NAPA to End Longtime Relationship With Michael Waltrip Racing After 2013

Michael Waltrip (left) and Martin Truex, Jr are far from all smiles
after news that NAPA will leave MWR after 2013 (Google Images)

They say that "when t rains, it pours." If that's the case, then Michael Waltrip may want to start taking swimming lessons because the little black rain cloud that has been over his team the last two weeks just grew into an all-out hurricane.

In what could be the most shocking sponsorship news in recent memory, NAPA Auto Parts announced Thursday morning that they will not return to Michael Waltrip Racing for the 2014 season. This comes as a result of the team's actions at Richmond two weeks ago when it tried to manipulate the outcome of the race to get Martin Truex, Jr and NAPA into the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup when Clint Bowyer intentionally spun in the closing laps and Brian Vickers pitted late to forfeit his position to Truex.

After thorough consideration, NAPA has made the difficult decision to end its sponsorship arrangement with Michael Waltrip Racing effective December 31, 2013," the company posted on it's Facebook page Thursday morning. "NAPA believes in fair play and does not condone actions such as those that led to the penalties assessed by NASCAR. We remain supportive of the millions of NASCAR fans and will evaluate our future position in motorsports."

While the news came as a surprise, it was not unexpected. NAPA announced after MWR's actions at Richmond that it was reviewing it's relationship with the team and that it would make a decision regarding that partnership. The auto parts giant is leaving MWR with two years left on it's contract and, at roughly around $15 million per year, that is going to leave a major void in Waltrip's lineup.

Martin Truex Jr's lone win for NAPA so far came this past June
at Infineon Raceway (Google Images)

Perhaps the biggest reason this news came as such a shock is that NAPA has been a sponsor of Waltrip since he began driving for Dale Earnhardt, Incorporated in 2001. In that time, he won four races from 2001 through 2003, including a pair of Daytona 500 victories. While he has not had a very illustrious career, the auto parts supplier, Waltrip has seldom been seen without some article of clothing emblazed with the NAPA shield. It was that loyalty that prompted them to stick with him when he began MWR in 2007. However, this is when the downward spiral begins.

In one of the several inspections before the 2007 Daytona 500, Waltrip's Toyota was found to have a mysterious fluid (it was never confirmed, but many maintain it was some sort of jet fuel) in the intake manifold that was meant to enhance performance. Waltrip eventually qualified for the race, but the scandal cast a dark shadow over the team and it's partners. Waltrip went on to miss 25 total races that year and, in an off track incident, crashed his personal car in the early hours of the morning and left the scene of the accident. Waltrip vehemently denied being under the influence of alcohol, but whether he was or not was never determined.

Through all of the controversy, struggles and missed races, NAPA Auto Parts was a constant at MWR. They stuck by their driver and even poked fun at him in several television commercials. But you can only poke a sleeping bear so many times before it wakes up and bites you. And that is exactly what appears to have happened Thursday.

After all of those trials, NAPA appeared content with where MWR was, despite only netting one win in four seasons with Truex. They renewed their partnership with the driver last August in their home base of Atlanta and were set to remain a major backer of MWR through the 2015 season. But after the fallout from that intentional spin by his teammate that got him into the Chase, Truex is now without a sponsor for the next two seasons. He was an innocent bystander when Bowyer spun his car to purposefully cause the caution that got him into the playoffs, but his team is the one that is taking the brunt of the fallout.



Waltrip (left) and Truex after they thought they had made the Chase
(Google Images)

MWR released a statement and it appears that they are more than ready to move on without the auto parts giant.

"Michael Waltrip Racing respects the decision NAPA announced today following the events at Richmond. There is no doubt, the story of Michael Waltrip Racing begins with NAPA Auto Parts, but there are many more chapters yet to be written. MWR has the infrastructure and support of Toyota for three teams plus three Chase-caliber, race-winning drivers. With the support of our corporate partners we are preparing to field three teams in 2014. MWR is a resilient organization capable of winning races and competing for the championship and that remains our sole focus. "

Waltrip himself also put out a release and he seemed much more apologetic than the man who just one week ago threw team general manager, Ty Norris, under the bus for the team's actions, showed almost no remorse and called his detractors "mean."

"NAPA has been with me from winning two Daytona 500s, to missing races with a new start-up team, and back to victory lane again" said Waltrip. "The relationship grew far past that of just a sponsor, but more of a partner and a friend. We will not be racing a NAPA car in 2014, but I have friendships that will last a lifetime. To the fans and those who made their voice heard through social media, as the owner, I am responsible for all actions of MWR. I sincerely apologize for the role our team played and for the lines NASCAR has ruled were crossed by our actions at Richmond. NASCAR met with the competitors in Chicago and we all know how we are expected to race forward. "

But while he has finally apologized for his teams transgressions, it is too little too late for Waltrip, whose team is still without much of its integrity, credibility and, now, without one of the most lucrative sponsors in the garage. Until the hurricane surrounding MWR subsides and the damage is assessed, there is no telling how costly this gaffe will wind up being.

NASCAR Slams MWR for Richmond Shenanigans; Truex Out of Chase, Newman In

MWR in hot water after NASCAR penalties (Google Images)

When NASCAR said that they would look into whether Clint Bowyer spun his 5-Hour Energy Toyota intentionally with just seven laps left in Saturday night's race in Richmond to help teammate Martin Truex, Jr make the Chase, most fans probably did not expect much in the way of penalties. Perhaps just probation and a "don't do that again," as has been the case in the past. But when the sanctioning body announced it's penalties late Monday night, they left many fans, drivers and reporters surprised by what they heard.

After an in-depth investigation into what happened Saturday night, NASCAR decided to drop the hammer on Michael Waltrip Racing. Each of the team's three cars (Nos. 15, 55, 56) have been docked 50 championship driver and 50 championship owner points and crew chiefs Brian Pattie (No. 15), Scott Miller (No. 55) and Chad Johnston (No. 56) have been place on probation until Dec. 31. MWR was also fined a staggering $300,000 and the team's General Manager, Ty Norris, has been indefinitely suspended from NASCAR competition. But perhaps the biggest part of the penalty is that Truex has been bumped out of the Chase for the Cup field and Ryan Newman has taken his place.



Bowyer's spin continues to confuse (Google Images) 

Because the penalties were assessed after the race and not before the Chase seeding, Truex falls to 17th in the standings, which puts Newman ahead of him. Because both drivers had only one win, Newman got the final of two Wild Card slots Truex previously held. MWR has already announced that they have accepted NASCAR's penalties and will not appeal.

NASCAR president Mike Helton said that there was no concrete evidence that Bowyer spun intentionally, but they were convinced that the team tried to alter the outcome of the event because of what was said over the No. 55 car's radio between driver Brian Vickers and Norris, who also spots for Vickers. Late in the race, Norris implored Vickers to pit his car to help Truex gain the single point he needed to gain a Wild Card spot. "Are you talking to me?" responded Vickers. "I don't understand. Pit right now?" Norris responded, "You've got to pit this time. We need that one point." Truex  would gain that lone point for passing Vickers while he was on pit road and when Vickers returned to the track, he asked his team if they had found something wrong with one of his tires that would have warranted an unscheduled stop. Norris simply replied, "I'll see you after the race Brian. I owe you a kiss."

Meanwhile on teammate Clint Bowyer's radio, spotter Brett Griffin tells his driver that "that 39's going to win the race." On the next lap, Pattie asks his driver if he's hot inside the car and if his arm hurts. "Scratch it," Pattie says. Bowyer then proceeds to execute a controlled spin and move on. You can watch the video below and judge for yourselves whether it appeared premeditated.

"Obviously, we're very pleased with NASCAR s decision to provide Ryan Newman' s rightful place in this year's Chase," Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Tony Stewart said in a statement. "NASCAR was put in a very difficult position Saturday night at Richmond and we commend the sanctioning body for taking the time to do the necessary due diligence to ensure that the right call was made. " SHR driver Ryan Newman added, "I am proud that NASCAR took a stand with respect to what went on Saturday night at Richmond. I know it was a tough decision to make. With that being said, myself, Matt Borland (crew chief) and this entire #39 team are looking forward to competing for the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. "

In addition to announcing that they would not appeal NASCAR's ruling, MWR co-owner Michael Waltrip released a statement saying, "what occurred on the #55 radio at the end of Saturday night 's race in Richmond was a split-second decision made by team spotter Ty Norris to bring the #55 to pit lane and help a teammate earn a place in the Chase. We regret the decision and its impact. We apologize to NASCAR, our fellow competitors, partners and fans who were disappointed in our actions. We will learn from this and move on. As general manager, Ty Norris has been an integral part of Michael Waltrip Racing since its founding and has my and (co-owner) Rob Kauffman' s full support."

Jeff Burton Out at RCR After 2013; Newman, Dillon May Replace Him

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Jeff Burton will not return to RCR next season (Google Images)

Another major domino has fallen this silly season and made the 2014 season that much clearer. NASCAR veteran, and longtime fan favorite, Jeff Burton announced Wednesday afternoon that he will not return to Richard Childress Racing after eight seasons together. This has lead many to speculate, not only as to who will replace the 46-year-old racer, but also about what his new plans might be. The leading candidates for the open seat are Ryan Newman and Childress' grandson Austin Dillon.

Burton and his owner held a teleconference today and explained that the South Boston, Va. driver's contract ran through the 2014 season, and once that deal ran out, Burton would run a partial schedule beginning with the 2015 season. But when there was no funding available to make that happen, the duo decided to expedite the process by a year.

"There has been a lot of rumors and speculation over the last several months concerning my time at RCR," Burton said Wednesday. "This is not necessarily the best thing in the world for me, but my wife and I have talked a lot about it. We've been in a lot of situations where we had no idea what was going to happen next, and every time we ended up in a better situation. I'm an optimistic person and I'm going to work to make this a better situation as well."



Burton has driven for Caterpillar since 2009 (Google Images)

Burton went on to say that the financial state of Childress Racing is what prompted the move. With limited funding for next year, it would not have been feasible for RCR to run the majority of Burton's schedule out of his own pocket.

"I had gone to Richard a while ago and told him at the end of 2014, I would step back and not run a full schedule anymore,." said Burton. We're just accelerating that a year early, to give RCR an opportunity to continue to move that team forward and put the funding in place with a really good driver that can go out and be successful."

"We have been working hard to try and get all the funding in place to have four Sprint Cup teams in 2014," said Childress. "With the date on the calendar getting closer to 2014, we just couldn't run partially funded teams next year. Knowing what Jeff's plans were in 2015, he and I worked out an agreement for him to step out of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet after this season."

Sources had Burton moving to either Swan Racing's No. 30 car or one of the two rides at Tommy Baldwin Racing next year. Other rumors have him jumping to the broadcast booth to join NBC Sports when they begin live race broadcasts in 2015. But contrary to these reports, Burton said that he has not spoken to any teams and that he has no concrete plans in place for 2014.

Burton's most recent win was at Charlotte in 2008
(Google Images)

"This is a scary time. It's also an exciting time. It's a little but of both," said Burton of finding a ride for next year. "The one thing I know is I want to be involved in the sport. I like the people. I like the camaraderie. I like the competition. I like the atmosphere. I'm comfortable at a racetrack, and I want to stay involved." Burton also said that he wants to be in a competitive car and that, if none were available in the Cup Series, he would consider a move back down to the Nationwide Series.

As far as who will land the No. 31 car next year, most signs point to Newman. Because Caterpillar will stay with the team and likely sponsor around 24 races, Newman bringing along his current sponsor, Quicken Loans, would fill out the team's sponsorship slate quite nicely. Another option would be for Childress to give the ride to his grandson. Though it hasn't been formally announced, an AdvoCare press release saying they were leaving RCR's Nationwide Series program indicated they were doing so because Dillon would be moving to the Sprint Cup Series next year. While Newman is the most likely candidate, Childress could possibly find it easier to foot the bill for some races so his grandson could run the full schedule.

Burton moved to RCR in the final races of the 2004 season from Roush Racing's No. 99 car. He has won 21 times in his career, including four times for RCR. He has qualified for the Chase for the Sprint Cup three times, once in 2006 and again in 2008 and 2010. However, since that most recent championship bid, Burton has finished 20th and 19th in 2011 and 2012 respectively. While he made a solid run at the top ten in points over this summer, bad racing luck has relegated him to 22nd in points heading into this weekend's race at Richmond International Raceway.