GOODY'S COOL ORANGE 500 Martinsville Speedway March 30th 2008

Track Details
Completed : 1947
Distance : .526 miles
Shape : Oval
Banking : 12° turns
0° straights
Frontstretch : 800 feet
Backstretch : 800 feet
Seating : 65,000
Contact Info
P.O. Box 3311
Martinsville, VA 24115
(276) 956-3151
Official Web site

2007 Race Results
Sprint Cup Series
Goody's Cool Orange 500 :: Jimmie Johnson - 04/01/07
Subway 500 :: Jimmie Johnson - 10/21/07

Cup Historical Race Winners

Craftsman Truck Series
Kroger 250 :: Mike Skinner - 03/31/07
Kroger 200 :: Mike Skinner - 10/20/07
Track Records
RACE RECORDS
Sprint Cup Race Record :: Jeff Gordon 82.223 - 09/22/96

Cup Historical Race Winners

Truck Race Record :: Jimmy Hensley 74.294 - 04/17/99

QUALIFYING RECORDS
2008 Qual Records Data not available.

As NASCAR has grown, so has Martinsville Speedway.

Martinsville Speedway ran its first NASCAR race on July 4, 1948. In 1949, Martinsville ran the sixth race in the series that eventually became the Cup Series.

Martinsville Speedway opened in 1947 with 750 seats and has grown continuously over the years. But other than being paved in 1955, the track configuration has not changed since Red Byron won the inaugural event.

The speedway is located three miles south of Martinsville, Va., and is the only original NASCAR-sanctioned track still running Cup Series events.

Richard Petty remains the track's leading winner with 15 victories.

The speedway's founder, the late H. Clay Earles, and track president, W. Clay Campbell, have always insisted on beautification. "We like to think of our track as a family type facility," Earles said. "We like to see a man bring his wife and children to our events and be comfortable."

Campbell became track president in 1988, and since that time the speedway has more than doubled its seating capacity. Under Campbell's leadership, the track has constructed 25 corporate suites, a chalet village for hospitality entertainment, high-rise grandstands and twice as much free parking.

Some of the other improvements in the past several years include a new entrance for race-day traffic off the U.S. 58 Bypass, all pits are now on one pit road, an overhead walkway from the grandstand to the parking area, an infield media center, new scoreboard, infield tunnel and competitors' garage.

"Martinsville Speedway is constantly growing and we expect to continue that trend for many years to come," Campbell said.

STARTING LINE UP
POS CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR SPEED TIME BEHIND
1 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 96.288 19.

666 Leader
2 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Freight 95.757 19.775 -0.

109
3 8 Aric Almirola Chevrolet U.S. Army 95.733 19.780 -0.

114
4 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance 95.569 19.814 -0.

148
5 26 Jamie McMurray Ford IRWIN Industrial Tools 95.492 19.830 -0.

164
6 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 95.487 19.831 -0.

165
7 49 Ken Schrader Toyota Microsoft Small Business 95.463 19.836 -0.

170
8 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M's 95.347 19.860 -0.

194
9 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot 95.271 19.876 -0.

210
10 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 95.213 19.888 -0.

222
11 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 95.208 19.889 -0.

223
12 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet BB&T 95.208 19.889 -0.

223
13 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 95.079 19.916 -0.

250
14 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Yates Racing 95.060 19.920 -0.

254
15 44 David Reutimann Toyota UPS 95.036 19.925 -0.

259
16 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 95.032 19.926 -0.

260
17 21 Bill Elliott Ford Little Debbie 94.951 19.943 -0.

277
18 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 94.874 19.959 -0.

293
19 16 Greg Biffle Ford Jackson Hewitt 94.870 19.960 -0.

294
20 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 94.832 19.968 -0.

302
21 38 David Gilliland Ford FreeCreditRep
ort. com 94.832 19.968 -0.

302
22 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet AMP Energy / National Guard 94.770 19.981 -0.

315
23 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV 94.713 19.993 -0.

327
24 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 94.637 20.009 -0.

343
25 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge McDonald's 94.637 20.009 -0.

343
26 77 Sam Hornish Jr.* Dodge Mobil 1 94.637 20.009 -0.

343
27 99 Carl Edwards Ford Claritin 94.600 20.017 -0.

351
28 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT 94.595 20.018 -0.

352
29 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Wrigley's Big Red 94.595 20.018 -0.

352
30 84 Mike Skinner Toyota Red Bull 94.562 20.025 -0.

359
31 70 Jeremy Mayfield Chevrolet Haas Automation 94.543 20.029 -0.

363
32 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Betty Crocker 94.538 20.030 -0.

364
33 01 Regan Smith* Chevrolet DEI / Principal Financial Group 94.486 20.041 -0.

375
34 00 Michael McDowell Toyota Aaron's Dream Machine 94.406 20.058 -0.

392
35 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Pittsburgh Paints / Menards 94.369 20.066 -0.

400
36 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet State Water Heaters 94.312 20.078 -0.

412
37 10 Patrick Carpentier* Dodge Charter Comm. 94.298 20.081 -0.

415
38 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 94.139 20.115 -0.

449
39 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet Kellogg's / CARQUEST 93.966 20.152 -0.

486
40 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 93.664 20.217 -0.

551
41 7 Robby Gordon+ Dodge Charter Comm. 93.641 20.222 -0.

556
42 1 Martin Truex Jr.+ Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 93.627 20.225 -0.

559
43 40 Dario Franchitti* Dodge Kennametal 94.078 20.128 -0.

462

Did Not Qualify
44 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil 94.078 20.128 -0.

462
45 34 John Andretti Chevrolet Front Row Motorsports 93.507 20.251 -0.

585
46 08 Tony Raines Dodge rhino's energy drink 93.460 20.261 -0.

595
47 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row

RESULTS OF MARTINSVILLE DENNY HAMLIN #11 FED EX



1 2 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Freight 190/5 500 Running
2 1 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 175/5 500 Running
3 24 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 170/5 500 Running
4 10 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 165/5 500 Running
5 9 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot 155/0 500 Running
6 22 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet AMP Energy / National Guard 160/10 500 Running
7 39 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet Kellogg's / CARQUEST 146/0 500 Running
8 5 26 Jamie McMurray Ford IRWIN Industrial Tools 142/0 500 Running
9 27 99 Carl Edwards Ford Claritin 138/0 500 Running
10 12 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet BB&T 134/0 500 Running
11 4 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance 130/0 500 Running
12 11 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 127/0 500 Running
13 29 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Wrigley's Big Red 124/0 500 Running
14 33 01 Regan Smith * Chevrolet DEI / Principal Financial Group 121/0 500 Running
15 25 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge McDonald's 118/0 500 Running
16 35 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Pittsburgh Paints / Menards 115/0 500 Running
17 6 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 112/0 500 Running
18 14 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Yates Racing 109/0 499 Running
19 13 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 106/0 499 Running
20 19 16 Greg Biffle Ford Jackson Hewitt 103/0 499 Running
21 42 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 100/0 499 Running
22 43 40 Dario Franchitti * Dodge Kennametal 97/0 499 Running
23 40 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 94/0 497 Running
24 21 38 David Gilliland Ford FreeCreditRep
ort.com 91/0 497 Running
25 32 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Betty Crocker 93/5 497 Running
26 34 00 Michael McDowell Toyota Aaron's Dream Machine 85/0 497 Running
27 23 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV 82/0 497 Running
28 26 77 Sam Hornish Jr. * Dodge Mobil 1 79/0 497 Running
29 37 10 Patrick Carpentier * Dodge Charter Comm. 76/0 497 Running
30 28 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT 73/0 496 Running
31 30 84 Mike Skinner Toyota Red Bull 70/0 496 Running
32 31 70 Jeremy Mayfield Chevrolet Haas Automation 72/5 495 Running
33 20 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 64/0 493 Running
34 17 21 Bill Elliott Ford Little Debbie Nutty Bars 61/0 492 Running
35 16 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 58/0 483 Running
36 38 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 55/0 471 Running
37 7 49 Ken Schrader Toyota Microsoft Small Business 52/0 467 Running
38 8 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M's 49/0 443 Running
39 15 44 David Reutimann Toyota UPS 51/5 441 Out of Race
40 41 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Charter Comm. 43/0 440 Running
41 36 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet State Water Heaters 40/0 420 Running
42 3 8 Aric Almirola Chevrolet U.S. Army 37/0 379 Out of Race
43 18 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 39/5 374 Out of Race



Harvick 12th At Martinsville, 2nd In Points
Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet race team earned a hard-fought 12th-place finish in the Goody's Cool Orange 500 NEXTEL Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday afternoon. He moves up one position in Sprint Cup Series points to second.

Kevin Harvick: In his own words

What are the experiences, beliefs and dreams that shape the lives of some of NASCAR's drivers? Staff writer Dustin Long asked Kevin Harvick about these subjects earlier this month as he sat in a spacious conference room at Kevin Harvick Inc.:

Dustin Long: Tell me about the best race you've driven.

Kevin Harvick: That would have to be Bristol probably 2001, we got three laps down and came back and won the race. That was probably the coolest weekend I remember racing. That was Busch. We had a flat tire or something happened and we came back and, at that time our nemesis was Jeff Green ... and that's who I had to pass to come back and win the race with like 10 laps to go, so that was just kind of neat.


DL: How much roughing it did you do early in your racing career?

KH: We roughed it quite a lot. My dad was a fireman ... on the side he would build Late Model Stock cars for other people, and they would go race and that was the money we got to go race go-karts. When we first started, we had a little tag-along, I think it was a little nomad trailer probably about 12-14 foot trailer. An orange-and-white pickup truck that my grandpa had with a camper shell on it, that's how we went to the race track with the go-kart and the tool box and everything. We actually progressed to a bread van.


DL: What's in your iPod?

KH: I'm one of those guys that can't remember anything. I can relate with a song, but I can never remember the names. I have everything from Johnny Cash to Metallica to Three Doors Down, blink-182. I'm a wide variety of music, so I'm kind of all over the board.


DL: What do you listen to when you workout?

KH: I guess I'm getting old. I watch MSNBC when I work out. So, I'm involved in all the politics, not involved in it but I like to keep up with it, the drama of the politics at this point in the year.


DL: So, what do you think of the political drama?

KH: I think that the Democratic Party is doing exactly what the Republican Party needs for them to do and that's destroy themselves before they ever even get started. It's just interesting to watch. Now it's getting down to the end of the race and they're throwing a lot of jabs at each other because it's so close and one state could mean winning or losing. Hopefully, they'll keep doing their thing and we'll all support [John] McCain and go from there.


DL: Tell me about the go-kart races at your house Martinsville race weeks.

KH: We had to kind of tone down the [go-kart] race at the house. The race at the house kind of got out of control. Last year we had 400-500 people show up. It's in my neighbor's backyard is where it's actually at. We'll have the race, but we're not going to tell anyone about it. We're actually going to try to pull together an actual sanctioned race at the second Martinsville. We're trying to do it in one of the coliseums in Winston[-Salem] or in Greensboro. Have a dirt race inside one of those coliseums.


DL: You don't like tailgaters on the road but are you really going that slow?

KH: I drive pretty slow on the road. I actually don't drive a lot on the road because my wife thinks I drive too slow. So, if I'm in the car with her, she actually drives.


DL: What stands out about your days wrestling?

KH: I didn't know anything about wrestling until my freshman year in high school. That was the only thing that I could do that didn't interfere with my racing, but it was probably the best thing that I've done to mentally keep yourself focused and challenge you and really prepare you for life in general. Just the fact that it's you against the other guy and in order to get better, you have to work at it and make yourself better even at times when you don't feel good, when you're sore, when you're tired, whatever the case may be, you still have to go out and make yourself work harder.


DL: What's on your office desk?

KH: Let's see, I have a computer and I have two notepads full of notes. That's kind of how I function is I have notepads. If I don't write it down, I'll forget it. I'm sure a lot of people are that way. Telephone and that's really about it.


DL: What's on those notepads?

KH: Just whether it's notes from my Nationwide car, what we need to do to the cars, what we did right, what we did wrong, competition notes for the 29 car. Things that I think we need to do or that I need to do better or whatever I just like to write them down. I'll put them on my desk and make them into a nice sheet, formal sheet for the meetings on that particular week. I'll just write it down. I use my computer for e-mail and things like that. For the most part, I will write it all down, I won't formally type it all out because I'll have notes on top of notes scattered everywhere.


DL: What's a skill you wish you had?

KH: I wish I could play golf better. That sounds dumb but it's really true. I'm terrible at golf. I play golf once a year and that's in DeLana's father's golf tournament that they put on for his benefit every year. I just hate playing golf because I'm just so totally terrible at it. Back in about, I'd say about '99, [Ron] Hornaday and I decided that we were the worst golf players that ever existed in the world, so we went out and bought shotguns or we didn't buy them, we went to Earnhardt and got shotguns and so we took up skeet shooting instead of golf.


DL: What inspires you?

KH: The thing that inspires me the most is just the fact of the challenges that are created in our sport from a competition aspect. I like to beat the guy next to me. I don't like when the guy next to me beats me constantly. I feel like I'm better than the guy next to me on both sides, on all sides of it. I feel like when we get beat, that drives me to compete to the next level to make myself better, to make my teams better.


DL: What scares you?

KH: I don't like the dark. I don't like pitch-black dark. That freaks me out. Because I just don't know what's around me.

STANDINGS:

1 +3 Jeff Burton 915 Leader 6 0 1 3 4
2 +1 Kevin Harvick 876 -39 6 0 0 2 4
3 -1 Greg Biffle 855 -60 6 0 0 3 4
4 +1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 846 -69 6 0 0 3 5
5 -4 Kyle Busch 831 -84 6 1 1 3 3
6 +1 Tony Stewart 811 -104 6 0 0 3 4
7 -1 Kasey Kahne 786 -129 6 0 0 0 4
8 +7 Denny Hamlin 758 -157 6 0 1 1 3
9 +5 Jeff Gordon 749 -166 6 2 0 3 3
10 +3 Jimmie Johnson 746 -169 6 1 0 2 2
11 -3 Ryan Newman 741 -174 6 0 1 1 2
12 -3 Clint Bowyer 740 -175 6 0 0 1 3

13 -1 Martin Truex Jr. 695 -220 6 0 0 0 1
14 +2 Carl Edwards 686 -229 6 0 2 2 3
15 -4 Matt Kenseth 677 -238 6 0 0 1 3
16 -6 Kurt Busch 669 -246 6 0 0 1 1
17 +2 Juan Montoya 633 -282 6 0 0 0 0
18 +3 David Ragan 628 -287 6 0 0 0 1
19 +1 Elliott Sadler 626 -289 6 0 0 0 1
20 -3 Brian Vickers 613 -302 6 0 0 0 1
21 -3 Bobby Labonte 607 -308 6 0 0 0 0
22 -- David Gilliland 584 -331 6 0 0 0 1
23 +4 Paul Menard 564 -351 6 0 0 0 0
24 +4 Travis Kvapil 537 -378 6 0 0 0 1
25 -2 Robby Gordon 518 -397 6 0 0 0 1
26 -1 Reed Sorenson 516 -399 6 0 0 1 1
27 +6 Casey Mears 514 -401 6 0 0 0 1
28 -2 David Reutimann 512 -403 6 0 0 0 0
29 -5 Scott Riggs 506 -409 6 0 0 0 0
30 +6 Jamie McMurray 494 -421 6 0 0 0 1
31 -- J.J. Yeley 471 -444 6 0 0 0 0
32 -2 Michael Waltrip 460 -455 6 0 0 0 0
33 -1 Jeremy Mayfield 446 -469 6 0 0 0 0
34 +5 Regan Smith* 438 -477 6 0 0 0 0
35 -- Sam Hornish Jr.* 438 -477 6 0 0 0 0
36 -7 Mark Martin 421 -494 4 0 0 0 1
37 +1 Dario Franchitti* 416 -499 6 0 0 0 0
38 -1 Dave Blaney 373 -542 6 0 0 0 0
39 -5 Dale Jarrett 367 -548 5 0 0 0 0
40 -- Kyle Petty 296 -619 5 0 0 0 0
41 +1 Mike Skinner 268 -647 4 0 0 0 0
42 -1 Joe Nemechek 214 -701 4 0 0 0 0
43 +1 Ken Schrader 192 -723 3 0 0 0 0
44 +2 Patrick Carpentier* 180 -735 3 0 0 0 0
45 -2 Aric Almirola 179 -736 2 0 0 0 1
46 +1 Bill Elliott 146 -769 2 0 0 0 0
47 -2 John Andretti 106 -809 2 0 0 0 0
48 -- Michael McDowell 88 -827 1 0 0 0 0
49 -1 Kenny Wallace 34 -881 1 0 0 0 0
50 -- Jeff Green 0 -915 0 0 0 0 0
51 -2 A.J. Allmendinger 0 -915 0 0 0 0 0
52 -1 Johnny Benson 0 -915 0 0 0 0 0
53 -1 Burney Lamar 0 -915 0 0 0 0 0
54 -- Johnny Sauter 0 -915 0 0 0 0 0
55 -2 Boris Said 0 -915 0 0 0 0 0
56 -1 Eric McClure 0 -915 0 0 0 0 0
57 -1 Sterling Marlin 0 -915 0 0 0 0 0
58 -1 Jacques Villeneuve* 0 -915 0 0 0 0 0
59 -1 Stanton Barrett 0 -915 0 0 0 0 0
60 -1 Carl Long 0 -915 0 0 0 0 0

ANOTHER RACE DOWN AND AS USUAL...FOR MARTINSVILLE...IT WAS EXTREMELY EXCITING...U MUST FORGIVE ME FOR POSTING EVERYTHING LATE. I GOT BUSY DOING OTHER THINGS LAST WEEK. ANYWAY...THE EXCITEMENT OF THE RACE ACTUALLY KEPT ME UP ALL DAY. NO CAT NAPS...LOL..THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS GOING ON, ALREADY IN NASCAR. KEVIN DIDN'T RUN AS GOOD AS I HAD HOPED...HONESTLY IT WAS NEARLY DISAPPOINTING TO SEE HOW BAD HE WAS RUNNING. OTHER DRIVERS KEPT IT EXCITING THOUGH. LIKE POOR MATT KENSETH. WHAT TOUGH LUCK FOR HIM!!! JEFF GORDON DID VERY WELL AFTER GETTING INTO A MINOR ACCIDENT THAN MAKING HIS WAY BACK TO FINISH IN SECOND SPOT!!! GREAT TO SEE JIMMIE JOHNSON CRASH, THOUGH. THAT NEVER HURTS MY FEELINGS. I MIGHT EVEN BE HAPPY TO SAY I WAS GLAD TO SEE "ROWDY" KYLE BUSCH HAVE HARD TIMES AND FALL OUT OF THE LEAD IN POINTS. NOT A DENNY HAMLIN FAN BUT HAVE TO SAY CONGRATS ON WINNING AT A NOT SO EASY TRACK. THE ONE THING ABOUT THIS SEASON IS AT LEAST DIFFERENT DRIVERS ARE WINNING AND NO ONE IS REALLY DOMINATING!!! REALLY TOO BAD ABOUT THE ROUSCH/WALTRIP ISSUES AND THE STOLEN SWAY BAR...I HAVE TO SAY I THINK THAT JACK ROUSH IS OVER REACTING BUT I DO NOT THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE WILL AGREE WITH ME...IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO READ ABOUT THIS IN THE FUTURE...MATTER OF FACT I WILL POST AN ARTICLE ABOUT THIS AFTER MY COMMENTS. I AM HAPPY ABOUT JEFF BURTON 1ST IN POINTS AND KEVIN IN 2nd EVEN THOUGH I KNOW THAT CAN CHANGE ON A DIME!!! WELL...ON TO TEXAS. WHICH HONESTLY DOES NOT EXCITE ME TOO MUCH. IT IS USUALLY A PRETTY BORING RACE! OK...STARTING THIS WEEK...I WILL BE PICKING OUT 1 RACE FAN WHO WILL BE FEATURED EACH WEEK HERE IN MY KEVIN HARVICK BLOG. SO BE ON THE LOOK OUT. ALSO I WILL BE HIGHLIGHTING A DRIVER TOO. ~TAMI-LYN~

SPECIAL FEATURE ARTICLE:
Waltrip had Roush part, refutes notion it was stolen

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Like others in the NASCAR garage, Michael Waltrip is making light of Jack Roush's allegation that his team may have maliciously stolen a proprietary part -- a sway bar -- from Roush-Fenway Racing last season.

Inside the Martinsville Speedway media center Saturday morning, Waltrip, owner of Michael Waltrip Racing, admitted he had the part, however, he said "no one went to [Roush's] toolbox and swiped his sway bar."


Bain of his existence
When Jack Roush says he doesn't like Toyota in NASCAR, he isn't kidding. Now comes accusations of a stolen swaybar directed at one of the manufacturer's teams. While some may be laughing, Joe Menzer writes its Roush who needs a good chuckle.


Furthermore, Waltrip said if anyone had any more questions to go ask Jeff Gordon, the Hendrick Motorsports driver who contends the incident, now referred to as "Partgate," has been blown out of proportion.

"Our spokesperson on this subject is Jeff Gordon, so if y'all have anything to ask go ask Jeff. I don't think I could've said it near as well as he did," Waltrip said.

Tongue-in-cheek, Gordon said, "I think we should investigate more. I think we should get the FBI involved."

Both Gordon and Waltrip said that after post-race inspections parts are left lying around and at times get picked up or even mixed up. Mistakes are made and Waltrip said the part was returned to Roush without dramatics or under any threat from the Roush organization.

"The told us, hey you have our sway bar and we said, 'we do?' ... it was laying in a storage room somewhere," said Waltrip, a Toyota owner who said he learned his team had the part in January.

Two opinions are being exchanged around the NASCAR garage this weekend in Martinsville. On one hand, some are of the opinion Roush, a Ford-supported operation, is being over-dramatic while others feel the allegation is substantial and when a noted team owner talks of a lawsuit, it should be taken seriously.

Waltrip said, "He [Roush] feels like he was wronged and that is his prerogative and I respect that man," said Waltrip, before adding, "I hope we don't dignify this with a whole lot of time and effort ... this is not intellectual espionage."

On Friday, Roush held a lengthy news conference explaining his frustration about the missing sway bar (Garage Pass), which he said is not subject to NASCAR teardown in post-inspection.

"It was not a part that would have been mixed up with other Toyota parts, a front anti-roll sway bar ... we designed our own part and we did an analysis of it. We optimized the torsional effect of it with minimizing the weight of it through heat treating ...," Roush said.

The sway bar had a distinctive paint job, was numbered and uniquely configured, Roush continued.

"They wouldn't fit somebody else's car unless they copied it," he added. "The other team, the non-descript Toyota team, went behind my toolbox and took my bar out of my inventory and put it with their inventory and took it home with them. That's the fact."

Still, Waltrip maintains his innocence and said on an average race weekend there are more than 70 racing vehicles in a NASCAR garage and that parts get strewn about and mistakes are made.

"If I truly felt if someone purposely got it for any specific reason, I could see why he's upset," Waltrip said.

Upon the return of his sway bar, Roush believes the appearance of the part was altered and said the incident has yet to be resolved.

"We are still considering what, if any, legal action we'll seek in the public sector," he said.