Birth Date October 22, 1963 + Hometown Yonkers, NY

Residence London, UK + Spouse Amy + Children Mary

Michael Waltrip Racing unveiled the next phase of its accelerated growth, announcing several moves to enhance its future as an elite NASCAR racing organization in October 2007 during a press conference at Lowe's Motor Speedway. One of those significant moves included bringing in a new partner.

Michael Waltrip, MWR's Founder and Chief Executive Officer, introduced Robert Kauffman as an equal ownership partner in a newly formed company, Michael Waltrip Racing Holdings, LLC. Kauffman will lend financial and business strategy support to MWRH to ensure its growth is both strategic and successful in fielding three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams and one NASCAR Nationwide Series team.

Kauffman is Co-President and one of the founding principals of Fortress Investment Group, a NYSE listed Investment Management Company. He is primarily responsible for Fortress' European investment activities. Kauffman, a long-time racing enthusiast who was born in New York and currently lives in Europe, is pursuing this business opportunity personally, not through Fortress Investment Group. "The motivation for partnering with MWR is to be able to participate in the dynamic growth in NASCAR and to work with a group of highly experienced professionals," said Kauffman, who also has an automotive restoration and sales business, RK Collection, based in Concord, NC.

"They built a great organization in a very short period of time, and their strong link with Toyota is particularly exciting. Additionally, MWR has established relations with terrific sponsors and drivers. Hopefully, with my background in finance we can help MWR secure its spot as one of the premier teams in the sport."