Reports of MWR's Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

I am going to be blunt up front: I am no Michael Waltrip fan.  Like his older brother, I see him as nothing more than a shameless self-promoter who would rather have his face on TV than contend for victories.

Additionally, I don't believe Mikey is all that talented (although Clint Bowyer's assessment at Bristol might be going too far), as witnessed by the fact he has won just four times in a Sprint Cup career that stretches back to 1985.

You could say his ability to sell things has kept him around a lot longer than anyone else with similar statistics.  When the Owensboro, Ky., native started a three-car team last season, I told myself it was not going to work.

Waltrip and Dale Jarrett were past their prime, and while David Reutimann is a solid driver, he's not going to set the world on fire with multiple victories and championships.

Plus, Michael would have to wear the owner/driver hat at the same time, and we all know how well that has worked in the past decade or so (a lesson Mikey probably should have learned from DW).

But a year and a half later, Waltrip, Reutimann, and the entire Michael Waltrip Racing team are proving me wrong. 

After a disastrous flagship campaign that saw the NAPA team get busted for a major rules violation at Daytona, Michael missing over half the races, and Reutimann missing 10 himself, it looked like my assessment was on target.

Waltrip's team wasn't helped at all by the fact that 49 teams were showing up every week and it was a struggle getting the necessary horsepower out of the Toyota power plant.

Fast forward to 2008, and thanks to a few less full-time teams, all three MWR outfits have qualified for each race and for the most part stayed in the top 35.  But the performance was still not at the level it needed to be, especially considering the fact that the team's sponsorship situation for 2009 and beyond is in limbo. 

Now, let's flashback to Michigan in late August, where it seems as if someone flipped on a switch and woke up the No. 44 team.

Reutimann has finished ninth twice, 14th, 15th, 17th, and 25th in the past six weeks.  These were not flukes either, as the team ran in the top 10 or 15 for the duration of the event.

At the same time, the effect of Reutimann's improved performance has rubbed off on Waltrip and Michael McDowell.  Waltrip had a rare top 10 at Dover on Sunday, and even the green McDowell hasn't been a rolling chicane the past few weeks.

The sudden performance surge coincides with the introduction of a new chassis at Michael Waltrip Racing, and the dividends are beginning to show.

Combined with a better understanding of the COT; improved horsepower and duration from the Toyota motors; and a year and a half to get on their feet; this team is showing signs of taking the step from top 35 team to top 25 team and beyond in the near future. And more power to Michael for proving me, and many others, wrong. 

Currently, the team's most notable obstacle is sponsorship, as is the case for many mid-pack teams in a tough economic environment.  Of the team's three cars, two are currently funded by NAPA and UPS, respectively, while the third has featured limited backing from Aarons and Champion Mortgage throughout 2008.

UPS will leave Reutimann's car for David Ragan and Roush-Fenway Racing in 2009, while NAPA has only signed on for one more year with Waltrip. 

Aarons will sponsor Reutimann in half the races next season, with several companies, apparently led by Dow Chemical, lining up to round out that car's sponsorship lineup. 

According to executive VP Cal Wells, the youthful, sponsor-savvy McDowell has potential suitors as well to keep the Phoenix native in a full-time role for a second consecutive season.

An undocumented rumor from Jayski today also suggests Marcos Ambrose may take the Little Debbie sponsorship to MWR in 2009 instead of JTG Racing as originally planned in order to give Waltrip that coveted fourth car. 

This begs the question: is MWR's sudden upturn a result of desperation?  Without any new sponsor dollars coming in for 2009, this team would have been hanging by a thread, and Michael Waltrip's dream of owning a successful NASCAR team on its way to being squashed like a bug. 

While I would still like to see the No. 00 and No. 55 cars run as well as the No. 44 team before lauding this as an up-and-coming "super team," I am going to dispute that claim. 

Yes, the team is in a potentially dire situation financially, and desperate times tend to bring the best out of people.  But sooner or later, the resources assembled were going to come together and turn this program around. 

The three-driver lineup of Waltrip, Reutimann, and McDowell may not be the most talented in the garage, but they give the team a diverse selection of wheelmen from different racing backgrounds with varying levels of experience. 

Waltrip has Wells, a former owner in CART and Sprint Cup, to lean on for support as well.  The operation is partially bankrolled by billionaire investor Robert Kauffman.

Crew chiefs Peter Sospenzo, Bobby Kennedy, and Ryan Pemberton are all experienced and proven at the top levels of the sport.  Ty Norris is one of the top young executives in the series, serving as this team's general manager. 

Steve Hallam will make the rare jump from F1 to NASCAR in 2009, as he leaves his role at McLaren for MWR.  That should be interesting.  And how can we forget the deep pockets and technical support of Toyota? 

If Waltrip needs to do anything besides securing backing, it would have to be improving his driver roster.  Reutimann can stay, but it may be time for Mikey to hang it up and focus on his administrative duties. 

McDowell has yet to prove himself at the Cup level, but let's not give up on him just yet.  So where will he turn?  He can obviously pay big money for a top driver, but before that happens, Waltrip has to prove this team is capable of running up front.

Driver development is another option, and at the current juncture, it appears as if Michael is putting a lot of stock in Josh Wise having a successful future in one of his cars. 

Time will tell if Michael Waltrip Racing is able to find Victory Lane and contend for championships, but for now, the fledging operation is finally on its way to respectability.