Michael Waltrip announced that Mark Martin will drive 25 races in the No. 00 Aaron’s Toyota in 2012 and 2013.
While Waltrip didn’t dwell Friday on the replacement of driver David Reutimann, he said, “We had an interesting season this year. We’ve performed well, but we haven’t finished all that well and we elected that it was not going the way we hoped.”
Enter Martin.
The affable, 52-year-old Sprint Cup veteran, who has 40 career wins and was a factor in the title fight in 2009, could not hide his excitement about the possibilities.
“I know that we’re going to have a whole lot of fun with Michael and Aaron’s," Martin said, " . . . and I think that we’ve got some good ideas already.
“I look forward to it, but even more than that, having an opportunity to come in and work with an organization that is willing to get me an opportunity to have some effect or some say in the direction of the competition program of the people is really exciting. The performance level is not where they would like to be right now, but they’re making a serious move toward stepping that up, and I’m really excited to have a chance to be a part of that."
Martin is looking forward to helping develop the team's younger talent.
“Everybody knows I like to help people," he said, "and so getting a chance to work with some of the young drivers that come along and come through the program, as well as young pit crew members, is something that really means a lot for me. I can’t wait to get started. This is an incredible opportunity."
Waltrip said Martin’s deal culminated over the past three weeks.
“We didn’t take a lot of time to convince Mark,” Waltrip said. “We got a lot of great things going on at Michael Waltrip Racing. He loves the commitment that Aaron’s has made to the sport, so it was kind of an opportunity for him to step back a little bit like you said, refresh his batteries and run a limited schedule."
MWR has upgraded its management force with the addition of Scott Miller, who begins his role this week and will serve as interim crew chief for Martin Truex Jr., for the rest of the season. MWR has also added a third team to the roster for 2013, with proven competitor Clint Bowyer behind the wheel.
The company anticipates that Brian Pattie, who was Juan Pablo Montoya’s crew chief from May 2008 until he was relieved of his duties in July, will reprise that role with Bowyer next season.
Martin’s arrival at MWR also means an extended opportunity for the company’s namesake, Michael Waltrip.
Waltrip is scheduled to run five points races, including three of the four restrictor-plate races — the exception being the Daytona 500 — and his home track of Kentucky Speedway. He will compete in the Bud Shootout and a race to be determined.
“My schedule is perfect. I get to run a few races and I’ve gone to Europe and raced the Ferrari a few times. I expect that won’t change," Waltrip said. "The thing that Mark said that I find interesting, he said it will give him a chance to spend a little more time with his sponsors and the fans, and that’s what I love about what I’m doing now. I can go places . . . I’m really lucky.”
Waltrip said he’s “open to suggestions” on a third driver and sponsor to fill in the six-race void to complete the 2012 schedule. MWR has an option with Aaron’s to find a full-time driver in 2014.
“We have an agreement with Mr. Butler that, if we can find 'the guy' for his car in 2014, then we’ll extend the contract out past that,” Waltrip said, referring to Ken Butler, who owns Aaron's.
“Who is the guy? We don’t know. We’ll see where he comes from. Clint Bowyer was the guy that we wanted to up our whole program this year, and we got him. So we look forward to seeing who the guy is then."
MWR isn’t waiting for next season to get started. The company is testing its new chassis in competition this weekend with Reutimann and Truex and expects to have newly designed cars for the drivers in 2012.
The company will repurpose the transporter and pit box left behind from JTG/Daugherty Racing for the third team. JTG/D is ending its relationship with MWR at the end of this season. It’s also uncertain whether Germain Racing will continue as a customer beyond this season.
Still, MWR has created a solid base, particularly with the addition of Martin and Bowyer for next season. The holdover drivers have not enjoyed the level of success the incoming drivers have had, and with Truex in a contract year, 2012 will be a make-or-break season for the 31-year-old, who has one career win and hasn’t been to victory lane in 164 races.
“They presently have a very good program and they have fast race cars,” Martin said. “Like Michael said . . . probably their average finish doesn’t equal the speed of their race cars.
“Bringing Clint Bowyer in, Martin Truex Jr. — both those guys are two of the brightest young stars in NASCAR. They have a lot of great people there and they are of course adding Scott Miller, as well, and they’re making a number of other serious moves to try to step that up.”
