DOVER, Del. − Michael Waltrip has mastered the art of the sponsorship deal.
Michael Waltrip Racing announced a three-year deal with Monster Diesel as an associate sponsor on Martin Truex's No. 56 Toyota starting with Sunday's race at Dover International Speedway. Truex's main sponsor is NAPA long associated with Waltrip during his racing career and the team recently added an online tire retailer as another associate sponsor.
MWR fields NASCAR Sprint Cup rides for Truex and David Reutimann. Truex won the pole Friday and his only career victory came three years ago at Dover.
“I feel like we're on the verge of winning races and getting into the Chase and all that good stuff,'' Truex said on Saturday.
Truex could use a strong run to make the jump into the top 12 and move closer to securing a spot in the Chase for the championship. He's 13th entering Sunday's race, only 16 points behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. for 12th.
Truex was in the Chase in 2007 when he drove for Dale Earnhardt Inc.
MWR recently added TireMonkey.com as an associate sponsor on Truex's car. At a time when some teams are hurting for sponsors, Waltrip seems to collect them as he builds his program into a championship contender.
“We're going to keep spending the money because we want to put him in the Chase,'' Waltrip said. “If we don't have sponsors, we lose money.''
Waltrip says he's actively working on securing more sponsors for Reutimann. Reutimann is 24th in the points standings.
“I think people see us as a young, upcoming team,'' Waltrip said. “Martin has certainly made our cars this year more relevant than they have been, that car particularly, in the past. I believe that people see us as an organization that can get up there and contend and challenge.''
Waltrip, a two-time Daytona 500 winner, has competed in only three races this year as he focuses on ownership.
“We believe if we can get in the Chase and race in the Chase we become profitable,'' Waltrip said.
PETTY'S HONOR: Richard Petty wants today's drivers to appreciate the sport's history and the sacrifices made by those who came before them.
“A lot of these drivers that are doing pretty well today don't realize what some of the guys went through to get it to this point,'' Petty said Saturday at Dover International Speedway.
Petty, the Grand Marshal for Sunday's race, believes the new NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C., is an appropriate way to honor the greats of the sport who helped make it the attraction it is today. The first class of inductees are drivers Petty, Junior Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt and executives Bill France Sr. and Bill France Jr.
Petty followed in the footsteps of his father, Lee, who was a three-time NASCAR Grand National driving champion.
Petty said he was initially reluctant to feel like he deserved to be part of the inaugural class.
“I feel like there were people more important in getting NASCAR started than Richard Petty,'' he said. “I am a big believer in Lee Petty from the standpoint that he ran the very first race.
“My part of it was just the driving part. I know we won a bunch of races, but that is just part of the overall show. When you look at people to go into the Hall of Fame, records are fine, but how much else did they contribute is important to me.''
Petty said he'd eventually like to see mechanics, owners and others who work behind the scenes eventually inducted into the Hall of Fame. He'll now have his say in future classes: Petty was invited to join the Hall of Fame voting committee.
In 1,184 starts, Petty had 200 wins, 712 top 10 finishes and 123 poles. He had a record 513 consecutive starts from 1971-89. His seven championships came in 1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1979.
“Richard Petty just happened to be the one out in front,'' he said. “I had all those people behind me helping me go and I hope in the future, we will be able to put team members into the Hall.''
VICKERS RELEASED: NASCAR driver Brian Vickers was released from the hospital where he was treated for blood clots in his legs and near his lungs.
Red Bull Racing said their driver was released Friday night from a Washington hospital. He was admitted Wednesday.
Red Bull Racing said Vickers' return to racing is uncertain. He will not race this weekend at Dover International Speedway.
“Hopefully he gets better and he gets back here pretty soon,'' driver Juan Pablo Montoya said.
The 26-year-old Vickers has been cleared to fly to Charlotte, N.C., where he will meet with a group of specialists.
Casey Mears will replace Vickers in the No. 83 Toyota.
BOOING JPM: Juan Pablo Montoya has no idea why he's booed during race introductions. He just figures it's better than no reaction at all.
He's not the only successful driver who's jeered on a routine basis.
“I ask the same question about Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson or Kyle Busch,'' he said Saturday. “I would rather get booed than ignored, to tell you the truth. I don't really care. It is funny. I find it really entertaining.''
Montoya, who made the Chase for the championship last season, has shook off a slow start to position himself for another run this year. He has four top-six finishes in the last five races and is in 17th place.
“We have been so close to winning, we run up there every week,'' he said. “I'm sure it's going to happen pretty soon, but it is kind of frustrating sometimes.''
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