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What Truex's move to MWR means

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Lee Spencer

Lee Spencer is the senior NASCAR writer for FOXSports.com. She has provided award-winning coverage of auto racing over the last 15 years. Spencer has lent her expertise to both television and radio and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM Radio and the Performance Racing Network.

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Updated Jul 8, 2009 12:29 PM ET
     
 

CORNELIUS, N.C.

Michael Waltrip Racing continues to strengthen its position in NASCAR with its latest acquisition of driver Martin Truex Jr. The team announced Tuesday that Truex will drive the No. 56 NAPA Camry next season. Team co-owner Michael Waltrip will race a yet-to-be determined partial schedule ranging from four to 12 races in the No. 55 ride. Despite Truex being "100 percent committed" to finishing the season with his current team, rumors still persist that he could end up at MWR before then. Certainly, MWR wants to avoid a litigious situation with Truex's current employer, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. EGR should want to avoid similar complications, particularly at this critical juncture in the company. Although Truex is currently 24th in the point standings, Juan Pablo Montoya is 11th in the Chase Zone but just 86 points ahead of 13th place Mark Martin. Any internal disruptions at EGR could have a dramatic affect on Montoya's overall outcome. Chip Ganassi hasn't had a car qualify for the Chase since the inception of the program in 2004. Before Montoya posted his only career win at Sonoma in 2007, Ganassi had not won a race in five years. Not surprisingly, Truex is seeking a fresh start. MWR GM Ty Norris, who was president at Dale Earnhardt Inc. when Truex first started in NASCAR, will see that the driver receives that opportunity. At MWR, Truex will be the alpha driver of the roster for the first time since moving to the Cup level. So what does that mean for the people that are left behind at EGR, particularly the Earnhardt segment of the organization to which Truex was the last link? Truex's current crew chief Bono Manion is expected to join MWR in the future, whether that date is after Homestead or before is likely predicated on the mercurial Ganassi. Manion has worked with Truex since the May Richmond race in 2003. If Truex and Manion leave EGR prematurely, Aric Almirola, who is still under contract but has not raced since Texas due to a lack of sponsorship, could jump in the car. Nearly a dozen EGR employees have either left the Ganassi building in Concord, N.C. or been reassigned over the last week to form Earnhardt Technologies Group. ETG will provide a variety of engineering services to the racing community, including access to its seven-post shaker rig and pull down rigs, coordinate measuring for chassis geometry and data acquisition. The nucleus of that operation will return to Mooresville, N.C. in the original DEI building that Dale Earnhardt built. The company will also offer engine and transmission support. Not only will ETG carry on the Earnhardt racing legacy, it will provide a future foundation to field cars for Earnhardt's grandson Jeffrey, who turned 20 last month. According to variety of sources, Teresa Earnhardt had the No. 8 cars returned to DEI after the plug was pulled on that program in April so she could retain the assets and perhaps field a separate team when sponsorship can be secured. Few people familiar with the Earnhardt Ganassi dynamic expect the partnership to continue in its current state beyond 2009. Still, Ganassi maintains two solid elements moving forward — Target and Montoya. Target is a blue chip sponsor that has supported Ganassi for 20 years. Montoya is an open wheel champion determined to prove that he can enjoy similar success in stock cars. In his third full year on the tour, Montoya has found the necessary consistency to be a Chase contender. If he stays the course, Ganassi will be able to take his driver and sponsor to the bank.
Tagged: Juan Pablo Montoya, Michael Waltrip, Aric Almirola, Mark Martin

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