A team built by a two-time Daytona 500 winner, carried through a rough 2007 by a new co-owner, and remembered for a record fine and a final closure after 2015.
Michael Waltrip Racing was a Toyota-backed stock car team founded in 1996 by Michael Waltrip. It ran full-time in Sprint Cup from 2007, won its first Sprint Cup race in 2009 and stopped full-time racing after 2015.
Michael Waltrip Racing, or MWR, was an American stock car team that ran full-time in NASCAR's top series from 2007 until it stopped after 2015. Michael Waltrip founded it in 1996 in the Busch Series, and it became a Toyota team with a co-owner from the investment world. Its record includes its first Sprint Cup win in 2009 and a record fine in 2013. Its later years brought sponsor changes, penalties and the end of full-time racing.
What was Michael Waltrip Racing?
MWR was a stock car team built around Michael Waltrip, a two-time Daytona 500 winner. It competed in the Winston Cup Series from 2002, later became a full-time Toyota operation, and ran up to three Sprint Cup cars at its peak. It was also the last original Toyota team still running in Sprint Cup before its exit.
Raceworld USA was also designed to attract fans as a tourist attraction. The team had about 250 employees. Its results were uneven across the years it ran.
A Toyota team that won a Sprint Cup race, took a record fine and closed its doors after 2015.
How did the team begin?
Michael Waltrip first established the team in 1996 in the Busch Series. Its Winston Cup debut came in 2002 at the Aaron's 499, with Kenny Wallace in the No. 98 car. Wallace qualified 27th and finished 21st in that first race.
After that debut, Waltrip sold the No. 98 and its owner points to Innovative Motorsports. The team then ran one car intermittently before the Toyota era began in earnest.
Waltrip made his owner debut in 1996 with the No. 12 Ford. He later won his first owner-driver race at the 1999 All Pro Bumper to Bumper 300.
Why was 2007 so difficult?
Toyota entered the Sprint Cup fold in 2007, and MWR was the first full-time three-car Toyota operation. The start was poor. MWR teams were disallowed from Daytona 500 starting spots in February 2007 because of an illegal fuel additive.
Each team member faced a $100,000 fine, and the penalty hit the team's sponsorship as well as its results. Burger King and Domino's Pizza left as sponsors, and the team failed to qualify for many events during the year.
The Toyota link defines much of the team's history, because the manufacturer tie shaped its cars from 2007 onward.
Joe Gibbs Racing joined Toyota's Sprint Cup program in 2008, which made the competition tougher for every Toyota team. The team had to compete against a larger Toyota presence.
Who co-owned Michael Waltrip Racing?
Robert Kauffman co-owned MWR 50-50 with Waltrip from 2007. Kauffman was the founder of Fortress Investment Group before he joined the team to repair the damage from the early-season penalties.
Waltrip partnered with Rob Kauffman as a 50% co-owner to fix the problem.
What was the Roush sway bar dispute?
After the 2007 season, Jack Roush accused MWR of taking a sway bar after a September 2007 race. Waltrip and some drivers argued that parts are often swapped by accident during post-race inspection, and the dispute grew loud.
Roush held a news conference in March 2008 and threatened legal action. NASCAR declared that the Toyota teams did nothing wrong, and Roush did not pursue the lawsuit he had threatened. The matter ended without a court case.
When did the team win its first Sprint Cup race?
David Reutimann won a rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 on May 25, 2009. That was MWR's first Sprint Cup victory.
Reutimann finished third at the 2009 Pocono 500. He won the LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland on July 10, 2010, which was MWR's second Sprint Cup win.
Martin Truex Jr. became a full-time Sprint Cup driver in 2010, and Michael Waltrip continued as a part-time driver.
What happened at Richmond in 2013?
At the 2013 Richmond race, Clint Bowyer spun out with seven laps to go and forced a caution. Truex was just ahead of Ryan Newman for the final Chase wildcard, and rumours soon spread that the spin was deliberate.
Brian Vickers pitted on orders from general manager Ty Norris, who was serving as his spotter. An investigation could not prove Bowyer's spin was deliberate, but it did find that Norris had tried to manipulate the race and the Chase standings.
NASCAR fined MWR a record $300,000 and docked all three MWR teams 50 driver and owner points. The penalty ejected Truex from the Chase and put Newman in. Ty Norris, the general manager, was at the centre of the affair. Ty Norris was suspended indefinitely, and NAPA Auto Parts ended its MWR sponsorship after the incident.
Which drivers carried the No. 15, 55 and 56?
Clint Bowyer joined the No. 15 in 2012 from Richard Childress Racing. He won at Sonoma in June 2012 and at Richmond in September for MWR's fourth win. Bowyer finished second in the 2012 points standings.
The No. 15 began as the No. 51 in 2010 for Waltrip, and Bowyer later moved to HScott Motorsports after the 2015 season.
The No. 55 had its own story. Mark Martin drove 24 races in the car in 2012. Brian Vickers won at Loudon in 2013 in the No. 55, but Tony Stewart ran out of gas just before the white flag, and Vickers' later season was cut short.
Stewart broke his leg in a sprint car accident in August 2013. Blood clots in Vickers' leg ended his 2013 season, and David Ragan took over the No. 55 at Kansas in 2015. Vickers had missed the first two races of that year after heart surgery.
Martin Truex Jr. replaced Waltrip in the No. 56 team in 2010. He won the Toyota Save Mart 350 at Sonoma on June 23, 2013, his second career win and MWR's seventh. It was the final Sprint Cup victory for the team.
NAPA announced on September 19, 2013 that it would leave the No. 56. The No. 56 points moved to a research team on October 14, 2013, and Furniture Row Racing picked up Truex for 2014.
How did the Nationwide program fare?
David Reutimann won his first Nationwide race with the team at Memphis, and Trevor Bayne drove the No. 99 in 2010 for Diamond-Waltrip Racing. He left the team before the Kansas race in September 2010.
The Nationwide assets were sold after 2009, when Gary Bechtel's Diamond Ridge Motorsports bought them. Travis Pastrana was injured at X Games XVII in 2011.
In 2012 MWR allied with RAB Racing to field Pastrana for seven races.
Which alliances and satellites did MWR run?
MWR worked with several outside teams. Prism Motorsports ran a MWR-supplied No. 66 in 2009, a set-up in which MWR provided cars, engines and technical support, and Germain Racing had a technical alliance with MWR from 2008.
Identity Ventures Racing ran the No. 66 in 2014. It folded after one season over ownership issues, which ended the satellite team. MWR also formed a technical alliance with JTG Daugherty Racing in 2009 to fill its third car.
What happened with Dale Jarrett's No. 44?
Dale Jarrett, the 1999 series champion, moved his sponsor UPS to MWR's No. 44 car in 2007. He finished 41st in the 2007 points standings, a result that reflected a difficult first season for the new team. Jarrett retired from points racing after the 2008 Food City 500.
UPS withdrew as a sponsor after Dale Jarrett retired in 2008. David Reutimann moved to the No. 44 after five races in 2008, and Michael McDowell took over the No. 00. The team's 2008 season brought one pole and one top-five finish.
Why did MWR close?
Rob Kauffman announced on August 19, 2015 that MWR would stop full-time racing. The decision followed the penalties and sponsor losses that had marked the team's later years. The closure ended a run that had begun with a single Busch Series team in 1996 and stretched across two decades.
MWR equipment and several employees went to BK Racing for 2016. Earlier, in 2010, the team had also sued Williams F1 over a departing engineer. The team also sold its two charters to Stewart-Haas Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing. Those charters now run the No. 41 and No. 19.
What are the team's key results at a glance?
| Year | Driver | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Kenny Wallace | Aaron's 499 debut | Qualified 27th, finished 21st |
| 2007 | MWR | Daytona 500 starting spots lost | Team fined $100,000 per member |
| 2009 | David Reutimann | Coca-Cola 600 | MWR's first Sprint Cup win |
| 2010 | David Reutimann | LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland | MWR's second Sprint Cup win |
| 2012 | Clint Bowyer | Richmond | MWR's fourth win |
| 2013 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota Save Mart 350 at Sonoma | MWR's seventh and final Sprint Cup win |
| 2013 | Brian Vickers | Loudon | Win in the No. 55 |
| 2009 | MWR | Technical alliance with JTG Daugherty Racing | Filled the third car's sponsorship |
| 2013 | MWR | Richmond penalty | Record $300,000 fine and 50 points docked |
| 2015 | Rob Kauffman | Closure announcement | Full-time racing ended after 2015 |
Why does Michael Waltrip Racing matter?
MWR matters because it shows how a team can rise from a Busch Series start to Sprint Cup competition and then close after a long run of uneven results. Its record includes a first Sprint Cup win in 2009, a second in 2010 and a last victory for the team in 2013.
The team also shows how a penalty can change a season. The 2013 Richmond affair cost MWR money, points and a place in the Chase.
Its story is also tied to Toyota's early Cup push, since the manufacturer tie was central to the team from its Cup years onward.
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