April 28, 2009
By Allen Madding
Perhaps one of the most approachable drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series would be Michael Waltrip. Before being selected by the late Dale Earnhardt to drive for his newly built DEI Cup Series team, Waltrip had never recorded a NASCAR Cup Series win in 16 years of competition. While driving DEI’s No. 15 NAPA Chevrolet, Waltrip was able to record four NASCAR Cup Series wins.
Since launching his own Michael Waltrip Racing NASCAR Cup Series operation, Waltrip has been unable to capture any subsequent wins. His highest finish in the race for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship came in 1994 and 1995 when he finished 12th in the title chase.
Waltrip, now 46 years old, commented this past weekend that he either has to step up his performance in the Michael Waltrip Racing No. 55 NAPA Toyota or face the decision to replace himself as the driver.
“I just haven’t been able to step it up to the next level. I have four wins, but I haven’t been able to be in contention for the championship,” Waltrip noted. Waltrip went on to indicate that his primary focus was to bring NAPA Auto Parts a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Title.
In 25 years of NASCAR Cup Series competition and 733 starts, Waltrip has four wins, four poles, 39 top five and 127 top ten finishes.
Those statistics would support the dismal outlook for Waltrip’s performance moving forward and would seem to indicate very little opportunity for a run at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship.
Waltrip has been busy looking for drivers to put in the seat of the No. 55 as his replacement and has quietly put together his own driver development program. He currently fields cars in the NASCAR Camping World East Series for Ryan Truex, the younger brother of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Martin Truex.
To listen to Waltrip discuss his performance and his goals for his team, it seems obvious to the listener that Waltrip is planning on retiring as the driver of the No. 55 Toyota and devoting himself to the operations of them team perhaps as soon as by the end of the 2009 season.
But the big decision that is probably keeping Michael Waltrip awake at night is who to put behind the wheel of the No. 55 to provide the best opportunity to put the team in contention for wins and for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
Several names are floating as possibilities.
Kasey Kahne let it be known this week that Richard Petty Motorsports will have to significantly improve the competiveness of the team’s cars for him to consider staying past the 2010 season when his contract expires.
Martin Truex is another name getting kicked around as Truex’s agreement with Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is only for the 2009 season.
And a name from left field for consideration, more specifically from the IndyCar Series, is Danica Patrick. Patrick’s notoriety would certainly help with securing sponsorship, but her ability to perform in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series “stock car” is an unknown.
Waltrip is very clear about what he wants to do with the team he has built. The question is can he achieve it?
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
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