Michael Waltrip Racing might have lost more than just a sponsor. The team that has exceeded all expectations since their inception in 2007, is about to go backwards instead of forwards.
Martin Truex Jr.’s sponsor, NAPA, is leaving at the end of the year. Besides losing the sponsor which stuck with Waltrip’s team through thick and thin, the team may be losing the driver that helped expand their operation.
Truex Jr. was on pace to have his best season in NASCAR. He was going to be in the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the second consecutive season. Then, his team’s General Manager, Ty Norris, basically cost Truex a few million bucks, and the team a multi-million dollar contract. Now, Truex Jr. may have to find a new home thanks to Norris’ decision to tell Clint Bowyer to intentionally spin, and have Brian Vickers pit for no reason.
So what’s going to happen next?
Well, Truex Jr. is under contract with MWR until 2015. If he wants out, Michael Waltrip stated that he’d be willing to let Truex go. However, don’t expect Truex to leave the team. He’s a valuable asset for an organization that is going to need to prove themselves for the rest of this year and all of 2014. The team can’t afford to lose Truex, it’ll hurt their credibility too much.
“I really enjoyed my last four years at MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing) and I feel like we’re getting to where we wanted to be when we started four years ago, and this is obviously going to set us back. But,I would love to be there. There’s no guarantees right now — it just depends on how everything goes down,” Truex said in a press release.
There’s a bright side to all of this though. The team can see what Truex’s value is on the free agent market. There’s not too many openings left which should help them retain the man that has only won two races in 288 career Sprint Cup Series starts. If sponsorship is found, the team won’t give him up. Yet, if a guy such as Elliott Sadler can bring sponsorship along, then the team may just end up booting Truex.
Truex could land at Furniture Row Racing if they opt to go with experience for their new driver. For some reason, it just doesn’t seem likely for that to happen. Waltrip’s team has the equipment to be successful, even though they’re losing several key members of the team by the start of next season.
It’s going to be interesting to see what will happen with this situation. It appears that Waltrip wants Truex to stay no matter what.
“I don’t know — it’s too early to tell to be honest with you. I wish I knew and I wish I could say, but a lot of circumstances have to play out and it’s so late in the game and late in the season. People already know what they’re doing next year — this is definitely not the time of year you want to find out that you really don’t have a ride next year, so to speak. I don’t know, it’s going to be tough, but we’ll have to deal with it and hopefully we’ll figure it out.”
Joseph Wolkin can be followed on Twitter at @JosephNASCAR and like him on Facebook..
