Michael Waltrip Racing: '08 gains lead to excitement for '09

There were several reasons to get excited about Michael Waltrip Racing in 2008 as the third-year team continued to evolve.

What started out as a three-car team when the season began at Daytona wound up a two-car effort by the end of the year due to sponsorship struggles.

But both David Reutimann and team owner Waltrip were able to finish in the Top 35, lessening the blow of losing the team's third car, piloted by rookie Michael McDowell for most of the season.

Reutimann was impressive on his way to finishing 21st in the final point standings. The third-generation driver turned in several outstanding runs topped by his performance at Richmond's September race when he led a race-high 104 laps on his way to a ninth-place finish.

"That was a really good weekend for us," Reutimann said. "We were a little disappointed we didn't finish in the top five or leave there with a win, but we left with a top-10 finish and that's something to build on when we go back there."

Reutimann also scored his first career Sprint Cup Series pole at the season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, an accomplishment the Florida native felt was one of the biggest moments in his racing career.

"I feel like I've come a long way," Reutimann said. "I remember winning my first NASCAR Nationwide Series pole at Memphis in 2003 with NEMCO Motorsports and then the next year winning my first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pole for Toyota at Atlanta with Darrell Waltrip Motorsports. Winning a pole in any series is something memorable, but to win my first Cup pole award felt incredible."

Waltrip's year included a top five and a pair of top-10 finishes highlighted by his second-place run at New Hampshire in late June.

Rookie driver McDowell made national headlines with his terrifying qualifying crash at Texas Motor Speedway in April, a horrific-looking accident that the former road racer was fortunate to walk away from.

"It's a testament to NASCAR and the safety of the new car as well as implementing things like the SAFER Barrier," said McDowell, who would wind up 40th in the final standings.

2009 season preview

David Reutimann's emergence is a good reason for MWR to be optimistic. (Getty Images)

While losing McDowell as well as full-time sponsorship from UPS for Reutimann, MWR is still bullish about its plans for 2009.

Reutimann will have at least partial sponsorship for the year and the team plans on running him full-time next season despite the lack of funding.

After putting together his most successful season in Cup, Reutimann believes he's ready to take the next step up. He'll have a new crew chief in Rodney Childers, who comes over from Gillett Evernham, and is excited about 2009.

"I'm just really looking forward to the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and also working with Rodney Childers," Reutimann said. "We know each other and I feel like we can work well together. Our team is intact and we will pick up where we left off last season."

Waltrip and the No. 55 team also remain intact and received a huge financial boost when long-time sponsor NAPA Auto Parts re-signed with the team.

Waltrip said he believes with the added year of running his own race team under his belt, better days are ahead.

"We learned a lot this year," Waltrip stated. "My team is smarter and I'm smarter after the year we have experienced. We may not have run as well as we would have liked, but we're excited about the future."

That future will include a third car, although it won't be a full-owned MWR effort. Former Nationwide Series driver Marcos Ambrose will pilot a No. 47 Toyota for the newly-created JTG-Daugherty Race Team and will share a technical alliance with Waltrip's team.

"This allows MWR to maintain the economies of scale we currently enjoy as a three-car team," said Waltrip. "We continue to invest in our development and this alliance helps keep the momentum we've gained in our fabrication and engineering departments this summer."

Waltrip and company will most likely remain a middle-of-the-pack team again in 2009, but the continued development of Reutimann could mean more top-10 appearances. Waltrip must prove he can be as competitive in a racecar as he is as a marketer to give the team a better 1-2 punch. Ambrose will struggle as all full-time Cup rookies do, but with some series experience won't suffer quite the growing pains as other freshman drivers.