MWR co-owner not leaving team, ‘taking anything’ to CGR
LONG POND, Pa. — Michael Waltrip Racing co-owner Rob Kauffman said on Saturday at Pocono Raceway that he plans to integrate MWR and Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, in which he has purchased an interest.
Meeting with media for the first time since MWR issued a statement two days ago that the team and CGR would “operate separately and compete agains each other for the remainder of the 2015 season” while “evaluating ways to field the most competitive race teams possible” for 2016 and beyond, Kauffman emphasized that he continued to work with Waltrip.
“First and foremost, I think it’s important to realize that Michael and I own Michael Waltrip Racing,” Kauffman said. “We control Michael Waltrip Racing together. We’re business partners. We’re great personal friends. So any idea that like I’m leaving or taking anything is actually misplaced.
“What we’re really doing is integrating the businesses, trying to get the most competitive product on track, do the best for all of our partners and that’s really our focus. It’s a competitive business as everybody knows. It’s competitive on track as well as off track.”
The timing of the statement was an attempt to keep both organizations focused on 2015, “getting hopefully one to two cars in the Chase and doing a great job for our partners,” Kauffman said.
“We’ve been very excited about the developments over the summer we’ve had with the teams,” Kauffman continued. “They’re running well. And there’s hundreds of people working back in Charlotte. We want to keep them focused on what they need to do.”
Through the first 20 races, CGR’s Jamie McMurray sits 11th in the provisional Chase Grid, the top winless driver in the points standings. MWR’s Clint Bowyer holds the final spot in the Chase in 16th place. McMurray’s teammate, Kyle Larson, is 20th, and MWR’s David Ragan is 24th in points. With all four teams in the top 30 in the standings, each one is a victory away from making the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Looking to the future of the two race teams, Kauffman said those plans are still under consideration with their performance helping determine 2016 plans.
“In terms of our plans, whether we have three cars, four cars; two roofs, one roof, that’s all yet to be determined,” Kauffman said. “And how we do in the 2015 season will help determine whether that happens. If we do a great job, that will be one outcome. If we do a less great job, probably another. I think it will be pretty obvious to people.”