CUP: Big Day For Waltrip At PIR

Sprint Cup

CUP: Big Day For Waltrip At PIR

Michael Waltrip signed a multi-year contract extension with Toyota...

Tom Jensen | Posted November 14, 2009 Avondale, AZ

Michael Waltrip (Left) and Lee White (Right) from TRD announce the extension of the partnership between MWR and TRD through the end of the 2012 NASCAR season. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Michael Waltrip continued to put the building blocks in place to strengthen his organization, with announcements of three new deals Saturday morning at Phoenix International Raceway.

First and foremost, Michael Waltrip Racing and Toyota signed a multi-year contract announcement that will keep MWR campaigning Toyota Camrys in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the foreseeable future.

After a shaky start in its first season of full-time Cup racing in 2007, MWR has come into its own this year, with David Reutimann delivering the team’s first Cup victory at the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May. Reutimann is 16th in the Sprint Cup points standings right now, while Marcos Ambrose is 18th in a car owned by JTG-Daugherty Racing but built by and operated out of the MWR shops in Cornelius, N.C.

MWR already has signed Martin Truex Jr., the pole-sitter for Sunday’s Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at PIR, to drive the team’s No. 56 Toyota, with Pat Tryson moving over from Penske Racing to serve as crew chief. Waltrip himself likely will only drive a handful of races next year.

In addition, the team recently announced TUMS would be a part-time primary sponsor of Reutimann’s No. 00 Toyota next year. Saturday morning at PIR, MWR disclosed that Best Western will increase its sponsorship involvement with the team next season and that former Diamond Ridge Motorsports owner Gary Bechtel will partner with MWR to field the No. 99 NASCAR Nationwide Series car next year with young Trevor Bayne as the driver.

“It’s a good day for Michael Waltrip Racing,” Waltrip said.

The biggest part of the news, though was the contract extension with Toyota. The automaker’s American racing arm, TRD, U.S.A., supplies engines and technological and engineering assistance to MWR. TRD is a critical support component of the team.

“To sit here in front of you guys today and announce that Toyota has signed an extension with MWR that will go forward is something I’m really proud of,” said Waltrip. “It gives us a chance to know that within this garage area our manufacturer is behind us, they support us and they’re going to be with us for many years to come. The fact that we’re sitting in front of you talking about the fact that we have a manufacturer that’s committed to us for the future is something that I’m very proud of.”

“We’re excited to be extending. We still consider them valuable partners,” said Lee White, president and general manager of TRD. “At Charlotte, the win at the Coca-Cola 600 brought TRD the first TRD-built engine victory. We’re very proud of that and obviously the way that the whole team is running with the addition of Trevor Bayne to the Nationwide Series program. And, of course, the previously announced addition of Martin Truex, Jr. coming to the program and Michael Waltrip moving into a full-time management position but still running the places where he runs the best. I think it’s very exciting and we have a lot to look forward to and we couldn’t be more pleased with knowing that our relationship is moving forward.”

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of ?Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,? and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

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