Furniture Row switching manufacturers; Toyota has Sunday announcement planned
Furniture Row Racing’s long-rumored move to Toyota looks like its becoming official.
The team is reportedly set to announce the switch on Sunday morning. Toyota has a press conference scheduled for 10:30 a.m. and Chevrolet confirmed to Motorsport.com that the team was leaving the manufacturer.
“We thank Furniture Row Racing for all of the team’s hard work and accomplishments over the past decade, and we wish Barney Visser and his organization continued success with their future endeavors,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports.
By moving to Toyota, the team instantly moves higher on the totem pole with its new manufacturer. At Chevy, the team had an alliance with Richard Childress Racing and essentially served as the team’s fourth car. But Chevy also had the four cars at Hendrick Motorsports and the four Hendrick-equipped cars at Stewart-Haas Racing to support. With the downfall of Michael Waltrip Racing, Furniture Row joins Joe Gibbs Racing as the only Toyota team in 2016.
The team, with Martin Truex Jr. driving the No. 78 car, is also expected to stay as a one-car team in 2016. Truex made the Chase in his second year with the team in 2015 and won earlier in the year at Pocono. He moved to Furniture Row for the 2014 season after he was forced to leave MWR when NAPA left the team following the September 2013 Richmond race manipulation scandal.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
