Hindsight is always 20/20, and
it is easy to look back on past decisions and say, “what if…”
Such is the case today with
Michael Waltrip Racing.
MWR announced this week that
it will sever ties with driver Clint Bowyer at the end of this season, freeing
Bowyer to drive for another team. In addition, the organization confirmed that
it will not field a full-time Sprint Cup Series entry in 2016 – for the first
time in nearly a decade -- with majority owner Rob Kauffman planning to
purchase an ownership stake in the rival Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
team.
How did things go so horribly
wrong? What took MWR from a championship-contending team to the brink of
closure in less than 24 months?
In hindsight, a number of
questionable decisions appear to have contributed to the team’s demise.
The fledgling organization
staggered out of the starting gate, with the now infamous 2007 “rocket fuel” controversy
at Daytona International Speedway. MWR came to the World Center of
Racing that year as a brand-new Cup Series race team, with no owner points from
the previous season to fall back on. In an effort to ensure they’d be a part of
the “Great American Race,” the team added something special – and decidedly
illegal – to their fuel tank.
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| Things started badly in 2007 |
Though never officially
identified, sources say the ingredient in question was propylene oxide, a substance
that increases oxygenation and boosts horsepower. It earned MWR the largest penalty
in the history of the sport; a $100,000 fine, the loss of 100 championship
points and indefinite suspensions to crew chief David Hyder and Vice President
of Competition Bobby Kennedy.
That decision continued to
plague the team in subsequent weeks. With negative championship points in their
column and no guaranteed starting spots, Waltrip, Dale Jarrett and David
Reutimann missed nearly as many races as they qualified for. Waltrip failed to
qualify a whopping 19 times that season, Reutimann missed the cut eight times and
Jarrett (a former series champion) posted 12 DNQs. The team also struggled in the
races they did make, recording 20 DNFs, most due to engine failure.
MWR paid a heavy price for its
mistakes. Sponsors Domino’s and
Burger King departed at season’s end, and sources say the team was in
danger of folding until Kauffman, a billionaire hedge fund investor, purchased majority
ownership and provided a much-needed infusion of cash.
Despite keeping the financial
wolf from the door, Kauffman’s arrival could not save Michael Waltrip Racing from
yet another bout with on-track controversy.
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| Bowyer's Richmond spin brought scrutiny |
In 2013, the team attempted to
manipulate the outcome of the final regular-season event at Richmond
International Raceway, with disastrous results. Bowyer’s 5-Hour Energy Toyota spun while
running alone with just seven laps remaining, necessitating a final restart
that allowed teammate Martin Truex, Jr. to race his way into a Chase-qualifying
position. At the same time, teammate Brian Vickers
was ordered to pit road just as the race was set to restart, despite having no
apparent mechanical issues. That pit stop, which inexplicably took two full
laps to complete, also dropped Vickers behind Truex in the running order,
further cementing Truex’s spot in the Chase.
NASCAR investigated and uncovered a
virtual tsunami of evidence against the team, prompting them to remove Truex
from the Chase and hand down a $300,000
fine; once again the largest in the sport’s history. The sanctioning
body also suspended general manager Ty Norris indefinitely, docked all three
drivers 50 championship points and placed all three crew chiefs on probation.
That damage was compounded weeks later when NAPA Auto Parts – one of the few
full-time sponsors remaining in the sport – ended their relationship with MWR,
saying they "believe in fair play and do not condone actions such
as those that led to the penalties assessed by NASCAR."
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| Both NAPA and Truex departed |
For the second time in its relatively brief tenure,
MWR paid a high price for flawed decision making.
While the 2007 and 2013 controversies
get a lion’s share of attention from NASCAR fans, MWR has also made other choices
that – in hindsight – may have helped hasten their downfall.
Unlike Hendrick Motorsports,
Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart Haas Racing and Team Penske -- who achieve success by
hiring the best drivers available, running them full-time and allowing them to
cultivate solid, long-term working relationships with their teams – MWR has rarely
enjoyed a stable, consistent driver lineup.
In their inaugural season, MWR fielded three cars for five different drivers; Waltrip, Jarrett,
Reutimann, Terry Labonte and PJ Jones. In 2008, Reutimann, Michael McDowell, Jarrett,
Waltrip, AJ Allmendinger, Marcos Ambrose, Mike Bliss, Mike Skinner and Kenny
Wallace all turned laps in MWR equipment.
That’s nine men and just three
steering wheels, an approach that makes long-term success difficult (if not
impossible) to come by.
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Reutimann was part of
MWR's revolving-door lineup |
The team found a measure of stability
in 2009, with Reutimann returning for a full schedule in the #00 Aaron’s
Toyota, while Waltrip (34 starts) and Patrick Carpentier (two) shared time in
the #55 NAPA car. In 2010 and 2011, Reutimann and Martin Truex, Jr. ran full
schedules, with Waltrip making just four combined starts at Daytona and
Talladega.
That stability proved
short-lived, however, as in 2012, MWR rolled through a five-man rotation that
included Bowyer – replacing the unceremoniously ousted Reutimann – and Truex
running the complete schedule. Mark Martin signed-on for a limited slate of 24
races, with Vickers (eight races) and Waltrip (four) also seeing time.
The 2013 season produced more
of the same, with full seasons for Truex and Bowyer, plus a 15-race schedule
for Martin. Vickers was forced out of the #55 Aaron’s Dream Machine in October
by blood clots in his legs, hands and lungs, with Elliott Sadler making four
late-season starts in his place. Waltrip made another three.
A healthy Vickers returned in
2014, and he and Bowyer ran full schedules while Waltrip made his customary
four superspeedway starts in a new, #66 Toyota. Jeff Burton (two races) and
youngster Brett Moffitt (one) also drove the #66 machine that season.
This year, Bowyer has clung doggedly
to a berth in the postseason Chase. He is currently 15th in the
championship standings – the last man to qualify on points – with one Top-5 and
nine Top-10 finishes in 23 starts. Unfortunately, the team once again lost
Vickers to a recurrence of blood clots after just two races, forcing Moffitt (six
starts) and Waltrip (two) to fill the void until David Ragan came aboard at
Kansas in early May.
All told, 10 different drivers
have driven for MWR in the last five seasons. While
Vickers’ health is partly to blame for that statistic, Waltrip’s insistence on extending his own driving career with annual
outings at Daytona and Talladega has also played a role.
Another poor decision, resulting
in a crippling lack of stability.
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| Childers (L) was a major loss |
In addition to keeping its teams
in a constant state of flux, MWR’s revolving-door driver lineup also cost the
organization one of the most talented crew chiefs in the business.
After years of fielding
competitive cars for a dizzying roster of part-time drivers, crew chief Rodney
Childers left the Waltrip camp at the end of 2013 to accept a position with
Stewart-Haas Racing. He promptly led Kevin Harvick to the Sprint Cup Series
championship, and is now recognized as one of the top crew chiefs in the sport.
Could MWR have performed
better in the last two seasons with Childers calling some of the shots? You bet
they could, and his track record indicates that they would.
MWR has also made questionable
decisions in its handling of Vickers, who missed parts of the 2010, 2013 and 2015
seasons. A former champion in what is now NASCAR’s XFINITY Series,
Vickers has three career Sprint Cup wins in a 13-year career that includes
stints with Hendrick Motorsports, Red Bull Racing and MWR.
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| Vickers has struggled to stay healthy |
The North Carolina native is a
proven racer and an outstanding representative for his sponsors. But in
professional sports, the most important ability is availability. Every time
Vickers falls by the wayside, his sponsors suffer the consequences. Marketing
campaigns are scrapped and in-store signage is discarded, in favor of patchwork
campaigns with substitute drivers they never bargained for.
Aaron’s has ridden that
rollercoaster twice in the last three seasons, and when Vickers fell by the
wayside again this year, MWR’s longtime sponsor could be forgiven for thinking,
“Oh brother, here we go again.”
As the old saying goes, "Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is a trend." Michael Waltrip Racing should not have subjected an active, involved and supportive sponsor like Aaron's to yet another season of uncertainty and disappointment. Vickers, despite his talent, was just too big a risk.
Again, mistakes were made, with a heavy price paid. Sources close to the team say that
after experiencing three consecutive disappointing campaigns, Aaron’s had
agreed to only a partial 2016 season with MWR, significantly downsizing their
involvement with the organization.
Also critical in the demise of
Michael Waltrip Racing was a lack of daily involvement by its namesake. Multiple
sources say that after Kauffman joined the team in 2007, Waltrip’s role – both financially
and otherwise – decreased dramatically. Today, he is said to be little more
than a figurehead, tending to his “other career” in the television broadcast
booth and relying on it for virtually all of his income.
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| Kauffman saved MWR's ship |
Following the 2013 race-fixing scandal, Kauffman relocated to North Carolina
and began a systematic review that resulted in widespread organizational
changes.
"If you lose
a third of a third of your revenue, you are going to have to reorganize your
business,” said Kauffman at the time. “That's what we've done. We made a
mistake, we paid a heavy price and we are adjusting to a new reality."
Since then, Kauffman has
handled virtually all the day-to-day operations at Michael Waltrip Racing, a
role insiders say he never wanted and does not enjoy.
“Rob saved this team at
least twice since 2007,” said one team member, on the condition of anonymity. “Without
his financial input, the doors would have closed years ago. At first, he was a `silent
partner,’ contributing financially but allowing the racing people to run the
team. But over time, he has been forced to assume a larger day-to-day role. Today,
he makes virtually all the decisions.
“Rob never wanted this to be a
full-time job,” said the MWR employee. “He is extremely committed to the Race
Team Alliance. The RTA is his baby, and Michael Waltrip Racing has become too big
a burden, with minimal return.”
Kauffman’s decision to
purchase a minority stake in Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates will allow him
to focus more fully on the RTA, while devoting less time to the operation of an individual race team.
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| Bowyer is a free agent |
When MWR
and Bowyer announced that they will part company at the conclusion of 2015, the
wording of the announcement left an impression that Bowyer will not accompany Kauffman to Chip Ganassi Racing next season. Sources say that is
still a possible outcome, but whether or not Bowyer eventually accompanies
Kauffman to CGR, yesterday’s announcement was a necessary legal maneuver; an official
and mutual severance of the existing contract between Kauffman (as owner of
MWR) and Bowyer. With that contract now rendered null and void, Bowyer is free
to follow Kauffman to CGR in 2016, or go elsewhere.
MWR, meanwhile, will play out
the string, fielding cars for Bowyer and Ragan for the remainder of the year.
The team has not visited Victory Lane since Vickers claimed the checkered flag at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2013, and
this week’s upheaval will do little to help change that.
While the team says only
that they will not field a full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup entry in 2016, the most
likely scenario is for Kauffman to simply close the doors at season’s end,
selling the building, race cars and any equipment that cannot be utilized by
CGR. Waltrip will return to the television booth, while hundreds of MWR
crew members and employees face the prospect of a holiday season with no jobs
and no income.
“My family has
been a part of NASCAR for almost five decades, and I plan on being a part of it
for years to come,” said Waltrip this week. “I would not have had the
opportunity to start this journey without so many great partners, sponsors and
employees, and I want to thank each of them for making Michael Waltrip Racing a
reality.”
