Waltrip Gives Way To Truex To Race '10 Cup Season In NAPA Ride

Waltrip (l) Will Run Partial Schedule In 2010, Give Full-Time Sprint Cup Entry To Truex Jr.

Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) Owner Michael Waltrip yesterday formally announced that he "would run a partial schedule in 2010" and give his full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup entry to Martin Truex Jr., according to Nate Ryan of USA TODAY. Waltrip, who will "shift his focus to management and maintaining sponsor relations," will race in up to 12 races in the No. 55 Toyota car next season "depending on sponsorship." NAPA President Bob Susor, whose company will be the full-time sponsor for Truex' No. 56 car, said that NAPA "extended its sponsorship partially because Waltrip would remain part of its marketing campaign." Waltrip: "I believe Martin is the right guy to take over my car and go win races. ... To me, it's always about the sponsors, and NAPA has been the greatest sponsor I could ever have. This was an opportunity to put them in victory lane on a regular basis" (USA TODAY, 7/8). NAPA will “sponsor both drivers’ entries in the 2010 Daytona 500” (SCENEDAILY.com, 7/7). In Charlotte, Rick Bonnell reports NAPA signed an "unspecified, multi-year extension" of its deal with MWR. Truex said that there are "no plans for him to leave his current ride" with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing (EGR) "before the end of this season" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 7/8).

COMPANY MAN: Waltrip said, "In these tough economic times and with contraction abound in this sport and people losing sponsors, we had an opportunity to sign up NAPA for (multiple) years and get a guy like Martin Truex, Jr." He added of Truex, "I see a guy that can not only go out and win races for us, which is the most important thing, but he’s also a guy that NAPA can brand. He hasn’t really been branded in any particular direction or another, and you know NAPA, they like to make a lot of fun TV commercials and do some innovative projects when it comes to marketing their goods and services. I think Martin’s going to fall into that row nicely” ("NASCAR Now," ESPN2, 7/7).

ENGINE REPAIR: EGR President Steve Lauletta said that he "could understand what" Truex was saying when he indicated that he is leaving EGR for MWR "in part because MWR has fewer questions about its future." Lauletta: "I think we're very stable. We have a car sitting in the top 12. We've got really good sponsors. However, there are a couple of things that I know he's alluding to, one of those being manufacturer. We've been working with General Motors. We all know that story." Lauletta added the reported three-year deal MWR signed with NAPA for the No. 56 car is a "lot different position than we're in currently" with Truex' current No. 1 car. Lauletta: "We have an agreement with Bass (Pro Shops) for next year that is more than half the season but it's not the full season. There certainly are some things I can see where he's coming from." Lauletta said that he "expects Bass Pro Shops to remain with the team and hopes to find the best fit for them as a sponsor and for the team as a driver" (SCENEDAILY.com, 7/7). ESPN's Marty Smith said Lauletta indicated that EGR is "trying diligently to fulfill the rest of the season in terms of sponsorship, so there are tons of questions that have yet to be answered" ("NASCAR Now," ESPN2, 7/7). SI.com's Tim Tuttle wrote EGR "faces a hiring decision critical to the future of the organization." Bass Pro Shops has been Truex' primary sponsor in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series, and with EGR's contract with Bass expiring after next season, the team has a "one-season window to establish a new relationship between driver and sponsor." With the team "down to two full-time Cup entries and new sponsors very difficult to find in a weak economy, they desperately need to retain Bass Pro Shops with a strong on-track performance" (SI.com, 7/7).

Chip Ganassi Maintains Longtime Sponsor Target, Driver Juan Pablo Montoya

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS: In Greensboro, Dustin Long writes a factor in MWR's "growth is Toyota's support." With Chevrolet and Dodge "cutting back and Ford not likely to expand, Toyota is viewed by some as the manufacturer that could emerge as the series' strongest in the long term." MWR has a driver in David Reutimann whose "equipment has held him back until this season." With the addition of Truex, the "question becomes if this is the lineup that can raise Michael Waltrip Racing's image higher" (Greensboro NEWS & RECORD, 7/8). ESPN.com's David Newton wrote MWR a year ago "wasn't considered a second- or even third-tier organization," and "many wondered whether it could survive." But with MWR securing Truex for next season, it "shows just how fast things can turn around, from bad to good and vice versa." With Truex in the No. 56 sponsored by NAPA next season, MWR has "positioned itself for a bright future." Meanwhile, Truex's departure from EGR "isn't great for an organization that has battled perception problems since Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced he was leaving for Hendrick Motorsports midway through the 2007 season" (ESPN.com, 7/7). FOXSPORTS.com's Lee Spencer wrote "few people familiar with the Earnhardt Ganassi dynamic expect the partnership to continue in its current state beyond 2009." But EGR co-owner Chip Ganassi "maintains two solid elements moving forward" -- longtime sponsor Target and driver Juan Pablo Montoya (FOXSPORTS.com, 7/7).