Clint Bowyer: MWR not racing in 2016, Bowyer free agent

“I love the culture we’ve built there”.

“Rob is going to be a part of Chip Ganassi Racing going forward”. He’s done an awesome job of stabilizing MWR in the beginning and then we raced for a championship _ finished second in 2012 (with Bowyer).

Far bleaker is what happens to Ragan and MWR’s hundreds of employees. That transaction was expected to include Bowyer and sponsor 5-Hour Energy transitioning to Ganassi, which would expand to three cars pairing Bowyer with Ganassi drivers Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson.

MWR was struggling financially when Kauffman bought a share of the team in 2007.

MWR will not field a full-time entry in 2016. But NASCAR penalized Truex’s team, effectively kicking the No. 55 out of the Chase.

Kauffman, a wealthy businessman who retired in 2012 from the private equity Fortress Investment Group that he helped co-found in 1998, purchased 50 percent of MWR from Michael Waltrip in 2007 to keep the organization from folding in its first year in Cup. His last win, however, came all the way back in October of 2012 in the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The five remaining drivers on the Chase Grid have to either visit Victory Lane or stay high enough in the point standings to avoid getting bumped by a new victor outside the top-16.

With that tumultuous scenario staring him in the face this weekend, Bowyer addressed his lame duck status at MWR.

“I want to thank Michael, Rob and everyone at Michael Waltrip Racing that made these past four years special”, Bowyer said in a news release.

“After extensive discussions with Rob and MWR, we came to the point that we mutually agreed our paths in the future just didn’t align”, Bowyer said. The team has not recovered since it was severely sanctioned by NASCAR in 2013 for manipulating the outcome of the final race of the regular season. And though each possesses room to expand, Roush Fenway Racing, Team Penske and Richard Childress Racing do not present viable alternatives due to other plans in place. Brian Vickers started the season in the No. 55 vehicle, but is missing the rest of the season while taking blood thinners to treat blood clots.

“I am grateful for the opportunity that Michael Waltrip Racing and Toyota have provided me this year”.

While MWR was able to compete with the top dogs for a period of time, it has lost its touch over the past couple of years, and it’s lack of on-track success has destroyed the team’s viability. Ragan was the 2007 NASCAR Busch (now XFINITY) Series Rookie of the Year. Bowyer, the team’s most successful driver, owns three of MWR’s seven Sprint Cup wins.

Waltrip, a former Cup driver who also works as an analyst for Fox Sports, started the team in 1996 to compete in the Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series. But the future plans for the organization were announced Wednesday because the team now has “clarity” after weighing its options.