Watch the Michael Waltrip Racing press conference announcing Martin Truex, Jr. as driver of the No. 56 NAPA Camry for the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season

Martin Truex Jr. was announced Tuesday as the new driver of the NAPA-sponsored No. 56 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota Camry.

“I’m proud and I’m happy,” said Waltrip. “I’m turning my car over to a guy who I think can win the championship.”

It’s a move that should strengthen both the driver’s career and the team’s prospects going forward.

Waltrip will run a limited schedule in 2010, including the 2010 Daytona with other races to be determined.

Truex, 29, is in his fourth full season of NASCAR Sprint Racing, all with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and its successor, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. In 135 career Cup starts, the Mayetta, N.J., native has one race victory, 12 top-five and 34 top-10 finishes.

“I think we’re going to go on to do really great things,” said Truex. “I think the sky’s the limit. They’ve built a really good organization here.”

His best season came in 2007, when he won a race at Dover International Speedway and qualified for the Chase for the Sprint Cup, ultimately finishing 11th in points. This year, the first for the newly merged Earnhardt and Ganassi organizations, Truex is 24th in points.

Truex also won consecutive championships in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2004 and ’05.

He is a fierce competitor and a skilled driver, who should make a great contribution to the improving MWR team. When it began racing two years ago, MWR was challenged to even make races, but this year the team won its first race when David Reutimann captured the Coca-Cola 600.

“Winning the 600 with David was one of the most thrilling days of my racing career,” said Waltrip.

Reutimann is having a breakout season, ranked 14th in points with four top-five and five top-10 finishes. He stands just 74 points out of a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup and with eight races to go, stands an excellent chance of making the Chase field.

Waltrip, 46, has been forced to spend the last three seasons trying to simultaneously build his new organization into a contender and driving each week, and the strain of doing both has been reflected in his results. Waltrip is currently 33rd in the Sprint Cup driver points after finishing 29th last year and 44th in 2007.

“I just love driving race cars,” said Waltrip. “Having a team was part of my dream.”

The team owner’s best seasons came when he drover for DEI between 2001 and ’05. That’s when he scored all four of his career Cup race victories, including the Daytona 500 in 2001 and ’03, as well as the 2002 July Daytona race and fall race at Talladega Superspeedway in 2003. In 742 career starts as a driver, Waltrip has four victories, 39 top fives and 127 top 10s. His best points finishes came in 1994 and ’95, when he finished 12th driving for Chuck Rider.

Watch the Michael Waltrip Racing press conference announcing Martin Truex, Jr. as driver of the No. 56 NAPA Camry for the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season

SPEEDtv.com will have much more on this story throughout the day.

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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