If someone plays for a bad team in one of America's "big four" sports (NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, certainly not in that order), at least the horrible team gets to play out every quarter, period, inning, and game. With NASCAR? Bad teams aren't so lucky. There are only 43 spots per race in the Nextel Cup.

And of the four manufacturers (Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge, Toyota), only one brand name has been unable to place at least one car in all 10 races to date this year. Toyota's last hope, Dale Jarrett, raced in the first nine before finishing 47th during qualifying at Richmond, being forced to watch the race. (Well, I guess he wasn't forced to watch the race. He could have done a number of activities that day. I didn't ask him.)

Dave Blaney was also close, racing in nine of 10 as well. However, Blaney did not finish (DNF) the race on four of those weekends, more DNFs than any other Nextel driver. Despite that nasty stat, he still leads all Toyota Camry drivers in points with 658. That's 37th place overall.

Then there's Michael Waltrip, one of the tallest and most likable drivers on the circuit. (The two traits aren't necessarily related, but hey, they could be. I know a lot of short asshats.) He qualified 15th for the Daytona 500, then was penalized a historic 100 points when NASCAR officials discovered an illegal fuel additive, so he began the season behind the 8-ball with negative-100 points. Since the 500 race, he hasn't qualified (DNQ) for any race, through Richmond this past Sunday. His official placement in the standings may be 55th, but in actuality he is in last place among all of humankind, because he has -27 points, while schmucks like you and me are steadfast at 0 points. Waltrip simply bit off more than he can chew, being both a driver and team owner.

Waltrip's teammate/employee/Toyota brother David Reutimann is fourth among 2007 rookies, (fifth and final place is A.J. Allmendinger — another Toyota) and his best finish was 29th this past Sunday at Richmond. He could have wound up in the top five at Talladega, but his engine had different plans with a mere 10 laps to go. He finished 32nd.

Of Toyota's seven drivers, they have claimed only 36 racing positions out of a possible 70, just over half. Oof.

I'm not that knowledgeable on all matters automotive, which makes you wonder why I'm writing this. The fabled "Car of Tomorrow" may be Toyota's key to future success, but the Car of Today featured by Chevy, Ford, and Dodge owners are finding better ranges of success. (Dodge may be struggling as well, but at least they can boast a single driver in the Top 10: Kurt Busch.)

Hopefully those Daytona dreams Toyota began visualizing down the straightaway are parallel to those of the legendary track's in-state neighbors, the two-time World Series champion Florida Marlins, who learned how to build a winner out of nothing. And hopefully their luck does not mimic that of the, well, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

If they follow suit with the latter, then perhaps it's for the best they aren't seen every race.