LOUDON, N.H. — Talk of a potential manufacturer change for Furniture Row Racing, a hot topic earlier this year, is beginning to resurface as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads into the heat of the summer.
The Colorado-based organization fields the No. 78 Chevrolet with driver Martin Truex Jr. and has a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing.
Team owner Barney Visser said last month that a manufacturer change might be necessary to acquire the funding needed to remain competitive and potentially expand to a multicar organization.
Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, he reiterated his stance, according to an NBC report. Reporter Marty Snider said Visser told him a switch was “a very real possibility.”
David Wilson, president & general manager, Toyota Racing Development, USA, told NASCAR.com Sunday morning that his group’s focus “is fighting for a championship this year.”
“If something were to happen, I make no bones about it, I’d love to have them,” Wilson said. “We’d like to have a couple more quality cars in our camp. If the stars and planets align themselves, then we’ll see. But no decision has been made.”
Toyota currently is aligned with Joe Gibbs Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing in Sprint Cup, supplying engines to both organizations. It entered NASCAR in 2004 in the Camping World Truck Series. The move to Sprint Cup came in 2007.
While it has enjoyed much success in the XFINITY Series and Truck Series, winning championships in both, it is still seeking its first Sprint Cup title.
“We talk to a lot of teams,” Wilson said. “We’re in the garage right next to each other. We’re housed in here and see everybody. Yeah, we talk to the 78 guys and a lot of other teams.
“We haven’t made any decisions. They haven’t made any decisions. I told Barney the other day he’d be crazy to change anything the way they are running right now.”
Truex Jr. finished 12th in Sunday’s 5-hour ENERGY 301 at NHMS. A win earlier this season at Pocono Raceway ensured the driver and team a spot in this year’s 16-team Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.