Michael Waltrip Racing
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| Owner(s) Name | Michael Waltrip (#44) Elizabeth Waltrip (#55) Cal Wells (#00) |
| Racing Series | NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series NASCAR Busch Series |
| Number of Championships | 0 |
| Car Number(s) | #00, #44, #55 (NEXTEL Cup) #99 (Busch Series) |
| Driver(s) | David Reutimann (#00-NEXTEL, #99-Busch) Dale Jarrett (#44-NEXTEL) Michael Waltrip (#55-NEXTEL) Brett Butler (Development) Ken Butler III (Development) Josh Wise (Development) |
| Primary Sponsor(s) | Burger King/Domino's Pizza (#00-NEXTEL) UPS (#44-NEXTEL) NAPA (#55-NEXTEL) Aaron's (#99-Busch) |
| Shop Location | Cornelius, North Carolina |
| Homepage | Michael Waltrip Racing at Toyota Motorsports |
Michael Waltrip Racing, originally formed in 1995, is a NASCAR team owned and operated by two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip.
History was made when Michael Waltrip Racing, during the 2007 Daytona 500, became the first Toyota team to qualify all of their cars in the official debut race of the Camry. The team, along with Michael Waltrip, also set the record for receiving the largest penalty in NASCAR history for an unidentified substance found in Michael Waltrip's car's intake manifold during pre-qualifying inspection.
Michael Waltrip Racing is one of the first three teams to field a Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series full-time. They currently field three Camrys: Waltrip (#55, sponsored by NAPA Auto Parts), Dale Jarrett (#44, sponsored by United Parcel Service), and David Reutimann (#00, sponsored by Burger King and Domino's Pizza). MWR also fields the Aaron's Toyota Camry in the Busch Series, (#99, driven by David Reutimann).
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[edit] Waltrip Raceworld
Waltrip Raceworld, located in Cornelius, North Carolina, will be the center of Michael Waltrip Racing operations beginning March 1st, 2007. Groundbreaking on the 142,000 square foot facility took place on April 5th, 2006, and the certificate of occupancy is due to be handed over on February 15, 2007. The main shop facility consists of 107,000 square feet while the fabrication shop consists of the remaining 35,000 square feet.[1]
One of the goals of Waltrip Raceworld will be to create a interactive mini-amusement park. The facility will feature an elevated walkway, providing fans with a inside look on how a race team functions. The facility will also be equipped with flat screen televisions, providing fans with an interactive experience.
All of Michael Waltrip's race teams are expected to move in by March 1st, 2007, and the grand opening will take place in mid-May.
[edit] Management
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Owner | Michael Waltrip |
| General Manager | Ty Norris |
| Vice President of Competition | Bobby Kennedy |
| Vice President of Licensing | Robert B. Brannan III |
| Vice President of Business Development | Rick Penn |
| Brand Manager | Brooke Hondros |
| Sponsor Services | Rick Wainright |
| Director of Communications | Tony Rizzuti |
[edit] Nextel Cup Teams
[edit] Car #00 History
Michael Waltrip Racing began racing in the 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 team to Innovative Motorsports. MWR ran another race that season at the Tropicana 400, the #00 Chevy for Jerry Nadeau. 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 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 finished 39th after a wreck.
In 2004, Wallace returned to MWR. 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 made his Cup debut at Lowe's Motor Speedway that season, qualifying 26th and finishing 22nd.
In 2006, the #00 was essentially two teams. One, with listed owners Mike and Bonnie Anderson under the name MBA Racing, 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.
In 2007, David Reutimann moved up from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and currently drives in both the Nextel Cup and Busch Series in 2007. He will campaign for Rookie of the Year as well as the championships in the #00 and the #99 Camrys. Frank Kerr was announced as the team's crew chief for the 2007 season. Cal Wells is listed as the car owner, as the #00 took over the owner points for Wells' defunct #32 car.
[edit] Car #44 History
Veteran driver Dale Jarrett will drive the brand-new #44 UPS Toyota in 2007. Jarrett will be eligible to use the past champions provisional only six times throughout the 2007 season and 2008, as NASCAR had made the change during Las Vegas testing. Matt Borland, who served as Ryan Newman's crew chief prior to his tenure at Michael Waltrip Racing, has been announced as the crew chief for this team in 2007.
[edit] Car #55 History
The #55 car began running in NEXTEL Cup in 2006 as a partnership between Bill Davis Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing. 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 building Michael Waltrip Racing. The agreement also 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. Bill Davis Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing ran the 2006 season without manufacturer support, although running Dodge Charger's, due to a bitter lawsuit between Daimler-Chrysler and Bill Davis Racing. In mid-season 2006, Michael Waltrip announced he will run Toyotas in NASCAR's top series for 2007. The team failed to finish higher than 14th in any race and finished 37th in points during the 2006 season.
Michael Waltrip will pilot the #55 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry for the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Season. It will be the first year of the Toyota Camry in NASCAR top series competition and the second year he will act as owner and driver. David Hyder has been announced as the crew chief for this car in 2007.
During pre-qualifying inspections for the 2007 Daytona 500, NASCAR inspectors found a gelatin-like substance in the intake manifold of Waltrip's Toyota Camry. NASCAR confiscated the manifold for detailed inspection, but allowed Waltrip to qualify with a new intake manifold installed. After his qualifying run, NASCAR immediately impounded the car. On February 14th, 2007, NASCAR announced the following penalties on the #55 team:
- Docked 100 driver and owner points
- Michael Waltrip's qualifying time disallowed
- Michael Waltrip's crew chief, David Hyder, ejected and suspended indefinitely, fined $100,000.
- Michael Waltrip Racing's VP of competition, Bobby Kennedy, ejected and suspended indefinitely.
- Entire car confiscated and taken to the NASCAR Research and Development Center for detailed inspection. (Similar instances in the past have seen the confiscated car never returned to the team, as a de facto further penalty.)
Scott Eggleston will be the interim crew chief for the #55 car. It has been reported that David Hyder has been fired. Toyota also issued a statement saying that, while Toyota will continue its factory support of the team, Michael Waltrip Racing has used two of three strikes, and that the next Toyota-backed team to be penalized for a major rules violation will have all factory support withdrawn.
Having to race his way in, Waltrip qualified for the race in teammate David Reutimann's backup car, started 15th. Waltrip ended up finishing 30th, and as of the end of the Daytona 500, has negative driver's and owner's points. Since then, Waltrip has failed to qualify for five races, and Toyota announced they will step up its support and build a new test speedway car for Waltrip to test.
[edit] Busch Series Teams
[edit] Car #99 History
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. WJR 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.
In 2006, Michael Waltrip Racing tapped David Reutimann to drive the #99 Aaron's Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Busch Series in 2007.
[edit] Partnerships
[edit] Waltrip-Jasper Racing
On January 20th, 2006, Michael Waltrip and president of Jasper, Doug Bawel, announced they have formed 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.[2]
The Waltrip-Jasper partnership ceased at the end of the 2006 season.
[edit] Waltrip-PPI Racing
The partnership of Michael Waltrip Racing and PPI Motorsports was officially announced on February 10th, 2007. The partnership will be limited to the #00 car, driven by David Reutimann. Cal Wells will be listed as the owner and the 2006 owner points for the #32 will 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 is now the #00 pit crew.[3]
Michael Waltrip Racing will retain the 2007 owner points if PPI Motorsports were to return to competition in 2008.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
| Michael Waltrip Racing | |
| Nextel Cup drivers | David Reutimann (#00) | Dale Jarrett (#44) | Michael Waltrip (#55) |
| Busch Series drivers | David Reutimann (#99) |
| Driver development program participants | Brett Butler | Ken Butler | Josh Wise |
| Partnerships and affiliations | PPI Motorsports |
| Owners | Michael Waltrip | Cal Wells |
| Toyota in NASCAR | ||
| Nextel Cup teams | Bill Davis Racing | Michael Waltrip Racing | Team Red Bull | Germain Racing | |
| Busch Series Teams | Braun Racing | Michael Waltrip Racing | |
| Craftsman Truck Series Teams | Bill Davis Racing | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Germain Racing | HT Motorsports | Red Horse Racing | Wyler Racing | |
