The team announced the news Wednesday morning and said driver Clint Bowyer would be free to pursue other opportunities after the season.
Advertisement
With that said, it will create an interesting situation during the offseason, as Bowyer promises to be one of the hottest and most sought-after free agents to hit the open market in recent memory.
MWR co-owner Rob Kauffman and Chip Ganassi Racing announced July 30 that Kauffman had agreed to buy a piece of Ganassi’s race team. Ganassi now fields the No. 1 and No. 42 cars driven by Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson, respectively.
Waltrip, who is also an analyst for Fox, was nostalgic Wednesday over his efforts to grow a team from the backyard of his North Carolina home into a viable competitor that competed for the Sprint Cup title in 2012 with Bowyer.
Drivers Clint Bowyer and David Ragan are looking for work in 2016, as are hundreds of Michael Waltrip Racing employees.
Bowyer is now 16th in the Sprint Cup standings and has three races remaining to claim one of the 16 berths in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
Kauffman, Bowyer and Waltrip made the accouncement about their futures early Wednesday.
“After extensive discussions with Rob and MWR, we came to the point that we mutually agreed our paths in the future just didn’t align”, Bowyer said.
“Clint Bowyer has done a lot for MWR since joining us in 2012 and we appreciate the energy and effort he has given the organization”, the statement continued. “But I think we all agreed on the next steps in a very professional manner”.
Bowyer’s prospects of securing a ride with a big team for next season are remote. MWP sporadically competed in the following years until 2006 when MWR signed an agreement with Toyota to field multiple Toyota Camrys in the Nextel Cup Series for 2007. Prior to joining MWR, Bowyer spent eight years at Richard Childress Racing, and won the Nationwide (now XFINITY) Series championship in 2008. The energy drink company is evaluating its future it said in a statement. So, my heart goes out to all the employees, all the people that worked at MWR. Ragan has two victories in 313 starts and never qualified for the Chase, making it unlikely he lands a seat equivalent to MWR. Kauffman bought 50 percent of MWR during its debut 2007 season to keep the team afloat.
After a turbulent beginning that included a Daytona 500 cheating scandal and struggling to qualify for races, MWR gradually improved its performance and ran three fully sponsored and competitive cars. That prompted NAPA, Truex’s primary sponsor, to end its association with the organization and led to Truex’s move to Furniture Row Racing. He scored a career-best three wins and 23 top-10s in 2012, his first season with MWR and Toyota, but is winless since.
Clint Bowyer and Michael Waltrip will be going in separate directions next season.
“I am proud of what we accomplished”, Waltrip said.
Advertisement
“My family has been a part of NASCAR for nearly five decades and I plan on being a part of it for years to come”, he continued.
