Michael Waltrip Racing

Michael Waltrip Racing Holdings LLC

Owner(s)	Michael Waltrip Robert Kauffman
Base	Cornelius, North Carolina
Series	Sprint Cup Series Nationwide Series K&N Pro Series East
Race drivers	Sprint Cup Series: 00. David Reutimann 15. Michael Waltrip 56. Martin Truex, Jr. Nationwide Series: 99. Ryan Truex/Travis Pastrana East Series: 00. Ryan Truex
Sponsors	Sprint Cup Series: 00. Aaron's 56. NAPA Auto Parts Nationwide Series: 99. Aaron's, OUT! Pet Care, Boost Mobile East Series:NAPA Auto Parts
Manufacturer	Toyota
Career
Debut	1994 Goody's 250
Drivers' Championships	2 2009 Camping World East Series, 2010 K&N Pro Series East

Michael Waltrip Racing Holdings LLC, doing business as Michael Waltrip Racing ("MWR"), is a professional stock car racing team focused on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The company is as a 50–50 partnership between Robert "Rob" Kauffman, the 44-year-old founder and managing partner of Fortress Investment Group, and Michael Waltrip, who first established the team in 1996.^[1] The team was the first full-time three-car team to field Toyota Camrys when Toyota entered Sprint Cup racing in 2007, and is now one of two three-car teams under the Toyota banner (along with Joe Gibbs Racing), while occasionally fielding a four-car lineup.

Currently, MWR fields the #00 Aaron's Rent Toyota Camry for co-owner Waltrip and Mark Martin, the #15 5-hour Energy Toyota Camry for Clint Bowyer, and the #56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry for Martin Truex, Jr.. In addition, MWR had a technical alliance with JTG Daugherty Racing until 2011 to field the #47 Kroger Toyota Camry for Bobby Labonte.

In addition, MWR partnered with Diamond Ridge Motorsports to run the #99 Aaron's Rent Out! Pet Care Toyota Camry in the Nationwide Series in 2010. In 2011 Waltrip teamed up with rally driver Travis Pastrana to form Pastrana-Waltrip Racing a two year venture for Pastrana to transition into NASCAR. That team is a continuation of Diamond-Waltrip Racing and will field the #99 Toyota with new sponsorship from Boost Mobile starting in 2012.

In addition, MWR fields the #00 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry for Brett Moffitt, who replaced two time champion Ryan Truex.

History

Michael Waltrip Racing began racing in the Winston Cup series in 2002, making its debut at the 2002 Aaron's 499. The car was the #98 Aaron's Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by Kenny Wallace. Wallace qualified 27th and finished 21st. Following that first race, Waltrip sold the #98 and its owner points to Innovative Motorsports.

After that, MWR fielded one Winston or Nextel Cup series car, the #00, on an intermittant basis through 2005. In 2006, MWR, in partnership with Bill Davis Racing, added a second car, Waltrip's #55, but neither car had manufacturer support.

In 2006, MWR signed an agreement with Toyota to field multiple Toyota Camrys in the Nextel Cup series for 2007.^[2] Waltrip was then able to add a third car driven by Dale Jarrett to his team for 2007, along with new sponsors.^[3] However, the MWR cars experienced a disastrous 2007 season, with the three teams failing to qualify for 39 races between them while winning only one pole with no top-5 finishes.^[4] Waltrip was forced to add Rob Kauffmann as a 50% partner in MWR to get the financing to improve the operation.^[5] After the season, major sponsors Burger King and Domino's Pizza pulled out. Also after the season, an ugly controversy emerged with Jack Roush of Roush Fenway Racing, who accused MWR of stealing one of his team's sway bars after a September 2007 race. While Waltrip and some other drivers, such as Jeff Gordon, argued that parts are often inadvertently swapped during post-race inspection, Roush held a lengthy news conference in March 2008 to accuse "the non-descript Toyota team" (MWR) of deliberately stealing the bar and threatened legal action.^[6] However, Roush, who had previously accused Toyota teams of being "ankle-biting Chihuahuas" and brought up Pearl Harbor in his effort to keep Toyota out of NASCAR,^[7] did not pursue such a lawsuit.

For 2008, MWR once again added Aaron's as a sponsor and ran competitively, but again managed only one pole and just one top-5 finish, and UPS withdrew as a sponsor after Jarrett retired and transferred its sponsorship to MWR's archrivals Roush Fenway. In 2009, MWR was forced to form a technical alliance with JTG Daugherty Racing to have sponsorship for its third car. However, during this season, MWR finally achieved success as a Sprint Cup team, including winning a race and placing two cars in the top six two weeks later. Both of those cars ended up in the top 20 for the year. For 2010, MWR has added Martin Truex Jr. as a full-time Sprint Cup driver.^[8] Michael Waltrip has also continued as a part-time driver in 2010, which brings MWR up to the maximum four cars per team when he competes.

Sprint Cup Teams

Car #00 History

David Reutimann's #00 Toyota Camry at Daytona in 2008.

The first race for the MWR #00 was in 2002 at the Tropicana 400, with Jerry Nadeau driving. Nadeau qualified 34th but finished 37th after suffering a steering failure. MWR attempted another race that season, the NAPA 500 with Buckshot Jones driving with sponsorship from Charter Pipeline, but he failed to qualify. Jones ran the EA Sports 500 the following season, where he started sixteenth and led nineteen laps before being relegated to 40th due to a crash. He attempted Atlanta again, but failed to qualify. Mike Skinner closed out the year for MWR at the Ford 400, qualifying 17th, but finishing 39th after a wreck.

In 2004, Kenny Wallace returned to MWR in the #00. Running four races for the team, his best finish was a 22nd at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Wallace ran two races in 2005, finishing 27th at Darlington Raceway. Johnny Benson ran a pair of races that season as well, but did not finish higher than 42nd. David Reutimann, who drove for Waltrip's brother Darrell in the Craftsman Truck Series, made his Cup debut at Lowe's Motor Speedway that season, qualifying 26th and finishing 22nd. In 2006, the #00 ran under two separate entries. The first ran with listed owners Mike and Bonnie Anderson under the name MBA Racing. It campaigned Ford Fusions with Hermie Sadler driving. He made only three starts, with his best finish 40th at the Daytona 500. The other was the MWR car with Waltrip as the listed owner. Bill Elliott drove the Monte Carlo in five races in 2006 with sponsorship from Burger King.

David Reutimann was tapped to drive the #00 Toyota Camry in 2007, with full-time primary sponsorship from Burger King and Dominos Pizza. He competed for the Rookie of the Year title as well as the Nextel Cup championship. However, the team struggled to qualify for races, as did other Toyota teams, making only 26 of 36 races in the season. Reutimann experienced one of the hardest crashes ever recorded at the 2007 Auto Club 500 at California Speedway.^[9] Because of the struggles, the team finished 39th in points and had a best finish of 13th. Sponsors Burger King and Dominos then pulled their sponsorship for 2008.

Reutimann opened 2008 in the #00 with backing from Aaron's. After the first five races Reutimann moved to MWR's #44 UPS Toyota and Michael McDowell took over the #00. However, McDowell struggled to keep the car in the Top 35 in owner points, which is necessary for automatic qualification into each race, and was replaced near the end of the season by Mike Skinner in an effort to reclaim a Top 35 spot. In October 2008, MWR transferred its third team to the #47 Toyota of JTG Daugherty Racing, driven by Marcos Ambrose, and discontinued the #00 team for the balance of the season.^[10]

In 2009, the #00 was once again driven by Reutimann with Aaron's sponsorship for the entire 2009 season. This became Reutimann and MWR's breakthrough season, as Reutimann won a rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 on May 25, 2009, giving Michael Waltrip Racing its first victory in a Sprint Cup race, which was considered vindication for a team that had struggled for years.^[4] After a strong start to the season, Reutimann ranked among the top-12 drivers (who qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup) after finishing third at the Pocono 500 in race #14. He was caught by an early wreck at Daytona in race #18 that dropped him to 14th, however, and he narrowly finished outside the Chase. He also won his second pole at Texas Motor Speedway in April and his third pole at Dover International Speedway in the race after his first victory.^[11]

For 2010, Reutimann and the #00 team returned with minimal changes. On July 10, they won the Lifelock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, for MWR's 2nd Sprint Cup win.

On November 4, 2011, MWR announced that Reutimann would not return as driver of the #00 for 2012. Aaron's will return as sponsor and Mark Martin was signed to a two-year deal to drive 25 of the 36 races for the team, similar to the arrangement he had with Ginn Racing and Dale Earnhardt, Inc. from 2007-08 before decided to return to full-time racing with Hendrick Motorsports in 2009. It is not clear who will drive the car for the other eleven races.

Car #56 History

Michael Waltrip (#55) raced without manufacturer support in 2006.

The #56 car began running in Sprint Cup in 2006 as a partnership between Bill Davis Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing running the #55 Dodge. The partnership allowed Bill Davis to return his second team to full-time status while Michael Waltrip and his sponsor NAPA Auto Parts would have a car to race while expanding Michael Waltrip Racing. The agreement allowed for the transfer of owner points from BDR to MWR following the season. Soon afterwards, Jasper Motorsports closed down, and Waltrip purchased that team's owners points to be guaranteed a starting spot in the first five races of the 2006 season, with former Jasper owner Doug Bawel being listed as owner. Davis and Waltrip ran the 2006 season without manufacturer support, although running Dodge Chargers, due to a bitter lawsuit between Daimler-Chrysler and Davis. In a dismal 2006 season, the team failed to register a finish higher than 14th and finished 37th in the points.

Michael Waltrip started on the outside pole for the 50th Daytona 500.

Michael Waltrip Racing switched to the then-new Toyota Camry for the 2007 season with sponsor NAPA Auto Parts in the Nextel Cup Series. It was a dismal first year for the #55 Toyota Camry in NASCAR top series competition, as Waltrip's team faced stiff penalties for using illegal fuel additives during qualifying for the Daytona 500. The team rebounded to qualify 15th via the Gatorade Duels, but finished 30th, leaving Daytona with negative driver and owner points (the team's finish in the Daytona 500 earned them 73 points, but the 100 point penalty they received from NASCAR left them last in the standings at −27 points). Waltrip proceeded to fail to qualify for 11 consecutive races before qualifying for his second race at Dover International Speedway on June 2. Making just his third start of the season at Michigan International Speedway on June 18, Waltrip posted the team's first top-10 finish and Toyota's third by finishing 10th and leading a lap. In order to take advantage of the champions provisional, Terry Labonte drove the #55 in 2007 at Infineon, Indianapolis, and Watkins Glen.^[12] Waltrip gave Toyota its second pole in Cup competition at Talladega on October 7 and grabbed another top-10 finish at Lowe's the following week, bringing his team barely inside the top 43 in points by the end of the season.

Waltrip continued to run the #55 during 2008 and 2009. The car qualified in the Top 35 in owner points for 2008, and Waltrip recorded his best finish as a Sprint Cup owner with a second place in the 2008 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 in June. In 2009, Waltrip started the season with a seventh place finish in the 2009 Daytona 500. However, because Waltrip consistently qualified and finished behind both of his teammates (Reutimann and Ambrose) during the first half of 2009, he began to discuss retirement as a driver, stating that, as his team's owner, he would make himself retire as a driver if he was no longer competitive.^[4]

In 2010, Martin Truex, Jr. replaced Waltrip as the driver for this team, renumbered as #56. Waltrip drove an additional NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry in the Daytona 500. The #56 team used the #55's owner's points for 2010.

Car #15

With Michael Waltrip's move away from full-time driving, the team began fielding a fourth car for him in selected races in 2010. Instead of continuing to use the #55, Waltrip decided to go with the #51, which is the inverse of the #15, which is the car that Waltrip drove for DEI to two victories at Daytona. Waltrip first drove the #51 for the 2010 Daytona Speedweeks, and he became the final qualifier in the 2010 Daytona 500 despite wrecking in the qualifying race.^[13] However, for Talladega, Bristol, Michigan & Sonoma, Waltrip opted to drive for Prism Motorsports in the #55, under the technical alliance between the teams.^[14] Waltrip also ran the fall Talladega race under the MWR banner in the #55.

In 2011, Waltrip drove the #15 at Daytona and Talladega under the MWR banner.

The #15 will race full time in Sprint Cup in 2012 as Clint Bowyer joins the team from Richard Childress Racing. Bowyer will run with 5-Hour Energy as his sponsor.

Car #47 History

Dale Jarrett's #44 Toyota Camry at Daytona in 2008.

See also: JTG Daugherty Racing

The #47 car succeeded the #44 at MWR. The #44 debuted under the MWR banner at the 2007 Daytona 500. Veteran driver Dale Jarrett drove the #44 UPS Toyota in 2007, licensing the number from Petty Enterprises. Prior to the start of the season, NASCAR changed the rules regarding the provisional starting spot for past NEXTEL/Sprint Cup champions, limiting past champions to use the provisional only six times.^[15] Jarrett, who qualified for only two of the first nine races on speed, used his last champions provisional at Talladega in April 2007. After Jarrett's depletion of provisionals, crew chief Matt Borland was released from Michael Waltrip Racing, with Jason Burdett replacing Borland.,^[16] but the car was unable to crack the top 35 in owners points during the 2007 season.

Jarrett drove the #44 for the first five races of the 2008 season as the well as the Budweiser Shootout and NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race before retiring from racing. David Reutimann took over after that and drove the car for the remainder of the year. Under Reutimann, the car easily finished in the Top 35 for owner points, and Reutimann won his first pole (and MWR's second) in the last race of the season, at Homestead. However, prior to the end of the 2008 season, UPS withdrew its sponsorship for the 2009 season, becoming the third major sponsor to abandon MWR during its two years of struggling under the Toyota banner. As a result, the number 44 was returned to Petty Enterprises at the end of the 2008 season.

MWR reached a technical alliance with JTG Daugherty Racing prior to the end of the 2008 season. Under that agreement, Australian Marcos Ambrose drove the third MWR Camry, renumbered to #47 and sponsored by Little Debbie/Kingsford Charcoal/Clorox, as part of the MWR team in 2009. Rob Kauffman of MWR is the listed owner of this team, which permitted the team to use the 2008 owner points from the #44 to qualify for 2009 races at the start of the year. Although JTG Daugherty Racing maintains operations separate from MWR for its other functions, it has imbedded its Sprint Cup team personnel into MWR.^[17] At the Kobalt Tools 500 in March, Ambrose's gas man chased a runaway tire into the grass alongside the track, forcing a caution flag and earning him a four-race suspension, along with season-long probation for himself and his crew chief.^[18] In early April, one commentator stated that "no one, not even Reutimann, has been a bigger, more pleasant surprise this season than Ambrose, who's running close to the front just about every week."^[19] Ambrose finished 18th in Sprint Cup points in 2009, but MWR and JTG Daugherty reviewed the terms of the alliance before renewing it.^[17] Ultimately, the alliance was renewed for 2010, with sponsorship shifting to Kroger.^[20] Ambrose has since left the team and been replaced by Bobby Labonte. On October 23, JTG Daugerty announced that they would be moving out of the MWR shop into owner Tad Geschickter's shop in Harrisburg in order to improve performance beyond the MWR cars.

Nationwide Series Teams

David Reutimann drove the #99 Aaron's Toyota Camry in the Nationwide Series in 2007.

Waltrip made his debut as a car owner in 1996 driving the #12 MW Windows Ford Thunderbird. He ran thirteen races that season, winning the pole at Richmond International Raceway and posting three top-five finishes. The next season, MWR switched to the #21 with sponsorship from Band-Aid and had three fourth place finishes, and had six top-ten finishes the following season. In 1998, Waltrip fielded a second car, the #14 Rhodes Furniture Ford for Patty Moise full-time. Moise made 19 starts and a best finish of tenth at Bristol Motor Speedway, finishing 37th in points.

In 1999, Waltrip got his first career win as an owner/driver at the All Pro Bumper to Bumper 300. The next year, he switched to the #7 as well as driving the #99 car with Aarons sponsorship for three races, his best finish coming at Michigan International Speedway, where he placed second. Ted Christopher drove the #99 at Memphis Motorsports Park with sponsorship from LesCare Kitchens, qualifying 29th and finishing 28th. MWR switched to the #99 full-time in 2001, as Waltrip drove twelve races, his best finish third at the Aaron's 312. Waltrip also fielded the 99 for three races for Shawna Robinson, who had a 19th at Talladega Superspeedway, and Kerry Earnhardt, whose best finish was a 20th at Kentucky Speedway.

Waltrip had sole driving duties in 2002, running nineteen races and winning at Michigan International Speedway. The following season, he won at Bristol Motor Speedway. After making 31 starts in 2004 and winning at Nashville Superspeedway, Waltrip had only four top-tens in 2005. In 2006, Waltrip partnered with FitzBradshaw Racing to pick up FitzBradshaw's #40 car's owner's points. He drove a majority of the races in 2006, with his brother Darrell and David Reutimann driving additional races using Evernham engines.

David Reutimann drove the #99 Aaron's Toyota Camry for Waltrip in 2007. He won his first career Nationwide Series race with the team at Memphis Motorsports Park in October, and finished second in points. In the latter part of 2007, MWR also fielded a second car with Michael McDowell to prepare him for a possible Sprint Cup career.

In 2009, the #99 Toyota is currently being split by Michael Waltrip with sponsorship from Aaron's and Best Western, Trevor Bayne, and Scott Speed with sponsorship from Red Bull Energy Drink. For 2010 the team was co-purchased by former Diamond Ridge Motorsports owner Gary Betchel to form Diamond-Waltrip Racing to field development driver Trevor Bayne in the #99 full time for 2010, though they have limited sponsorship. Trevor Bayne left the team before the Kansas Speedway race in September. Martin Truex Jr. is the replacement driver for the rest of the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series. Also, the team will field the #00 NAPA Auto Parts/OUT! Pet Care Toyota for Ryan Truex and Truex Jr. on a limited basis in 2010. Travis Pastrana and Michael Waltrip announced that Pastrana will run 11 Nationwide Series in 2011 and 20 races in 2012. The team will be called Waltrip Pastrana Racing.

Camping World Truck Series

See also: Darrell Waltrip Motorsports

At the conclusion of the 2006 truck series season, Waltrip became a co-owner with his brother Darrell's Craftsman Truck Series team. The #00 ran a full-time schedule in 2007 with NEXTEL Cup rookie A.J. Allmendinger, Waltrip development driver Josh Wise, and Justin Labonte splitting driving duties. Aaron's and Red Bull Energy Drink sponsored numerous events with the team.

Allmendinger posted the highest finish of the three drivers, finishing 2nd at Quaker Steak and Lube 200 in May. He went on to post another top 10 finish. Josh Wise had two top 10 finishes, while Justin Labonte finished a season best 12th.

Three races prior to the end of the season, the team was sold to The Racer's Group and no longer operates with Waltrip Racing.

Partnerships and Alliances

MWR-Prism Motorsports

At the start of the 2009 season, MWR entered into a technical alliance with Prism Motorsports for the 2009 season.^[21] Prism entered the #66 car in each race, normally driven by Dave Blaney but also driven by Terry Labonte at the Daytona 500 and Michael McDowell at the Aaron's 499, with one-race sponsorship also provided by Aaron's for the 2009 Coca-Cola 600. MWR provided Prism with cars, engines and technical support. Prism became notorious as a start and park operation, only running a full race when the team had full sponsorship for the race, but the team has qualified for almost every race of the 2009 Sprint Cup season using the MWR equipment, sometimes beating out fully sponsored teams.^[22]

For 2010, Prism added a second car provided by MWR, the #55, driven by former MWR Sprint Cup driver Michael McDowell. As of the start of the season, Prism had no sponsorship for either car.^[23] Prism co-owner Phil Parsons credited MWR with "allow[ing] us to purchase the cars and equipment we needed to grow our program."^[24] Although Blaney failed to qualify for the Daytona 500, McDowell succeeded in qualifying for the starting field, using Michael Waltrip's old #55 car.^[13] For Talledega, Michael Waltrip himself will drive the #55 car for Prism, with Aaron's providing sponsorship.^[14] So far during 2010, with the exception of Blaney at Daytona, both Prism cars have qualified for every race.

MWR-Germain Racing

Germain Racing was an existing NASCAR Nationwide Series team that entered into Sprint Cup racing through a technical alliance with MWR beginning with two races during the 2008 season, with MWR supplying the #13 Toyota Camry and technical support for Germain and driver Max Papis.^[25] Papis had previously driven for MWR vice president Cal Wells in the CART series.^[25]

In 2009, Germain Racing attempted to run a limited schedule in the Sprint Cup Series with Papis and sponsor GEICO. The team qualified for 15 races in 21 attempts. Germain planned to run full time in 2010, but it might be required to start and park some unscheduled events due to its limited sponsorship from GEICO and lack of additional sponsorship.^[26] In the first event of the 2010 season, Papis qualified for the Daytona 500,^[27] and since then, the #13 Toyota Camry has qualified for four of the first five races.

Diamond-Waltrip Racing

Main article: Diamond-Waltrip Racing

After the 2009 season, MWR sold the assets of its Nationwide team to Gary Bechtel and his Diamond Ridge Motorsports. Running the under the moniker of Diamond-Waltrip Racing, Bechtel's team ran the #99 Toyota for MWR drivers Trevor Bayne, Ryan Truex, And Martin Truex Jr. and received technical support, equipment, owner's points, and employees from Waltrip.

Logo of Michael Waltrip Racing used only in 2006.

Waltrip-Jasper Racing

On January 20, 2006, Michael Waltrip and president of Jasper Motorsports, Doug Bawel, announced the forming of Waltrip-Jasper Racing. Waltrip-Jasper Racing fielded the No. 55 NAPA Auto Parts Car in the 2006 Nextel Cup Series, driven by Waltrip. Bawel, as the listed owner of the No. 77 that he fielded with Roger Penske in 2005, had a guaranteed starting spot in the first five races of 2006 by virtue of finishing 34th in the 2005 owner points. This enabled Waltrip to make the first five races in 2006 without qualifying on time.^[28]

The Waltrip-Jasper partnership ceased at the end of the 2006 season.

Waltrip-PPI Racing

The partnership of Michael Waltrip Racing and PPI Motorsports was officially announced on February 10, 2007. The partnership was limited to the #00 car, driven by David Reutimann. Cal Wells was listed as the owner and the 2006 owner points for the #32 was be transferred to the #00 for the 2007 season. The partnership included the purchase of all equipment and personnel at PPI Motorsports, as the former #32 pit crew became the #00 pit crew.^[29]

The Waltrip-PPI partnership ceased at the end of the 2007 season, with Cal Wells moving to a management position at Waltrip Racing.

Michael Waltrip Racing Executive Team

Cal Wells’’' – Wells was the E.V.P. and COO. Cal Wells has a rich racing history and his motorsports experience spans over 30 years. Wells has achieved quite a bit in his career and his business savvy has allowed him to become an owner himself in a variety of racing series. In his current role Wells is in charge of overseeing day-to-day operations for three NSCS teams and one NNS team at Michael Waltrip Racing. However he was terminated from his position in July 2011. Staff members of MWR formally reporting to Wells will now report to part owner Rob Kauffmann.^[30] Some have speculated Wells termination may mean behind the scenes finical woes, similar to Richard Petty Motor sports at the end of the 2010 season.

Ty Norris Norris is the E.V.P. of Business Development and is also the General Manager. Ty Norris’ career in NASCAR spans the course of 15 years and includes some of the sport’s most recognizable names – Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Speedway Motorsports, Inc. and RJ Reynolds. Over the past few years, Norris has applied his industry knowledge to help grow Michael Waltrip Racing and negotiate key partnerships with sponsors, such as, NAPA Auto Parts, Aaron’s and TUMS.

Larry Johns Larry Johns is the E.V.P. and CFO. As Chief Financial Officer Larry Johns is primarily responsible for managing the 250-employee company’s cash flow as well as communicating the team’s strategic direction for execution from the shop floor to the racetrack. Johns previously served as CFO of PPI Motorsports, LLC and prior to that owned his own business for almost a decade.

Steve Hallam Hallam is the E.V.P. and Director of Competition. Hallam moved from England to North Carolina when he joined Michael Waltrip Racing before the 2009 season, giving up his job as head of race operations for McLaren after 27 years as an engineer and manager in Formula One. His resume includes 445 Grand Prix and six world championships.

Bobby Kennedy Kennedy is the E.V.P. of Race Operations. Kennedy’s NASCAR career began in 1987 and includes affiliations with organizations such as SABCO and Petty Enterprises. He joined Michael Waltrip Racing in January 2001 and has been instrumental to the success of the organization.

Nick Hughes Nick Hughes is the E.V.P. and Technical Director. Nick joined Michael Waltrip Racing in March 2008 after spending five years at Evernham Motorsports where he served as Director of Vehicle Dynamics and Simulation. Prior to that he worked as Chief Design Engineer for Penske Racing Shocks in Pennsylvania.

Raceworld USA

Raceworld USA, located in Cornelius, North Carolina, is the race shop and center of operations for Michael Waltrip Racing. The main shop facility consists of 107,000 square feet (9,900 m²) while the fabrication shop consists of the remaining 35,000 square feet (3,300 m²).^[31]

Raceworld USA is also intended to be a tourist attraction. The shop features elevated walkways and flat screen televisions, providing fans with an interactive inside look on how a race team functions. Also, Raceworld USA allows patrons to hold events at the race shop.

The exhibit content in the facility was designed by Portland, Oregon–based Downstream.

External links

• Michael Waltrip/MWR Website

References

1. ^ Rea White (October 12, 2007). "MWR names 50 percent partner". SceneDaily. SceneDaily. http://www.scenedaily.com/stories/2007/10/08/scene_daily448.html. Retrieved 2007-10-13. 
2. ^ "Michael Waltrip Racing and Toyota Enter NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Competition Together in 2007"
3. ^ "Dow Automotive Announces Marketing Partnership with Michael Waltrip Racing, Dale Jarrett and No. 44 UPS Toyota Team", Feb. 2, 2007.
4. ^ ^{a b c} David Caraviello (May 28, 2009). "Waltrip team evolves from laughingstock to winner". NASCAR.com. http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/headlines/cup/05/28/mwaltrip.finding.success.owner/index.html. Retrieved 2009-05-30. 
5. ^ Gene Laverty (2007-10-12). "Fortress's Kauffman Buys Stake in Waltrip Nascar Team". Bloomberg L.P.. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601079&sid=a1vcBrZfQsrM. Retrieved 2009-07-10. 
6. ^ http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/cup/03/29/mwaltrip.responds.partgate.jroush/index.html
7. ^ Terry Blount (2008-03-25). ["http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?seriesId=2&id=3311679" "Roush accused unknown Toyota team of possessing proprietary part"]. ESPN. "http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?seriesId=2&id=3311679". Retrieved 2009-07-08. 
8. ^ Official: Martin Truex to Michael Waltrip Racing
9. ^ Marty Smith (March 5, 2007). "Reutimann's crash among hardest ever recorded". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?seriesId=2&id=2780606. Retrieved 2007-02-07. 
10. ^ "Ambrose to drive the 47 Toyota for MWR at Atlanta", FanZone/NASCAR, Oct. 17, 2008.
11. ^ "Reutimann on a roll, earns pole for Dover Cup race". NASCAR.com. May 29, 2009. http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/headlines/cup/05/29/preview.cup.dreutimann.dover.pole/index.html. Retrieved 2009-05-29. 
12. ^ Terry Labonte to replace M. Waltrip in the No. 55 at road courses
13. ^ ^{a b} Associated Press (February 11, 2010). "Johnson, Kahne divide wins in Daytona qualifiers; Waltrip in". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/2010-02-11-daytona-qualifiers_N.htm. 
14. ^ ^{a b} Associated Press (2010-03-12). "Michael Waltrip to enter Talladega race". Yahoo!. http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news;_ylt=AiC7LKQut_xulL0oGdqWGbjov7YF?slug=ap-nascar-waltrip-talladega&prov=ap&type=lgns. Retrieved 2010-03-12. 
15. ^ David Newton (January 31, 2007). "Past champion's provisional entry limited to six". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?seriesId=2&id=2740483. Retrieved 2009-05-30. 
16. ^ Dave Rodman (May 3, 2007). "Borland let go as crew chief for Jarrett's No. 44 Toyota". NASCAR. NASCAR. http://www.nascar.com/2007/news/headlines/cup/05/03/djarrett.mborland.chief.change/index.html. Retrieved 2007-05-03. 
17. ^ ^{a b} Bob Pockrass (2009-06-29). "JTG Daugherty Racing needs to re-sign with MWR in Cup; plans to scale back Nationwide effort". scenedaily.com. http://www.scenedaily.com/news/articles/nationwideseries/JTG_Daugherty_Racing_needs_to_re-sign_with_MWR_in_Cup_plans_to_scale_back_Nationwide_effort.html. Retrieved 2009-07-10. 
18. ^ "Ambrose's gas man draws four-race suspension", Sporting News, March 10, 2009.
19. ^ "Power Rankings", Yahoo!, April 7, 2009.
20. ^ Blount, Terry (January 28, 2010). "Last-chance Ambrose answers the bell". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/columns/story?columnist=blount_terry&id=4864125. 
21. ^ Waltrip says alliance with Prism Motorsports helpful, NASCAR, 4 February 2009.
22. ^ John Bassetti (2009-05-11). "Blaney blessed at squeezing a buck". Youngstown Vindicator. http://www.vindy.com/news/2009/may/11/blaney-blessed-at-squeezing-a-buck/. Retrieved 2009-05-29. 
23. ^ Dave Rodman (2010-02-03). "Prism Motorsports will attempt two full schedules". NASCAR. http://www.nascar.com/2010/news/headlines/cup/02/03/prism.motorsports/. 
24. ^ A. Skyler (February 10, 2010). "Prism Gearing Up For Daytona 500, NASCAR Team Will Make Its First Appearance As A Multi-Car Entry". PaddockTalk.com. http://paddocktalk.com/news/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=127954&newlang=&topic=11&catid=21. 
25. ^ ^{a b} Bob Pockrass (2008-10-27). "Max Papis, Germain Racing to align with Michael Waltrip Racing". SceneDaily.com. http://www.scenedaily.com/news/articles/sprintcupseries/Max_Papis_Germain_Racing_to_align_with_Michael_Waltrip_Racing.html. Retrieved 2010-02-11. 
26. ^ Germain Racing plans to keep Nationwide Truck teams as it begins Cup effort
27. ^ Max Papis, Michael McDowell race their way into Daytona 500
28. ^ NASCAR.COM – Waltrip, Jasper form ownership company – Jan 20, 2006
29. ^ Waltrip's No. 00 to partner with PPI Motorsports
30. ^ Spencer, Lee. "Cal Wells no longer with Michael Waltrip Racing Team". Fox Sports. http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/Cal-Wells-no-longer-with-Michael-Waltrip-Racing-team-072511. Retrieved July 25th 2011. 
31. ^ NASCAR.COM – Waltrip Raceworld: Whistle as they work – Feb 8, 2007