Truex and the NAPA AUTO PARTS Team Win the NASCAR Camping World East Series Championship for Michael Waltrip Racing

DOVER, Del. – Ryan Truex became the first NASCAR champion in the short history of Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) when he captured the NASCAR Camping World East Series title on Friday evening at Dover International Speedway. Truex drove his No. 00 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota to an eighth-place finish in the Sunoco 150. The top-10 result enabled Truex to win the championship over Eddie MacDonald by a 34-point margin.

"I just have to thank everyone at NAPA and Michael Waltrip Racing,” said Truex. “Everyone on my team is incredible and I especially want to thank Michael Waltrip, Ty Norris and my crew chief Mike Greci for making all of this possible. I can't believe we won this title. We struggled during the first two races of the season so to come back and win the championship is phenomenal."

Truex, the 17-year-old brother of Martin Truex Jr., and development driver for MWR, produced solid results over the course of the 11-race schedule. His first season in NASCAR’s top development series equated to three wins, seven top-five and eight top-10 finishes.

Truex started the Sunoco 150 in sixth position and drove a conservative race. He kept MacDonald in his sights while also working with his team to improve the handling on his No. 00 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota.

"We started out tight," elaborated Truex. "The NAPA team made some changes during our pit stop and it helped. From there on out, we just tried to keep the car clean and get to the finish."

The Mayetta, N.J. native was quick to realize the magnitude of what he had accomplished.

"To be the first champion at MWR means the world to me," continued Truex. "I really love racing for these guys. It’s such a great place to work. They consistently give me great cars.

"Hopefully, we'll win a lot more titles together."

Truex and the rest of the NASCAR touring series champions will be honored at the Touring Series Gala in Concord, N.C., on Saturday, Nov. 14.

The NASCAR Camping World Series will be back in action for the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown on Jan. 29 and 30 at the Toyota Speedway in Irwindale (Calif.).

Congrats to Ryan Truex and the entire MWR Camping World East Series Team. 2009 East Series Champions!

Claims Camping World East crown at Dover as fellow rookie Moffitt wins season finale

Official Release:NASCARmedia.com
September 25, 2009 - 4:33pm

DOVER, Del. -- A pair of rookies took center stage Friday at Dover International Speedway: Brett Moffitt came away with the Sunoco 150 checkered flag and Ryan Truex earned the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Series East championship.

Truex, a 17-year-old development driver for Michael Waltrip Racing, finished eighth on Friday but it was the performance throughout the 11-race season that put him in the championship Winner’s Circle following the Sunoco 150. Truex finished his first season in NASCAR’s top development series with three wins and eight top 10s.

The main championship contender for Truex – Eddie MacDonald – finished one position behind Truex in the race and wound up 34 points out of the championship (1,719 – 1,685).

Jody Lavender was the third driver to enter the day with a mathematical chance at the championship, 102 points back of Truex. His race ended with a 17th-place finish, seven laps down.

Friday’s season finale was dominated on the track by Moffitt, also 17. The Grimes, Iowa, native led four different times for 85 laps and crossed the line two and a half seconds ahead of Ryan Gifford for the Sunoco 150 victory. The second win of the year placed him third in the season standings.

Following Richard Childress Racing development driver Gifford across the line at Dover was Corey LaJoie, David Mayhew, and Alan Tardiff. Steve Park, Ryan Duff, Truex, MacDonald and Jarit Johnson rounded out the top 10.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto set the track qualifying record earlier in the day and led three different times for 31 laps, but a mid-race accident left him two laps down in 11th.

With the 2009 season complete, the next racing event on the schedule for NASCAR Camping World Series teams will be the 2010 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown on Jan. 29-30 in Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.).

Truex and the rest of the NASCAR touring series champions will be honored at the Touring Series Gala in Concord, N.C., Saturday, Nov. 14.

Waltrip Disappointed After a Tough Night in Atlanta

HAMPTON, GA. – It was another mixed bag of results for Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) during Sunday night’s running of the Atlanta 500 at one of Waltrip’s favorite places and home track for sponsor NAPA AUTO PARTS -- the Atlanta Motor Speedway. MWR’s top finisher was Chase contender David Reutimann. He earned his eighth top-10 finish of the season with a fourth-place result and moved up one position in the points to 15th. As for Waltrip and his new crew chief Gene Nead, they had a good start to the weekend but had a tough race and finished 32nd. As for JTG-Daugherty Racing’s Marcos Ambrose, he crossed the finish line in 23rd place.

“I hate that we had a tough night,” said Waltrip after the race as his team remains 32nd in the NASCAR owner points standings. “We had a good Friday and a bad day today. I appreciate how Gene jumped right in and meshed with the guys immediately. They worked hard, but unfortunately, we didn’t get the job done. We made changes to the car throughout the race, but it didn’t work out. Atlanta is one of my favorite tracks and I know how to run well. We just didn’t find the right combination for my NAPA Toyota. It was so hard to drive. Right now, it’s all about getting as many points as we can to put the 55 car in a good position for Martin (Truex) next season.”

On the pole for the Atlanta 500 was the man who will be behind the wheel of the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota next season for MWR, Martin Truex Jr. It was his second pole of the season and third of his career. He went on to lead the most laps of the race – 68. As for his future car owner, Waltrip had a good qualifying effort. He lined up 19th for the event.

During the opening laps of the 325-lap event, Waltrip’s NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota was competitive especially on the longer race runs. But over the course of the race, the handling went drastically away. The NAPA team and their new leader rallied behind their driver to try and improve the car as it was inconsistent going from extremely loose to tight. Stops for changes were completed on laps 38, 61, 83,107, 132, 182, 203, 248 and 271. Spring rubber, track bar, wedge and air pressure adjustments were all in the mix to fix the No. 55 Toyota. Despite their hard work and determination, it produced a 32nd-place result.

Meanwhile, Kasey Kahne took advantage of the final restart of the night to overtake Kevin Harvick to score his second win of the season. Finishing behind Kahne to round out the top-10 finishers were Harvick, Juan Pablo Montoya, Reutimann, Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, Brian Vickers, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman and Greg Biffle.


Next Saturday night the NAPA Racing team competes in the Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway. It’s the final race in the Chase before the field of 12 is set for NASCAR’s Sprint Cup playoff. Broadcast coverage of the race gets underway on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. ET on ABC. It can also be heard on Sirius XM Satellite Radio and MRN.

Atlanta 500 Unofficial Results:
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2009/25/data/results_unofficial.html

Atlanta 500 Lap By Lap:
http://www.nascar.com/2009/races/lapbylap/09/06/lap.by.lap.atlanta2/index.html