After collaborating with Toyota and growing to three full-time entrants, Michael Waltrip Racing had high hopes going into the 2007 NASCAR Cup Series season. Rather, the team’s Daytona 500 debut turned into one of the most notorious disputes in the sport. Ty Norris, a former MWR executive, has disclosed how close the company was to being completely eliminated from the competition over twenty years later. And it was all thanks to an ultimatum from then-NASCAR president Mike Helton.

“There was a crew chief and a shock guy that were pretty close. And I’m like, ‘What did you do?’ Nothing. I’m like, that’s the unacceptable answer. What’d you do? What’s going on? Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. So Brian France and Mike Helton walk down, they grab us, and they go into the lounge and they said, ‘You find out what’s going on right now. Get someone to admit what they did because they couldn’t figure it out either. Or we’re sending all three of your teams home.’”

Ty Norris recounted the terrifying warning, which demonstrates how seriously NASCAR took the issue before the start of the 2007 Daytona 500.

Michael Waltrip’s No. 55 Toyota failed inspection after officials discovered an unknown blue residue inside the intake manifold. In the end, NASCAR concluded from the inquiry that Waltrip’s team had utilized an illegal fuel additive.

Consequently, MWR director of competition Bobby Kennedy and crew chief David Hyder were removed from the speedway and given an indefinite suspension. Hyder received a $100,000 fine, a record for NASCAR. Waltrip lost 100 points. Buffy, his wife and the team’s “official” owner, lost 100 points as well.

Waltrip on his part quickly distanced the organization’s leadership from the violation.

“During preparations for the 2007 season and especially the 2007 Daytona 500, I specifically requested that our competition teams not disrespect NASCAR, our competitors or our sponsors by blatantly circumventing the rules. This is not the action of an organization, a manufacturer or a sponsor. This was an independent act done without consent or authorization from me or any of my executive management team.”

Norris clarified that there were no immediate solutions from the team itself. Following Helton’s demand, MWR shut down their hauler and started going through every supply box, cabinet, and chemical container. The attempt to identify the mysterious material was frantic.

Norris even described repeatedly carrying different products to NASCAR technical director John Darby. He thought that one would fit the findings of the inspectors. Sterno fuel used for catering trays was also included in the search. However, every assumption turned out to be incorrect.

The organization never fully determined who introduced the chemical into the fuel system. A handful of employees were dismissed. However, Norris admitted they “never really got the full story.” Norris also debunked a persistent myth: the substance was never jet fuel.

That aligns with what NASCAR competition vice-president Robin Pemberton said at the time.

“It was a foreign substance that shouldn’t have been in the engine,” Pemberton said. “It was completely different from oil (which Waltrip claimed it was). It wasn’t anything we’ve seen before and it wasn’t anything that could have gotten in there accidentally.”

The “blue goo” affair is still one of NASCAR’s most notorious inspection scandals, over twenty years later. And now, Norris’s memory provides an insightful glimpse into the hectic rush behind one of the most contentious Daytona weekends in sports history.