Waltrip shoring up legacy as a smart Cup team owner (cont'd)

Instead, he brought on a deep-pocketed partner in investment banker Rob Kauffman, solidified and continued to nurture longtime sponsorship arrangements with NAPA Auto Parts and Aaron's Inc., and cut a deal to forge an unusual but ultimately mutually beneficial technical alliance with JTG/Daugherty Racing, which operates out of the MWR shop. He also hired several quality people in the process and put them to work in the right places.

In short, Michael pulled off what Darrell thought was impossible. He not only survived as an owner, but has begun to thrive. Of the three cars now operating out of his shop, only Michael's own No. 55 is not competitive on a regular basis. David Reutimann won his first race at Charlotte in May while driving MWR's No. 00 and is right on the cusp of the cutoff for the Chase to the Sprint Cup championship. And the No. 47 driven by Marcos Ambrose, fielded by JTG/Daugherty, is 18th in points and coming on strong each week.

His future as an owner seems brighter today than his career as a driver ever really did. Even Michael seems to sense it.

"The plan certainly is to win championships and many, many races. I have to admit that was sort of the plan with my driving career, too, so it's a little easier to say it than to actually do it," Michael said. "But look around. We have a great foundation built to race for many, many years to come."

Even the once-skeptical Darrell believes in Michael's long-term plan now. At least he's no longer trying to talk him out of it.

"I never thought about him being much of a visionary. But he had a lot better vision about what he wanted to do and where he wanted to go than I ever did," Darrell said.

"There is the racing side, and as he always said, he was all in. But he lost a lot to get to where he is -- and not just financially. It's been hard. To go out on a limb as far as he did and take the kind of chance that he took, he's had to pay a serious price for it. I hope he will get a return for all that eventually."

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.

Joe Menzer is the author of "The Great American Gamble: How the 1979 Daytona 500 Gave Birth to a NASCAR Nation." Click here to purchase.

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