Morgan-McClure Motorsports closed its doors today, laying off 28 employees and further damaging any slim hopes the last Virginia-based Sprint Cup team has of competing in its 26th season. Team Manager and co-owner Larry McClure said earlier this afternoon that if the team did not find sponsorship money by the end of today, there would be mass layoffs. The layoffs happened around 3pm.
“It’s been a good 25 years,” McClure said after the announcement. “Circumstances made us take a step back.” McClure said he and co-owner and President Tim Morgan would work with their marketing team to continue to search for sponsorship to run the full season. They are working on an agreement to have Mike Wallace drive the #4 Chevy in the Daytona 500, a race Morgan-McClure has won three times. McClure did say if sponsorship came together in the next several weeks, the team would have cars available to race at Daytona.
Bookmark to:
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that is sad to see such a legendary team that won two Daytona 500s close it’s doors
Sorry to hear that a team can not run this season. I hope to see that they get the cash they need to show and have a great 500. wish them the best.
I want to see a one race agreement with Kodak, and RCR or Hendrick engines. Race Daytona with a throwback scheme and give it one last shot at another victory at the big one. It would be a Thank You race to the fans for supporting them. The car could look like one of their Daytona 500 winning cars, except of the TV panel it’ll say something like “Thanks to the Fans for Supporting us”, and maybe on the Deck lid it’ll have the names of all the drivers, crew chiefs, etc that were part of that team.
It will have to be w/ Penske Racing, b/c Kodak is a sponsor to Ryan Newman. They bought it when they sold Travis Kvapil’s #77 Owners’ Points (Jasper Racing) to Mikey Waltrip’s #55 team.
way to go nascar , god for bid you give a long running team a hand or just give a sponsor a shove toward them. once agian nascar good job.
Tex wrote:
Not true that it’d have to be with Penske Racing. Unless they have a contract with Penske that says they will only sponsor that team in Cup, then they can sponsor what ever other teams they want to.
wrote:
You do know that if that would happen then that would just be more fuel to the fire that somehow NASCAR is rigging the races and all that rubbish that gets brought up every year.
Its a crime that one of the good old boy teams may fold. Why cant some of the bigger teams lend them a hand. Mcclure has been in the bussiness for a long while. I would hate to see them go under. Those guys have been good for NASCAR and NASCAR good for them
They need a big name to step up to the plate and lend them a helping hand. I’m sure some of these teams could afford it.
just add the McClures to the list of single car teams to go away,, this is big business,and thats all it is.. i want the old single team racing back… let hendricks,gibbs,and RCR,have their own series, the single and two car teams start your own series and go back to stock cars not hybrids,lookalikes, REALLY SAD TO SEE McMlures go been to the shop 5 times lots history, Good luck a fan always,
They actually won 3 Daytona 500’s. One with Ervan and 2 with Marlin (back to back). This team is a victim of the way NASCAR conducts business. It is sad to see a team that has been here for 25 years get forced out.
this is atrocious but inevitable.
MM were the last single team that were near success
wood brothers is with roush
hall of fame is with Gibbs
haas is with hendrick
its ashame it really is
sad to here that MM is out. In the very near furture there will be only 3 teams. 1 chevy, 1 ford and 1 toyota. Way that nascar wants it I guess. I will be going to local short trax instead of watching hendrick win every race.
Racing is a business. Some succeed and some falter. I’m sad to see them go. But, there is no secret why some succeed and some fail. People are way too emo about this stuff. It’s not NASCAR’s fault. If ten lemondade stands are opened today, 5 or 6 of them will fail. It’s the nature of things. It amazes me that race fans claim to be so tough and love the oldschool ways so much, but then they expect affirmative action for poorly managed teams, drivers, yada yada. Crazy. And kinda pathetic.