in the 1970s and '80s.

Kind words weren't something drivers exchanged very often back then, he noted.

"We were fighting for survival," he said. "First place paid a lot of money, and second place, nobody cared. It was all about being No. 1, and you had to fight, scratch and claw and do everything you could to get there. If it meant being a little rude and obnoxious off the track, as well as on, well you just did it."

Last year, the Sprint Cup title was decided between Johnson and his teammate and good friend, Jeff Gordon. This year, Johnson is trying to hold off Edwards, a driver who shares in his diverse racing background.

Mutual respect between the two abounds.

Johnson, who is assured his third consecutive championship if he finishes at least 36th in Sunday's Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, said he admires Edwards because he "has raced anything and everything." Edwards said he likes the way Johnson handles himself.

"The sport is what it is, and I think Jimmie's a good guy," Edwards said. "Sometimes I wish I could hate him more, make it more fun. But I just think he's a good guy."

But Waltrip thinks there's something missing now that drivers aren't as hungry or desperate.

He said he made $680 in his first NASCAR race at Talladega and pointed out that 11 drivers have already made $5 million this year, with Johnson looking at a possible take of close to $14 million.

"If I made as much money as these guys are making, every one of them would be my buddy, because I wouldn't want or need anything," Waltrip said.

Johnson said he won't apologize for getting along with his fellow competitors.

"I think it's good to have people that respect each other," he said. "We get warped by reality TV shows into this perspective that you need to be in fistfights and all these things. What's wrong with good competition and respect?"

CLOSE BATTLES

Who needs the Chase?

NASCAR's Nationwide and Craftsman Truck divisions don't reset the top 12 drivers' points for the final 10 races, yet both have closer championship battles than Sprint Cup heading into this weekend's finales.

Johnny Benson leads Ron Hornaday Jr. by three points - the closest margin in truck series history for a finale - entering tonight's Ford 200 (8 p.m., Speed).

The Nationwide title has come down to the final race for the first time since 2005, with Clint Bowyer leading fellow Cup regular Carl Edwards by 56 points. Bowyer has led the standings for the last 29 weeks, but Edwards has been on the move, rallying from 207 points down with eight races left.

Saturday's Ford 300 airs at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

FIRE UP THE METALLICA

Jimmie Johnson fielded a fair number of offbeat media questions Thursday, including one asking what his mascot and song would be if his team played in a professional sports league.

"The song we continue to play over and over is Metallica's 'Nothing Else Matters,'" he said. "So that would be our song. The mascot, I'll have to get back to you on. A lot of the guys like Captain Morgan, so we could make Captain Morgan's bottle out of it."

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