During a guest radio appearance, Waltrip was asked about his rumored merger with Ganassi. "I think when you're in a sport like this you have to always look at what can make your team better. It's obvious we're not running like we expected in our second year. Toyota has a team leading the points right now, so Toyota doesn't have a problem. It's obvious we have to look at all options to see what we can do to make us better. We're talking to other teams like ours and seeing what it takes to get results faster, even if that's working together. I've talked to Chip, Robbie (Petty Ent), and Robby Gordon. We all want to be successful." (Notice they were all Dodge teams!)

On sponsorship, "NAPA & Aaron's has always supported MWR. We're working hard on getting other companies to come on board. We have 3 teams to support and we're working hard to keep all 3 of these teams together for next year. But, like Chip told me, you can't let one team bring down the performance of the other 2 teams. The time and effort at the shop, engine room, and practice that goes into trying to get a car into the show is unmeasurable. Those guys at Hendrick & Gibbs are fine tunning setups and combinations to gain an advantage. We have to spend all our time and effort to make the race and make sure we can get the highest finish possible. When you have to run a safe race, it means you're running slower. That's the reason you end up racing the same group of guys at most tracks, we're all running a different race."

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Inside Race News- 8/8/08- Watkins Glen

As expected, MWR will announce that NAPA will return as the sponsor for Michael Waltrip's #55 in 2009, and Aaron's will replace UPS on the #44 (partial schedule). This could line MWR is position to continue his negotiations to merge with another Cup team, rumored Ganassi Racing. Other teams in the rumor mix are Petty Enterprise and Robby Gordon Motorsports. Ganassi and Petty both currently field two cups, while Gordon is working to add Scott Riggs for 2009.
If you only have sponsorship for 1 car and the other has sponsorship for a half season, I can see that as a chance to merge more so than being fully funded.

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