Wells maintains profile while helping others

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Nextel Cup team owner Cal Wells strolled Daytona's garage Friday dressed totally in black, denoting a low profile.

But he proudly wore a PPI Motorsports cap -- black, of course.

If it seemed odd that Wells would be thusly dressed, since he's the registered owner of Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 00 Toyota, it shouldn't.

After nearly 30 years as the head of Precision Preparation Inc. -- a championship-winning multipurpose motorsports organization -- Wells continues to carry that flag as his primary purpose.

"I'm there every day, and we could flip the switch and go racing next week," Wells said of his shop in Hickory, N.C. "We've still got a lot of rolling stock."

Among the team's recent projects were three editions of Chevrolet's Impala SS Car of Tomorrow, which Wells said were promptly delivered to Furniture Row Racing, which fielded the No. 78 at Daytona for driver Kenny Wallace.

But Wells is still in negotiations with potential sponsors, after a company reneged on a signed contract for a 2007 sponsorship.

"These guys [sponsor] that we had never paid us," Wells said. "So we became a placement service for a while and put a lot of high-quality people over at Michael Waltrip's place, and a few other teams so they could keep working.

"I've got a small staff and we're still in business and we're working on a couple or three opportunities -- one that I'd say is pretty doggone solid, and two that are a little squishy and I'm not sure about. So we'll see if they come together or not.

"Certainly you'll see a lot of me, and I'll be at most of the races. And hopefully we'll get the band back together here, sometime soon."

But in the meantime, with 61 cars entered for the Daytona 500 and only one of his three entries, the No. 44 Toyota of 1999 Cup champion Dale Jarrett a guaranteed starter, Waltrip was in prime position to need a deal.

Owner/driver Waltrip's own No. 55 car was 38th in the 2006 owner standings but the No. 00, slated for its first full season, in the hands of rookie of the year candidate David Reutimann, was only 54th.

Enter Wells, who had the 37th-place owner points earned by his No. 32 team last season, but which was left without sponsorship for 2007.

"The points help," Wells said. "If it rains next week [at California Speedway] the points will help [in the determination of a rainout lineup]."

But a team's position in the owner points means even more in NASCAR in 2007, and Wells is aware of that.

"This might sound kind of ridiculous, but to be honest, if your truck is in [the Nextel Cup garage] and it's 37th versus 60th -- just getting through tech [is easier]," Wells said. "Here, they're set up to take that many cars, but next week in California they're going to miss practice unless they're up there [in points]."

Everything from a team's position in the inspection line to its place in the starting lineup in case qualifying is canceled is staggered to favor teams higher in the owner standings.

"So there was a lot of strategic intrinsic value to what I, unfortunately, was unable to capitalize on for myself," Wells said. "But I was able to help out and help Mike with his and Toyota's effort. It's all worked out and I think it's a win-win for everybody."

Wells said he had a history with not only Michael himself but also MWR's general manager, Ty Norris.

"I've got a strong relationship with Ty Norris, and with Michael, for that matter," Wells said. "I've done some business with Michael in the past, when we needed some help at a race we didn't qualify for, and it worked well.

"What Mike's bit off this year is big, with three teams and going [from the] ground-up operations. They needed some people and they needed some help in other areas that we were able to bring to the party -- assets we had that I couldn't utilize because my sponsor breached.

"So it was good timing on both parts, to be able to help out and to be a part of what he's doing."

The ownership of the No. 00 will more than likely revert to one of Waltrip's own management teams after the season's fifth race, when 2007 owner points are used to determine everything that points determine.

"I don't have an active role at all, but it put a lot of good people to work -- and they needed the people," Wells said. "And it put a lot of good team members to work that operate as a team, and I think that will show benefits over time."

And in the meantime, Wells says he'll maintain a position in the Nextel Cup garage as he tries to fully revive his racing operation, which won two Cup races with driver Ricky Craven between 2001 and 2006.

Wells' most high-profile employee, crew chief Gary Putnam, is working as Martin Truex Jr.'s car chief on the No. 1 Chevrolet in the Cup Series, Wells said.

"He and [Kevin] Manion [Truex's crew chief] were roommates at one time," Wells said. "[Gary's] doing a great job over there for them already. He's a great contributor."

At the end of last season, Wells went to court over the soured sponsorship deal.

"It's an ongoing process and it's one of those deals," Wells said. "Unfortunately we had to involve the courts, and we were successful, but now it's a matter of collection. It's another piece of the puzzle, we'll just keep working on it and hopefully we'll have it put together here, sometime soon."