Jack Roush, co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing, has been very upset this week.  He alleged that a sway bar was stolen from Roush Fenway by a Toyota team at the September 2007 Dover race .  Only when the words "lawyers" and "warrants" were tossed around did Michael Waltrip Racing cough up the missing sway bar.  Of course, this was no ordinary sway bar, it was one that had been carefully engineered by Roush Fenway for a competitive advantage and had been approved by NASCAR.  Once again we got the unabashed assertion from Michael Waltrip that he knew nothing about the Roush Fenway blue-painted sway bar that was stolen, sandblasted and researched for duplication by his team members.  His statement seemed oddly familiar to me.  Oh that's right, so soon I forget about the 2007 Daytona 500 Speedweeks.  Michael Waltip Racing was caught with an illegal substance on the #55 NAPA Camry intake manifold.  Michael Waltrip said at that time, "This was an independent act done without consent or authorization from me or any of my executive management team."  He also said, "We'll just keep digging until we find out what happened."  Never did find the cheater on his team. 

This time Michael Waltrip decided to describe the questionable ethics by his team members as a mistake, not a theft.  I guess there are only so many times you can get in front of the camera and apologize, better to minimalize the transgression and slither away.  Now you may think I'm being a bit hard on Michael Waltrip.  Maybe I am.  I expected so much more.  I am very disappointed in his ability to hire employees that uphold the same high ethics I've come to expect from Michael Waltrip Racing.  I thought after last year's cheating debacle that he would have cleaned house and got rid of any employee that might tarnish his reputation again.  I was wrong and now I'm concerned that Michael Waltrip does not seem to know what goes on in his garage.  The actions of his team seem to ring a sound of desperation. 

Michael Waltrip Racing has given a written promise to Roush Fenway Racing that the sway bar was not duplicated and the engineering would not be used.  If you look at the 2008 performance of Michael Waltrip Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, it does not appear they have utilized any found advantage.  As for Roush Fenway Racing, I understand why they are upset and I don't have a clue why Jeff Gordon thinks the actions of MWR should be considered a joke.  Of course when Roush Fenway president Geoff Smith said they would not have said anything about this missing sway bar, until they were offended by Toyota's "slander of our organization" over the missing oil can lid in the #99 Office Depot Ford, credibility did became a question. 

Now that the whole media event has died down, I do believe Jack Roush should look upon this missing sway bar as the highest form of flattery. I mean MRW could have "mistakenly" taken any part from any team.  Everyone seems to think Hendrick Motorsports is the team to beat and look how well Richard Childress Racing is doing, all three of their teams competed in the 2007 Chase for the Championship.  I would say Mr. Roush you should feel proud that it was your team the competition focused on as the team who had something on the new car figured out, as evidence by your impressive turn around in your team performance on the racetrack.  Not that you're asking for my opinion, but if I were you....I would make it a priority to devise an inventory of parts that wakes you up to the fact that an important part is missing.  I'm guessing, your sway bars are not the only thing other teams are licking their chops over.