A second scandal was enough for the primary sponsor of Michael Waltrip Racing as NAPA auto parts said it will leave the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team at the end of this year. The company made the announcement early Thursday morning via its Facebook page.
“After thorough consideration, NAPA has made the difficult decision to end its sponsorship arrangement with Michael Waltrip Racing effective December 31, 2013,” the statement said. “NAPA believes in fair play and does not condone actions such as those that led to the penalties assessed by NASCAR. We remain supportive of the millions of NASCAR fans and will evaluate our future position in motorsports.”
The company had issued a stern admonishment last week after NASCAR had penalized the team for actions that happened at Richmond International Raceway on Sept. 7. NASCAR fined the drivers 50 points, and indefinitely suspended general manager Ty Norris along with slapping him with a $300,000 monetary fine, the largest in NASCAR history. The actions came after the team was found to have manipulated the outcome on the Richmond race in order to secure driver Martin Truex Jr. a spot in NASCAR’s Chase. The point’s fine put Truex out of the Chase and put Ryan Newman in. MORE>>>
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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