NASCAR Cup Series: Furniture Row Racing just denied closing rumors

Furniture Row Racing announced that they will be shutting down after the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season not even one month after denying closing rumors.

It seems like just yesterday Furniture Row Racing team owner Barney Visser was striking down rumors about his Denver, Colorado-based NASCAR Cup Series organization shutting down after the 2018 season comes to a close.

That’s because it pretty much was.

Just a few weeks after 5-hour ENERGY, Furniture Row Racing’s $10 million sponsor, announced in mid-July that they would be leaving the team after the 2018 season ends, these closing rumors started to circulate.

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In fact, defending Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr., Furniture Row Racing’s lone full-time driver, even admitted that his future with the team and thus the team’s future in general depended on whether or not they could come up with additional sponsorship because of the fact that 5-hour ENERGY announced that the 2018 season would be their final season as a Cup Series sponsor.

Here is what the driver of the #78 Toyota had to say before the Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on the third Saturday in August when he was asked about his about his odds to return to Furniture Row Racing next year, according to ESPN.

"“That’s hard to put a number on. Honestly, I really don’t know. I think in another week or two, I’ll have a better answer for you, a better percentage. Right now, we need sponsorship. That’s as simple as it gets. So it’s hard to say. Is there a 50 percent chance we get that in a couple weeks or is there a 100 percent chance or is there 2 percent, I don’t know. I can tell you that everything really is based upon that.”"

But just over a week before Truex Jr. made these comments and just a few days before the Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway on the second Sunday in August, Visser made clear that his team would not be shutting down ahead of the 2019 season.

Here is what Visser had to say about the matter, according to NBC Sports.

"“Furniture Row Racing continues to develop sponsorship opportunities for 2019 and beyond. We have aligned ourselves with great partners over the years and are very proud of the success our organization has achieved, especially the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series championship with Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing not fielding a team in 2019 is not an option and we have every intention of continuing to build on our success for years to come.”"

Unfortunately for Visser and the rest of Furniture Row Racing, “not an option” appears to have become “reality” in a matter of just a few short weeks, as after the remaining 11 races of the 2018 season have been completed, the team are set to shut down.

Here is what Visser had to say about the team being set to shut down once the 2018 season reaches its conclusion, according to ESPN.

"“This is not good for anybody. The numbers just don’t add up. I would have to borrow money to continue as a competitive team and I’m not going to do that. This was obviously a painful decision to arrive at knowing how it will affect a number of quality and talented people.“We’ve been aggressively seeking sponsorship to replace 5-hour Energy and to offset the rising costs of continuing a team alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing but haven’t had any success. I feel that it’s only proper to make the decision at this time to allow all team members to start seeking employment for next year.”"

Once again, unfortunately for Visser and the rest of Furniture Row Racing, this news is far more than “rumors”, and he is no longer in a position to strike down this discussion as false, as it is, in fact, true.

Here is what Truex Jr. had to say about the matter, according to ESPN.

"“While I am saddened by today’s announcement, I totally understand the decision. Barney Visser, [general manager] Joe Garone and the entire Furniture Row Racing team took me in while my career was in a bad place, and together we reached the pinnacle of the sport. I will forever be grateful to each and every one of them, and also to Furniture Row, Denver Mattress and the Visser family.“But make no mistake, this is not the immediate end. We still have unfinished business to attend to and that’s to give everything we have to successfully defend our Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship. Right now that is foremost on my mind as it is with the entire team.”"

It is not yet known for which team Truex Jr. will drive in the Cup Series next year assuming he continues driving beyond the conclusion of the 2018 season, but if he does decide to keep driving, there is no doubt that he will be the top free agent in the sport. He currently sits in third place in the championship standings with four victories and is in a good position to try to defend his championship once the playoffs roll around in about a week and a half.

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Were you surprised to hear that Furniture Row Racing will be shutting down after the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series comes to an end just weeks after Barney Visser denied that this was even an option? Regardless, this situation just goes to show how money funding means in NASCAR, as even the defending champions are set to shut down just one year after winning their first Cup Series championship.

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