Could Michael Waltrip match the success of Richard Childress?
I know it’s an odd question, but I was thinking about this the other day. At this point both have built teams that are consistently competitive and capable of winning races and on track they both have had very comparable success in their driving careers (though Waltrip’s career has lasted 14+ years longer). With Waltrip stepping into the role of owner, could he join Childress as a mediocre driver who became a great owner?
Richard Childress spent 12 full and part-time seasons competing in what is today the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He began his career in 1969 (at age 23) serving as one of the fill-in drivers at the now infamous Talladega race (it was boycotted by the sport’s top drivers). Through the years, across 285 starts, Childress accumulated zero wins, six top-fives, 76 top-tens, and zero poles. He ended his career with an average finish of 17.6.
Michael Waltrip began his NASCAR career in 1985 at age 22. Through 761 starts over 26 seasons (and counting), he has four wins, 39 top-fives, 128 top-tens, and four poles. Waltrip has an average finish of 21.9.
What blossomed into Richard Childress Racing began with Childress’ first race in 1969. He gave up the drivers seat in 1981 to Dale Earnhardt; Ricky Rudd took over in 1982. Earnhardt returned for the 1983 season and never left. Together Childress and Earnhardt racked up 69 wins and six championships. On top of that, RCR has another 20 Cup wins. They also have 75 wins and six championships in the Nationwide and Truck Series’.
Michael Waltrip Racing began in earnest in 1996, fielding a Nationwide and Truck ride for Waltrip. For the next several seasons Waltrip and a slew of other drivers ran in the Nationwide Series. In that time, Waltrip racked up four wins (David Reutimann has one win in 2007).
In 2007 the team underwent a major expansion and began fielding Waltrip, Dale Jarrett, and David Reutimann in the Cup Series. While the team struggled both on and off the track through their first couple of seasons, they came into their own in 2009. Despite missing the cut for the Chase, Reutimann was consistently competitive and even scored his first Cup Series win. In addition the team fields a car for Marcos Ambrose, who has shown recently that he is capable of running up front. With the addition of Martin Truex Jr. and Pat Tryson this season, and prospects like Trevor Bayne and Ryan Truex, the team has a solid foundation from which to grow.
While the two organizations are at vastly different stages in their life cycles and Michael Waltrip doesn’t have a young Dale Earnhardt behind the wheel, they really share a lot of similarities. Both had humble beginnings (Waltrip ran the team until quite recently from a shop on the property of his Sherrills Ford, N.C. home), some early struggles, and owners with an intense passion for and commitment to NASCAR.
While it’s still young, MWR has quickly made itself a competitor in NASCAR’s top series. Given another 20 years can Waltrip find the success Childress did?
