In 2013, Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) looked like a future NASCAR powerhouse. The team fielded three cars and enjoyed full factory support from Toyota. Just two years later, MWR closed its doors forever. Most fans blame the infamous “Spingate” scandal at Richmond for the team’s sudden downfall. But as former general manager Ty Norris revealed, other factors also contributed to Waltrip pulling the plug, especially Brian Vickers’ heartbreaking medical condition.
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Vickers had to deal with major blood clots and a heart condition. These issues required major surgery and ultimately derailed his racing career. They also lost Aaron’s, the No. 55 car’s major sponsor. Norris spoke about this in a recent episode of The Bean Nation podcast.
“Brian Vickers, who I think is one of the most talented race car drivers I’ve ever worked around, I mean, hard worker, very, very talented. And I think he and [Clint] Bowyer could have had a great year that year. But he got blood clots, and they had to split him open and save his life,” Norris said.
“And we just went, we couldn’t recover from Aaron’s rightfully coming to us and saying, okay, we got through this issue, we got through that issue, but now our driver, who had won a race with us the year before, we just signed a full-time deal, isn’t even available.”
Vickers first had blood clots in his leg in 2010, but it didn’t hamper his career. But in 2013, the year he won a Cup Series race with MWR, another blood clot was discovered in his calf. Vickers recovered to run the full 2014 season, but the clots returned in 2015. He missed almost the entire 2015 season. This devastating medical setback severely hurt a team already bleeding from the Spingate scandal.
During the 2013 regular-season finale at Richmond, MWR manipulated the race to get Martin Truex Jr. into the Chase. Clint Bowyer intentionally spun his car to bring out a late caution. Later, the team ordered Vickers to pit under a green flag to sacrifice his track position. This successfully manipulated the points standings in Truex’s favor.
Michael Waltrip Racing had to pay a fine of $300k (then, the largest in the sport’s history) and also downsize from three to two cars. Vickers and Boyer remained, and the team lost many sponsorships, including Aaron’s (which sponsored the No. 55 team).
Then Vickers’ issues made co-owner Rob Kauffman shift priorities.
“Rob Kauffman just said, hey, look, if I’m going to put my money in something, I’m going to invest in something that has a little more stability. And so he invested in Ganassi Racing, and he moved his money to Ganassi. Once he moved his financial support, Michael Waltrip Racing had to end,” Norries explained on the podcast.
Spingate dealt a massive blow to MWR. It certainly changed the team’s future, but it wasn’t the only reason things unraveled. As Norris recalled, the scandal was just the beginning of a string of setbacks that eventually brought an end to one of NASCAR’s most promising projects.