LOUDON, N.H. -- At first glance, it looks like troubled times for Michael Waltrip Racing.

But Ty Norris, vice president and general manager of MWR, isn't sounding any alarms. In fact, he remains surprisingly upbeat and optimistic about the immediate future of the organization, even as it scours the business world to replace sponsorship dollars that have shifted elsewhere.

"We didn't panic in June when we were unsure what all was going on," Norris said. "And I think we're in good position right now, because we're running better."

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Everybody talks about confidence and what changed, and it's not one thing. I'm better because of the car, the car's better because of me, the crew's better because of all if it -- and it really is a team effort.

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MICHAEL McDOWELL

Less than two years after MWR threw open the doors on its gleaming new shop in Mooresville, N.C., and announced with much fanfare a three-car Sprint Cup Series lineup that included two former Daytona 500 champions in owner Michael Waltrip and Dale Jarrett, sponsors have fled from the Toyota operation and results have been, overall, startlingly thin.

The team's struggles were underscored again Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, when lead sponsor UPS made its defection from MWR to Roush Fenway Racing official (it had been revealed earlier that the move was coming). The longtime sponsor of Jarrett's Sprint Cup car will finish out this season on the No. 44 Toyota currently being by David Reutimann, but will switch to the No. 6 Ford driven by David Ragan and fielded by Roush Fenway Racing beginning next season (read more).

"Even though we're disappointed they [UPS] didn't stick with MWR long enough for us to get our maturity and our legs under us, they were a big part of launching this company," Norris said. "They had some tough decisions to make."

Heading into Sunday's Sylvania 300 at NHMS, the No. 44 piloted by Reutimann ranks 27th in owner points, Waltrip's No. 55 Toyota ranks 32nd, and the No. 00 currently being driven by rookie Michael McDowell is 35th.

So with all three teams hanging on inside the top 35 that guarantees starting positions in the first five races next season (if they remain in the top 35 at season's end), Norris said he has his reasons for optimism. He said three prospective sponsors for next season -- two new to the sport, one old, according to Norris -- are taking notice that MWR's three teams have been running better lately.

Reutimann has two consecutive top-10 finishes, placing ninth in the last two Sprint Cup races at Fontana and Richmond, respectively. McDowell finished 20th at Richmond after starting 38th, taking the No. 00 over after a three-race hiatus when MWR put veteran Mike Skinner in the seat to help get the team back in the top 35. And Waltrip is returning this weekend to the sight of his only top-10 finish of the season -- when he finished second at NHMS in late June. (Continued)