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CORNELIUS — Michael Waltrip didn't hand Martin Truex Jr. any keys to his car Tuesday. Instead, Waltrip gave Truex an oversized NAPA hat.

And so began the transformation of Michael Waltrip the racer to Michael Waltrip the owner. And yes, Waltrip will remain a TV personality, pitchman and even part-time driver.

For a man whose driving career has been unconventional — he was winless in his first 462 Cup races, yet is only one of eight men to win the Daytona 500 more than once — the best might yet be to come for Waltrip.

He makes one wonder if he'll be the next Richard Childress. Recall that Childress was winless in 285 starts as a driver but became one of the sport's top owners. Last week, Childress was among the 25 people nominated for the inaugural class for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

"I probably don't have Hall of Fame numbers," said Waltrip, who has never finished in the top 10 in points in any of his 23 previous seasons driving.

As an owner, though, he could rise to loftier marks. He's already come far in the last few years.

Darrell Waltrip marveled at the sacrifices his younger brother made in building Michael Waltrip Racing. Darrell Waltrip, who once was an owner but bailed out after he started spending his own money in the team, tried to tell Michael not to do it.

Mikey didn't listen.

"That's why I went (rump)-deep in debt," Michael Waltrip says.

It's why during his first full season, Michael Waltrip added Rob Kauffman as a partner to avoid the risk of losing his team.

"The first year or so was disastrous," Darrell Waltrip said of his brother's first full season as a Cup team owner.

Yet, Michael Waltrip's team survived. Since Michael Waltrip Racing's first Cup race in 2006, several teams in the sport back then are gone. Petty Enterprises, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Bill Davis Racing — all Daytona 500 winning teams — are names associated with the past instead of the present.

Unlike Tony Stewart, who inherited ownership of an existing team before this season, Waltrip started from scratch. He converted a movie theatre into a race shop — fitting the entertainment industry would play a role in his team.

Each year, Waltrip's teams have progressed. He said before this season if he couldn't match the success of teammates David Reutimann and Marcos Ambrose, he'd let someone take over his ride. Reutimann won the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 in May, giving the team its first win.

Reutimann enters Saturday's race at Chicagoland Speedway 14th in the season standings, 74 points out of the cutoff for the Chase. Ambrose is 18th. Waltrip is 33rd in the points.

Another factor in the organization's growth is Toyota's support. With Chevrolet and Dodge cutting back and Ford not likely to expand, Toyota is viewed by some as the manufacturer that could emerge as the series' strongest in the long term. If so, Waltrip will have positioned himself properly.

With Reutimann, the team has a driver whose equipment has held him back until this season. Now with Truex, the question becomes if this is the lineup that can raise Michael Waltrip Racing's image higher.

Truex has only one Cup win, but he's faced trying circumstances. In 2007, he raced at Dale Earnhardt Inc. as Dale Earnhardt Jr. eventually announced he would leave that team. Last year, Truex raced there as it completed a merger with Chip Ganassi Racing. This year, there were too many questions about the future at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing to stay, Truex said.

And so he heads to a team that faced several questions about its future two years ago.

One can only wonder what Michael Waltrip Racing will be like in two years. And even beyond that.

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com