LOUDON, N.H. -- At first glance, it looks like troubled times for Michael Waltrip Racing.

But Ty Norris, vice president and general manager of MWR, isn't sounding any alarms. In fact, he remains surprisingly upbeat and optimistic about the immediate future of the organization, even as it scours the business world to replace sponsorship dollars that have shifted elsewhere.

"We didn't panic in June when we were unsure what all was going on," Norris said. "And I think we're in good position right now, because we're running better."

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Everybody talks about confidence and what changed, and it's not one thing. I'm better because of the car, the car's better because of me, the crew's better because of all if it -- and it really is a team effort.

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MICHAEL McDOWELL

Less than two years after MWR threw open the doors on its gleaming new shop in Mooresville, N.C., and announced with much fanfare a three-car Sprint Cup Series lineup that included two former Daytona 500 champions in owner Michael Waltrip and Dale Jarrett, sponsors have fled from the Toyota operation and results have been, overall, startlingly thin.

The team's struggles were underscored again Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, when lead sponsor UPS made its defection from MWR to Roush Fenway Racing official (it had been revealed earlier that the move was coming). The longtime sponsor of Jarrett's Sprint Cup car will finish out this season on the No. 44 Toyota currently being by David Reutimann, but will switch to the No. 6 Ford driven by David Ragan and fielded by Roush Fenway Racing beginning next season (read more).

"Even though we're disappointed they [UPS] didn't stick with MWR long enough for us to get our maturity and our legs under us, they were a big part of launching this company," Norris said. "They had some tough decisions to make."

Heading into Sunday's Sylvania 300 at NHMS, the No. 44 piloted by Reutimann ranks 27th in owner points, Waltrip's No. 55 Toyota ranks 32nd, and the No. 00 currently being driven by rookie Michael McDowell is 35th.

So with all three teams hanging on inside the top 35 that guarantees starting positions in the first five races next season (if they remain in the top 35 at season's end), Norris said he has his reasons for optimism. He said three prospective sponsors for next season -- two new to the sport, one old, according to Norris -- are taking notice that MWR's three teams have been running better lately.

Reutimann has two consecutive top-10 finishes, placing ninth in the last two Sprint Cup races at Fontana and Richmond, respectively. McDowell finished 20th at Richmond after starting 38th, taking the No. 00 over after a three-race hiatus when MWR put veteran Mike Skinner in the seat to help get the team back in the top 35. And Waltrip is returning this weekend to the sight of his only top-10 finish of the season -- when he finished second at NHMS in late June.

"Two things are happening at the same time," Norris said. "Some of the people that we've been talking to are starting to get into some serious conversations with us, saying we're starting to run better. Interest always seems to be heightened when you're performing better on the racetrack, because we always have been able to perform for sponsors off the track. Now that we're getting some on-track performance -- David Reutimann and that team has been terrific lately, and Michael McDowell, for the second straight weekend, has come here loaded for bear -- we feel like we're getting very competitive.

"So actually there is a tremendous amount of momentum going forward, especially with groups we've been talking to. There is optimism."

McDowell, who will start 35th in Sunday's race (qualifying was rained out and the field set according to the rulebook), said he is happy to be back behind the wheel of the No. 00.

"Everybody talks about confidence and what changed, and it's not one thing," McDowell said. "It's not just the racecar. I'm better right now than I was five weeks ago. I'm better because of the car, the car's better because of me, the crew's better because of all of it -- and it really is a team effort.

"When you go out there and the car sticks and the car has good grip and you can really hustle it, you gain more confidence -- you gain more confidence, which then helps you give feedback to the crew. [Crew chief] Peter Sospenzo and everybody at Michael Waltrip Racing have done a good job. These are the runs we need to have, especially to keep the car in the top 35. We're still working hard to secure funding [for next year]."

Therein lies the rub. It's all about the funding.

With UPS and its considerable dollars headed elsewhere, MWR needs to find new money to fill the gap if it's going to field three teams again next season. Waltrip is set with NAPA signed on as the primary sponsor of his car next year, but Reutimann has only half of next season currently covered by Aaron's, which hopes to serve as a co-primary with another sponsor.

"It's not an easy time, for sure," said Norris, citing the struggling economy. "But when you see people like NAPA re-sign, when you see people like UPS stay with the sport, those are good signs. ... For them to see NASCAR as a very, very viable marketing platform is good. I'm glad to see them stay in the sport. The biggest thing you worry about are companies leaving."

That's exactly what happened recently when Texaco announced it was getting out of the sport after a longtime association with various teams, the latest being the No. 42 Dodge driven by Juan Montoya and fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing. Also leaving the Cup scene next year is AAA that currently serves as primary sponsor on Ragan's car and will be replaced next year by UPS.

"When the economy does get tight and it has its issues that it's going through right now, you fear that people will leave," Norris said. "Fortunately, most haven't left; some of them have shifted to better-performing teams. But I think this sport is going to be able to ride this downturn. I still think we're going to have plenty of teams. It's hard to go in there cold turkey right now and convince someone to spend $15 million, but at least most of the sponsors that are in the sport right now are staying in it."

But what really is needed, according to Norris and others, are some new companies to invest in the sport.

"The sport always needs new blood," Norris admitted. "We brought in some new blood last year with Domino's [Pizza] and Burger King. Their businesses couldn't withstand it. I'm not sure they were prepared to be primary sponsors at the time that they were."

So those sponsors left. But Norris said organizations always are searching for new ways to bring different streams of revenue into their operations, and the sport itself.

"The sport needs new blood; it needs new money, no question," he said. "What I would love to see is new categories, because if a new category comes into the sport, it seems to open it up for all the other companies in that same category. So it will be interesting to see if there are any new categories coming in that can penetrate the sport.

"For instance, when Pennzoil does something on the primary level, then it almost in a defensive mechanism makes Valvoline and Mobil and some of these other companies look at it -- because if they're going to be here, then they figure they need to be here. Red Bull came in as an energy drink. So Pepsi countered it with Amp. And that's new money.

"So when you start looking at that, you start wondering what the next categories are that can come in here and open up all the business under that category. For instance, spirits. When Crown Royal did their deal, then Jack Daniel's came and that created some other opportunities within that category. So I hope there are some other categories that have businesses and companies strong enough to enter the sport, and make it competitive for others to join."

Norris said he has no timetable for the aforementioned three prospective MWR sponsors, and admitted that fielding a third team for next season, which is the current plan, may hinge on what happens.

"A lot of our current sponsors are re-signing. And we have at least three very, very solid opportunities that would, one, shore up the second half of the Reutimann car and, two, create a primary opportunity for McDowell," Norris said. "Time will tell, but at least those things are in the funnel, so to speak.

"We've pushed a couple of them on timing. But the best we can do is tell them what our timing is, and see if they can accommodate us. You can't push these things too fast; sometimes if you say, 'I've got to know by next week,' then they say, 'Well, if I have to answer you by next week, then the answer is no.' That's when you say, 'OK then, I'll give a couple more weeks.'"