Furniture Row Racing close to signing with Toyota for 2016

Furniture Row Racing is nearing a deal that would see the single-car Sprint Cup team sign a multi-year deal to run Toyotas beginning in 2016.

Final details are still being negotiated, but officials with both Furniture Row and Toyota say the deal is close to completion. Furniture Row switching from Chevrolet to Toyota would include the formation of a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing to replace Furniture Row’s existing alliance with Richard Childress, which supplies the team with cars and chassis.

“There are a lot of components to such a move and it’s not finished, but we’re trying to work through it and make a relationship with Toyota happen,” Furniture Row general manager Joe Garone told SB Nation Friday at Chicagoland Speedway. “Everyone wants to make it happen and we’re getting close.”

Furniture Row currently fields the No. 78 for driver Martin Truex Jr., who snapped lengthy winless streaks for himself (69 races) and Furniture Row (148) when he won June 7 at Pocono Raceway. That victory earned Truex a spot in NASCAR’s 16-driver playoff field, which begins Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway.

“I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’ve been talking with (Furniture Row) and have great respect for everyone associated with that team,” Toyota Racing Development president David Wilson told SB Nation. “I would love to have them in the Toyota camp. But it’s not a done deal and we’re working on it. Hopefully we’ll have something to announce in the next couple of weeks.”

Toyota is looking to add depth to a roster that will lose Michael Waltrip Racing, its only other supported team, when the two-car organization folds at the conclusion of the season.

By shifting to Toyota, Furniture Row would become the carmaker’s No. 2 outfit. At Chevrolet, the Denver-based team slotted behind Hendrick Motorsports, Stewart-Haas Racing and RCR.

Ideally Wilson would like Toyota to run eight full-time Cup cars and make a sustained push to capture the manufacturers’ championship, held by Chevrolet since 2003. To do that, Toyota needs additional organizations beyond JGR, which is capped out at the NASCAR maximum of four teams.

Enter Furniture Row, which could expand provided the securing of sponsorship. The team owned by Colorado businessman Barney Visser is working on adding a second car for the 2017 season.

“From the competitive side, the tools that Toyota can bring us and the technology -- they’re really a partner when you join with them,” Garone said. “It’s a real partnership. That’s what excites us about it. I think it will help advance our team and help us, make us better competitively, and help us where we can become a multi-car team.”