BRISTOL, Tenn. — Rob Kauffman, the former investment banker who stepped in to keep Michael Waltrip Racing afloat with an influx of financial support in 2007, said this week’s move to end full-time competition for MWR in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series after the 2015 season was a “financial decision.”
“I think that from a business standpoint it didn’t make sense. You can’t have a top-10 budget and top-10 resources and not be in the top 10 for a sustained period of time,” Kauffman said Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Kauffman co-owns the Cornelius, North Carolina-based organization along with former driver Michael Waltrip.
MWR fields the No. 15 Toyota for driver Clint Bowyer as well as the No. 55 for driver David Ragan. The organization has approximately 250 employees.
Bowyer hasn’t won in the series since 2012, the same year he finished runner-up to Brad Keselowski in the 2012 Chase for the Sprint Cup. He finished seventh overall the following year, then failed to qualify for the 10-race playoff last season.
Heading into Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Bowyer is 15th in points with one top-five and nine top-10 finishes this season. He can qualify for the Chase by either winning one of the three remaining “regular-season” races or possibly earning a berth based on his points position.
Ragan was brought in after the season’s first 10 races as a replacement after Brian Vickers, the team’s former driver, was sidelined due to health issues. Ragan is currently 24th in points.
The last victory for the organization came with Vickers and the No. 55 team at Loudon, New Hampshire in 2013.
“It’s a performance-related business,” Kauffman said. “It’s a great sport but a very difficult business model.
“From a business decision it just made sense to not go forward with that organization, which isn’t really commercially viable.”
MWR receives technical and engineering support from Toyota and that assistance was expected to continue for the 2016 season. On the sponsorship front, 5-hour Energy signed a multiyear extension last season to serve as primary sponsor for 24 of 36 races with Bowyer. Aaron’s, sponsor of the No. 55, had yet to announce its 2016 plans, but the company has been affiliated with Waltrip for 15 years.
The organization fielded three full-time teams in 2012-13 but cut back to two after 2013 after penalties for manipulating the finish of a race at Richmond International Raceway resulted in the loss of NAPA as a primary sponsor.
“Certainly that was a pretty heavy body blow to the organization, causing me to restructure it,” Kauffman said.
The following season “was at some level a large reset year, competitively and also financially.
“I think as we got into the late spring, April, May (of) 2015, really from a performance standpoint the company wasn’t where it needed to be and that kind of forced some decisions and thought processes over the summer.
“That’s kind of where we wound up today. At the end of the day, it’s a competitive business and that’s where we are.”
In late July, it was announced that Kauffman had agreed to purchase an interest in Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. That organization fields two Sprint Cup Series teams, for drivers Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson. It fields entries in IndyCar, the TUDOR United Sportscar Championship and Global RallyCross Series as well.
“Certainly the past years I’ve been pretty involved in the day-to-day operations with Michael Waltrip Racing,” said Kauffman. “I think now I’ll be able to step back from that.
“I’m probably not the best person to run a race team day in and day out. One of the attractions in partnering with Chip is really he runs his business himself; he’s a racer, he’s at a race event almost every single weekend.”
Kauffman is a racer as well, having competed in events such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2011-’12) and the Rolex 24 at Daytona (’12-’13).
RELATED: Bowyer free to pursue 2016 opportunities
MORE: MWR won’t field full-time team in 2016
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Clint Bowyer said his racing future “is uncertain right now” as he prepares to finish out the season with Michael Waltrip Racing before an expected move to a new employer in 2016.
Earlier this week, MWR officials announced Bowyer, 36, and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series organization had “mutually agreed” to end their relationship at the conclusion of the ’15 season.
The two-team outfit, which fields the No. 55 Toyota for driver David Ragan in addition to the No. 15 of Bowyer, will not field a full-time Sprint Cup effort next year.
“It’s a tough time for everybody involved,” Bowyer said Friday morning at Bristol Motor Speedway, site of Saturday night’s Irwin Tools Night Race (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). “It’s unfortunate.
“The truth is we’re eight months into a three-year commitment to one another. I had a great four years at this company; great culture, great personnel at MWR. I really did enjoy the years that I spent there.
“That being said Rob (Kauffman, MWR co-owner) … invested a lot into this sport. It’s a business decision to move forward on his end. That’s where our futures … unfortunately just don’t align anymore.”
WATCH: Bowyer, Kauffman expound on MWR split
The timing of the announcement was crucial, Bowyer said, to allow employees at MWR to understand and digest the situation and focus on the remainder of the ’15 season.
“These employees … are real people, with real lives with real families and a lot at stake,” he said. “They are racers, just like I am. But the racer in you doesn’t change the reality side of life. And the reality is you need to provide for your family.
“I thought it was extremely important … to get in front of that and I owed it to these employees to get this done as soon as possible, even knowing where we’re at on the bubble and everything in the Chase. I think being honest and straightforward and doing that for these people in the long run will set them up to make the most out of a difficult situation.”
Bowyer is an eight-time winner in the Sprint Cup Series, with three of those wins coming with MWR, which he joined in 2012. He finished a career-best second in the Chase for the Sprint Cup battle in his first year with the organization.
WATCH: Rob Kauffman about MWR, Bowyer decisions
Heading into Saturday night’s race at BMS, Bowyer is 15th in points with one top-five and nine top-10 finishes.
Eleven of the 16 available Chase slots have been secured (as long as those drivers remain in the top 30 in points), leaving Bowyer and a handful of others battling for one of the five remaining positions.
As for what the 2016 season and beyond may hold, Bowyer appears to be keeping all options open at this point.
“Absolutely,” he said. “… What I’m going to have in the future … will be another announcement and I’ll tell you as soon as possible. It’s as simple as that.
“I’m confident in the sport, I love this sport and the sport has been good to me and my family — (I’ve) had a lot of great partners and a lot of great organizations that I’ve worked for, and I see no reason why somebody that works hard and wants it like I do … can’t have a job for as long as they want.”
PHOTOS: MWR through the years
RELATED: See all 43 cars | Full starting lineup
The pit stall assignments are out for Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, and Coors Light Pole Award Winner Denny Hamlin got to pick first on where he will pit.
Hamlin chose pit stall 1 on the front stretch to service his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota; which is the first pit stall off pit road leading into Turn 1.
Second-place qualifier Kyle Busch, in the No. 18 Toyota, has the first pit stall coming off the back stretch, heading into Turn 3 of the short track.
Carl Edwards (starting third) will pit in the 22nd pit stall, the first stall coming onto pit road on the front stretch,
David Ragan‘s No. 55 Toyota (starting fourth) will be pitting in the 43rd pit stall, the first coming onto pit road on the back stretch.
Hamlin and Busch are the only two with openings in front of their stalls.
The Irwin Tools Night Race (500 laps, 266.6 miles) is on Saturday, August 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN/Live Extra, MRN, SiriusXM)
MORE: Gifts from Gordon’s final season | SHOP: Gordon Rainbow Warrior gear
Jeff Gordon‘s iconic No. 24 rainbow paint scheme is back for this Saturday’s IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The four-time champion has five career wins at Bristol, and a win on Saturday would lock him into the Chase Grid for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
How exactly did it all come together? Check it out with this video of the No. 24 paint scheme being wrapped, courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports.
Bristol Motor Speedway also unveiled on Friday that the track in 2016 will have the “Jeff Gordon Terrace,” a backstretch grandstand named after the legendary driver.
Charlotte Motor Speedway also announced Friday its upcoming tribute to Gordon. Leading up to the Oct. 10 Bank of America 500, the speedway is rolling out “Jeff’s Last Ride: A 24-Day Salute.”
NASCAR licensed artist Sam Bass will create original artwork for the Bank of America 500 souvenir program as part of the salute, which also includes a 24-day social media campaign. Another highlight is a collection of iconic No. 24 race cars on display during the Charlotte Auto Fair Sept. 24-27.
RELATED: Full starting lineup
Denny Hamlin was the car to beat in Friday’s Coors Light Pole Qualifying at Bristol Motor Speedway, leading all three rounds en route to his first career XFINITY pole at the Tennessee short track. Hamlin rounded the 0.533-mile oval at 126.896 mph in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Hamlin’s JGR teammate Kyle Busch will also start on the front row in tonight’s Food City 300 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Busch used a fast lap of 126.312 mph to snag the runner-up spot in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Kevin Harvick, piloting the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet this weekend, will roll off the grid third (126.021 mph), while Richard Childress Racing‘s Brian Scott will start fourth (125.996 mph). Points leader Chris Buescher rounded out the top five in his No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford with a fast lap of 125.699 mph.
Practice leader Brendan Gaughan advanced to the second round, but wasn’t able to make the final round and will start 15th in tonight’s event.
Reigning series champion Chase Elliott advanced to the the final round and will roll off the grid 10th tonight.
Practice 2 | Complete final practice results
After coming in third in opening practice, Kyle Busch‘s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota rocketed around Bristol Motor Speedway and to the top of the leaderboard in Friday’s second practice session. “Rowdy” recorded a fast lap of 131.146 mph, a speed that rivals the previous qualifying track record Kevin Harvick set in 2014 (131.362 mph).
David Ragan made a late run to earn the second spot on the leaderboard, maneuvering his No. 55 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota at 130.646 mph around the short track.
Having led the opening practice, Kyle Larson‘s fast lap of 130.018 mph allowed him to spend some time at the top of the leaderboard before setting for third on the board in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Chevrolet.
Team Penske‘s Joey Logano came up next, wheeling a fast lap of 129.587 mph for the fourth position, while Joe Gibbs Racing‘s Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five (129.404 mph).
Reigning Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick posted the sixth-fastest speed, recording a high speed of 129.334 mph in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.
Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr., Aric Almirola and Jeb Burton all experienced trouble in the opening session, but were back on track in the final session. Johnson led the corral, posting the ninth-fastest speed (129.073 mph) in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, while Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet was 21st (127.724 mph).
Several drivers attempted qualifying runs during the second session, bringing several drivers’ speeds up from the previous session.
The Sprint Cup Series is back on track tonight at Bristol at 5:45 p.m. for Coors Light Pole Qualifying (NBCSN).
Practice 1: Complete opening practice results
Kyle Larson surged to the top of the leaderboard in the final minute of Friday’s Sprint Cup practice at Bristol Motor Speedway, propelling his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Chevrolet around the short track at 129.833 mph to lead the session.
Matt Kenseth also made a late run, briefly topping the leaderboard before settling into second with a fast lap of 128.597 mph from his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
The leader for the majority of the hour-and-a-half session, Kyle Busch came up third after Kenseth’s late run. “Rowdy” wheeled his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota around the short track at 128.580 mph.
Michael Waltrip Racing‘s Clint Bowyer (128.099 mph) and Joe Gibbs Racing‘s Carl Edwards (127.707 mph) rounded out the top five.
Wheeling the iconic No. 24 rainbow paint scheme at 126.637 mph, Jeff Gordon posted the 14th-fastest speed in the field. Chase Elliott, who will take Gordon’s place in the No. 24 ride next season, watched Gordon from the top of the No. 24 hauler following his own XFINITY practice.
Jimmie Johnson missed 38 minutes of the practice after his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet got up high on the track and made contact with the wall nine minutes into the session. He returned to the track and posted the 18th-fastest speed. Jeb Burton and Aric Almirola also hit the wall during the session.
Martin Truex Jr. slammed into the wall in the final 10 minutes of practice, forcing the No. 78 team to bring out the backup car.
RELATED: Full NXS practice results from Bristol
Brendan Gaughan led NASCAR XFINITY Series practice Friday morning with a quick lap of 125.289 mph in the No. 62 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Another RCR Chevrolet, the No. 33 of Brandon Jones, was quick at the end of practice, notching the second-fastest speed of 124.995 mph, edging out teammate Brian Scott. Scott’s No. 2 Camaro was third-fastest with a speed of 124.914 mph at the 0.533-mile concrete oval in Bristol, Tennessee, under clear skies.
Sprint Cup regulars Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were fourth- and sixth-fastest, respectively, in their Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas. Hamlin’s No. 20 posted a speed of 124.897 mph, and Busch’s No. 54 was clocked at 124.549 mph.
Ty Dillon rounded out the top five in his No. 3 RCR Chevrolet, posting a fast lap of 124.792 mph.
Series points leader Chris Buescher was eighth-fastest in the No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford at 124.444 mph.
The Food City 300 is scheduled for 7:30 ET tonight (NBCSN/Live Extra, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR).
AJ Allmendinger announced Friday morning at Bristol Motor Speedway that Bush’s Beans renewed its longtime partnership with his JTG Daugherty Racing No. 47 team.
“Earlier this year we announced Kroger, just here to announce that Bush’s Beans is coming back for a multiyear deal,” Allmendinger said. “They’ve been with the company for over a decade. It’s one of the best sponsors we have, especially when it comes to being family-oriented. They’ve been a family-oriented company for almost 107 years now.”
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, seeking his second consecutive Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup berth, will be driving his Bush’s Grillin’ Beans Chevrolet SS in Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM) in his sponsor’s home state.
“Just to be able to announce that for another multiyear deal with them, especially in this day and age of sponsorship and continually keep trying to find sponsors to have such great sponsors like we do and to have them pumped up about our race team and come back for more years and hopefully a lot of great years to come, it’s great for us,” Allmendinger said.
Bush Brothers & Company, a family business for over 100 years ago in Chestnut Hill, Tennessee, considers his NASCAR partners to be part of the family.
“We are very excited to extend and expand our long-standing relationship with JTG Daugherty Racing,” Tom Ferriter, President and CEO, Bush Brothers & Company, said in a statement. “After 13 years, we think of Jodi (Geschickter), Tad, Brad (Daugherty), AJ and all of the No. 47 team as part of our family.
“We look forward to continuing to work with JTG Daugherty Racing for many more years to come. We are especially proud to make this announcement at Bristol Motor Speedway since East Tennessee has been home to Bush Brothers & Company since our company’s founding in 1908.”
Allmendinger will make his 15th career start in Thunder Valley, where he’s led 54 laps with a 25.4 average finish. His best result was 12th in the 2011 spring race. He sits 22nd in the standings and likely needs to win his way into the Chase with three races left in the regular season.
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Daniel Suarez said he’s already earmarked the $100,000 he collected Friday night through the NASCAR XFINITY Series Dash 4 Cash bonus program, aiming to put the money back into the restoration of his modest collection of vintage cars. But the 23-year-old driver owed much of his six-figure payday to a much newer car and a vintage performance.
Suarez endured a taxing 302 laps, an overtime finish and benefited from trouble to bonus contender Ryan Blaney to come home fifth in Friday’s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. His fourth top-five finish in the last seven XFINITY Series races bumped him up a spot to sixth in the championship standings and put more money into the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 team’s coffers.
Suarez said he wasn’t keeping a mental log of where other Dash 4 Cash competitors were on the scoreboard, though the stray thought of clinching the bonus did pop into his head.
“We were trying to get better and I said, ‘Man, I think we’re in the spot right now.’ It was pretty good,” Suarez said. “You don’t have time to think about it, you have so many things going on with the race car, about the laps and everything. Sometimes, that crosses your mind to think you’re in the position to win this thing. I think it was great. Our 100 percent focus was to be better and better during the race and it’s how we finish. Thanks to the team and all the hard work, we ended up with a top-five.”
Suarez outlasted the remaining three drivers eligible for the Dash 4 Cash bonus at Bristol — among them Regan Smith, who finished ninth, and Elliott Sadler, who crashed out to a 31st-place result. But his fiercest competition for the enlarged check was 21-year-old Blaney, who had prevailed in Wednesday’s weekend opener for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Blaney rose as high as second in the running order and spent the bulk of the evening on the fringes of the top five. But his car developed problems as the race entered its final quarter with two loose rear wheels. Blaney finished five laps down after making two unscheduled green-flag stops — one to change the left-side rubber, then the next for the right — leaving him glum in 22nd place.
“I don’t know. I thought it was driveline-related, but I’ve never had two loose rear wheels so I didn’t know it was that bad,” Blaney said. “Thought it was driveline. It’s unfortunate. It sucks. …
“Dash 4 Cash was feeling really good and just gave it away.”
Suarez’s outing helped to set the field for the XFINITY Dash 4 Cash finale, scheduled in two weeks at Darlington Raceway — a track where Suarez has never raced. Richard Childress Racing drivers bracketed Suarez in the final rundown at Bristol, with Ty Dillon taking fourth and Brian Scott sixth. Defending series champion Chase Elliott completed the bonus-eligible quartet for Darlington with a seventh-place effort.
For Dillon, the performance had a pleasing side effect, allowing him to chop five points off the series lead held by Chris Buescher, who ran out of fuel while leading on the lone green-white-checkered restart and settled for 11th place.
“I felt like I passed a couple of cars seven times there at the end. Our car was just blistering fast,” Dillon said. “We had a good restart there and got our fourth top-five in a row, gained some points and we’re just chugging away at this thing. They’re slowly letting us back in it and we’re getting better and better.”
What: 55th annual Irwin Tools Night Race.
Where: Bristol Motor Speedway, .533-mile oval in Bristol, Tenn.
When: Saturday, Aug. 22, 7:30 p.m. ET.
TV/Radio: NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Distance: 500 laps, 266.5 miles.
Pit road speed: 30 mph.
Caution car speed: 35 mph.
Fuel window: 150 laps.
On the front row: | Full lineup
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota (131.407 mph)
Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota (131.263 mph)
Did not qualify
Travis Kvapil, The Motorsports Group No. 30 Chevrolet; Jeb Burton, BK Racing No. 26 Toyota; Reed Sorensen, Premium No. 62 Motorsports Chevrolet
Fastest in practice
First practice: Kyle Larson, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates No. 42 Chevrolet (129.833 mph) | Results
Final practice: Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota (131.146 mph). | Results
Driver rating (Best driver rating average at Bristol based on past 21 races):
Matt Kenseth (104.6)
Jeff Gordon (100.3)
Last year’s winner
Joey Logano, Team Penske No. 22 Ford.
Milestones in the mountains
Two drivers in the field will click off landmark starts in NASCAR’s premier series Saturday night. Ryan Newman is scheduled to make his 500th Sprint Cup appearance in Bristol’s annual night race, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will be making his 100th start in the series. For one of the two, the occasion came as a surprise. “I honestly had no idea until someone informed me of it this week,” Newman said. “500 is definitely a career milestone but for me, the biggest career start was my very first one. You got to have people who believe in you enough to just give you a chance and for that I am truly grateful.”
Gordon’s landmark
The return of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevy’s rainbow paint scheme may be a ‘one weekend only’ occurrence, but Bristol Motor Speedway gave Jeff Gordon a sustaining gift Friday that will last ages. A swath of seats in the mammoth grandstands will be known as the Jeff Gordon Terrace, joining sections named for stock-car racing legends — Earnhardt, Allison, Petty, Pearson, Waltrip, Johnson, Wallace, Yarborough and Kulwicki.
History lesson
Then named Bristol International Speedway, the .533-mile track debuted with the Volunteer 500 on July 30, 1961. Jack Smith was credited with the inaugural victory, but he was behind the wheel for only the first 290 laps, giving way to relief driver Johnny Allen for the final 210 circuits in the searing summer heat.
They said it
“One in 43.” — Matt Kenseth on weighing his chances of securing a second consecutive Sprint Cup victory, and a Bristol season sweep, this weekend.
Former Bristol winners in field
Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon (5); Matt Kenseth (4); Carl Edwards (3); Brad Keselowski (2); Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, Tony Stewart (1)