Michael Waltrip climbs into his backup Toyota before the start of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Gatorade Duel qualifying race at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, February 15. Waltrip's primary car was confiscated in a NASCAR investigation. -REUTERS

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (AP):

Michael Waltrip apologised Thursday for his team's role in NASCAR's biggest cheating scandal, saying he was so embarrassed he almost pulled out of Daytona 500 preparations.

Waltrip, who lost two key crew members Wednesday when NASCAR penalised his team for using a fuel additive, said he had to be talked into racing by his wife and Toyota officials, who are seething that Waltrip tainted their Nextel Cup debut.

"I didn't want to damage the integrity of the sport further by going out there and having people think, 'What's he doing out there?"' Waltrip said. "I came real close to not running today."

Premier event

Waltrip, a two-time Daytona 500 winner, needs to race his way into NASCAR's premier event in a qualifying race Thursday.

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

"That will hurt you pretty bad," Waltrip said. "I'm ready to bear all responsibility for what happened. You can't hurt me any worse than I am right now."

Waltrip's team was one of five busted for breaking the rules before the season opener - the sport's most significant crackdown on cheating and a clear message the sanctioning body no longer will tolerate teams breaking the rules.

"It's been rough on everybody; we're here to celebrate a race," NASCAR competition director Robin Pemberton said. "Instead, we're busy dealing with all of this."

Waltrip's crew chief and team director were suspended indefinitely after a fuel additive was found during inspection. But Waltrip, docked 100 points, will be allowed to participate in Thursday's races that determine the field for the 500.

Monetary fine

"I don't think we'll ever put this behind us, but we'll try to do better in the future," Waltrip said.

David Hyder, his crew chief, was thrown out of the garage and fined $100,000 - the largest monetary fine in NASCAR history. Team director, Bobby Kennedy, also was kicked out. Scott Eggleston, who guided Waltrip to his 2001 Daytona 500 victory, will serve as Waltrip's crew chief.

Waltrip blamed an unidentified individual or individuals within his team, adding that no one had been fired.

"We haven't fired anyone, nor do we plan on firing anyone until we know what happened," he said. "We're aggressively trying to find out what happened."

He emphasized Toyota had nothing to do with his team's actions.

"This is my fault," he said. "You can't be skeptical of Toyota. You have to look straight at me."