Turn 2

After several months of optimism, the economic realities of competing in NASCAR's top series have struck Michael Waltrip Racing.

When we last left MWR, Waltrip, who has admitted he just about went broke last year, trying to fund a start-up team of three Cup cars and a Nationwide team out of his pocket, was being bailed out by an investor with deep pockets. Robert Kauffman, a Charlotte, NC businessman dumped a large (but unspecified, at least publicly) sum of money into MWR last October to keep it afloat.

Waltrip said the money made it possible to hire more staff--Toyota had complained that he didn't have enough personnel in place from the start--and the 2008 season started promisingly, with all three MWR cars in the top 35 in owner's points, but Waltrip's own 55 car began slowly sliding downward in the rankings as he suffered poor finishes week after week.

As Dale Jarrett made his planned departure from the team after the All -Star race, rumors began circulating that UPS, the primary sponsor of Jarrett's 44 car, would leave MWR at the end of the season, possibly to join Roush-Fenway Racing on Carl Edwards' car.

Worse, the word around the garage has been that UPS didn't care about how replacement driver David Reutimann performed on the track ; the company wanted a "rock star" personality, something the 37-year-old Reutimann is definitely not.

The team's "third car," the 00 driven by rookie Michael McDowell, doesn't have an announced sponsor, after Aaron's decided to let its sponsorship run out.

This is also the last year of NAPA's sponsorship of the team's flagship 55 car. NAPA, which has stuck by Waltrip through thick and (very) thin, let it be known they were unhappy with Waltrip's results and wanted to see an improvement or....

No decision's been announced there, either.

So.

Three Cup cars that aren't performing well, one that's now fallen out of the top 35 lock-in, and the potential to lose primary sponsors from all three cars.

And now, word comes that MWR is laying off employees, citing financial issues. A blog purported to be written by two NASCAR insiders, made the claim, which, while it is unconfirmed, certainly would come as no surprise.

The slumping economy has hit several Cup teams, which have found it increasingly difficult to find the funds necessary to operate as sponsors cut advertising budgets. As is usually the case, the teams which can least afford to take the hit are the ones that do.

MWR is a team that can't afford it. The question is, how long can the company survive under these conditions?