Steve Waid: Martin Truex Jr.’s move a good one, for many reasons
Martin Truex Jr. will compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2010. // Sam Cranston, NASCAR Scene
COMMENTARY
Martin Truex Jr. made the right move.
By signing on with Michael Waltrip Racing for next year, the 29-year-old driver accomplished several things.
He joined a stable team with a rising performance level. He secured solid, extended sponsorship. He will race with a manufacturer not in the grip of bankruptcy. And he removed himself from the uncertainties of his current team, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.
Truex will drive a No. 56 Toyota next season with long-time MWR sponsor NAPA on board.
Co-owner Michael Waltrip will continue to drive the No. 55 Toyota, also with NAPA sponsorship, but on a limited basis.
It wasn’t long ago that the thought of Truex bolting to MWR was almost laughable. The Waltrip organization got off to a very shaky start, to say the least, and became the butt of jokes.
But things have changed. MWR driver David Reutimann has been decidedly more competitive and has already won a race. He’s 14th in points, 74 points out of 12th, the cutoff for a spot in the Chase For The Sprint Cup.
MWR’s satellite operation, JTG Daugherty Racing, has been a pleasant surprise this year with driver Marcos Ambrose, who has put together a string of top-10 finishes and is 18th in points.
To be fair, EGR has a driver, Juan Pablo Montoya, already among the top 12 in points. However, Truex is currently 24th and obviously felt things weren’t going to get much better.
He was considered the No. 1 driver at the organization formerly known as Dale Earnhardt Inc., and a race winner. But then came the merger with Ganassi. The team shrank to two Chevrolets. General Motors filed for Bankruptcy, and Truex’s sponsor, Bass Pro Shops, could not commit to a full sponsorship next season.
He said there were too many unknowns to establish a long-term deal.
Those unknowns did not exist at MWR.
Waltrip’s team has overcome its share of setbacks. Largely because of shaky performance, it lost sponsors Burger King, Domino’s and UPS.
I daresay that if MWR had not shown the ability to at least contend for a spot in the Chase this season, well, who knows if NAPA would hang around or if Truex would have even bothered?
It’s not Waltrip, of course, who is contending. As I recall, he said earlier in the year he would strongly consider stepping aside as a driver if he was uncompetitive.
Seems that’s exactly what he did. And with Truex aboard, that might have been one reason why NAPA agreed to a multiyear extension of its sponsorship.
But let’s give Waltrip credit where it is due. He could have folded his tent as his debts piled up. But he toughed it out and made some good business moves – such as acquiring Rob Kaufman as a partner for needed capital.
Waltrip’s perseverance is paying off.
Just as an aside to all of this, Truex is likely to gain a lot more exposure in the near future. He’s almost certain to join Waltrip as a NAPA
pitchman – something at which Waltrip excels.
Being part of the entertaining NAPA TV ads is going to give Truex a lot of face time. Hey, it can’t hurt.
But TV exposure won’t be the most important thing for Truex by any means. In 2010, it will all be about performance and fulfilling the
potential he, and MWR, have shown.
